Playpennies

Yes you can. However if your ex has parental responsibility, which he will do automatically if you were married, then he also needs to sign the form.

Thanks Lynley. We havent seen him in almost a year and im not ina real hurry to get back in touch

That's a shame for your son. I know there are situations where it just has to be that way. But it is so hard for a child to feel rejected by a parent. How old is he? One thing to be cautious of is the tendency of children to internalise. Their default setting is to always assume they're at fault. There are some good support groups out there (I've been greatly helped in the past but in a slightly different situation to you) that will give you some excellent advice on how to help your son through this. Are there paternal grandparents who can take up the slack? I've a friend who's ex's parents have been fantastic for this. Do check out the rules on changing names by deed poll. There may be other options open to you. I know of other people who have changed the first name of their child because they've realised they've made a mistake and it just wasn't 'them'. It isn't as uncommon as you might think, and changing his first name may not require the signature of your ex. My personal experience with this is solely with surnames and it was 10 years ago. have a read of this page http://www.ukdps.co.uk/CanIChangeMyChildsName.html