You are hereForums / Genealogy Research / Surnames of abandoned children

Surnames of abandoned children


By sarge98 - Posted on 15 January 2020

In my research, I have encountered a baptism record that indicates a child (possibly my 3rd G-grandfather) was abandoned at the house of a woman in Guadalajara in 1781. The record provides the child's first and middle names but omits any mention of parents or even godparents. At some later time, the child would have been given a surname. Was this name assigned by the Church? Or, if the child's father eventually stepped up and acknowledged the child as his, how would the family name be established: by Church action or by civil action? Where (if anywhere) would such action be recorded? Thanks for any assistance you can provide with my request.