Almost one in 14 British children born last year did not have the father's name on their birth certificate, it was reported Friday.
Some dads may refuse to put their names down to escape the Child Support Agency. But other men might not know they have to register, while moms might leave the name off because the father was "just a friend."
In all these cases, the father can lose any parental rights he thought he had, the London Mirror said Friday.
The newly issued figures from the Office of National Statistics revealed that 41.4 percent of all births were outside marriage.
More than 26 percent of all babies had parents who lived together and registered both names, while 7.9 percent had parents who lived apart but both registered. However 7.2 percent of all babies only have their mother's name registered. Younger women are most likely to leave the father's name off.
© Copyright 2004 by United Press International
