How to change a baby name as Khloe Kardashian switches her son’s
Khloe Kardashian has officially changed her son's name.
The 39-year-old reality TV star and Tristan Thompson welcomed a son, Tatum, via surrogate in July 2022.
As she had yet to decide on his moniker at the time, she initially listed the then newborn's name as Baby Kardashian on his birth certificate.
But documents obtained by PEOPLE confirm that the parents have legally changed their son's name, with a Los Angeles county judge granting the name change for the now 13-month-old, so he is now officially Tatum Thompson.
It is believed Kardashian, who also has daughter True, five, with Thompson, decided to change her baby's name some time ago, but the switch has only recently been made official.
Read more: Khloe Kardashian officially changes her son's name (Bang Showbiz, 2-min read)
She isn't the only member of the Kardashian/Jenner clan to opt for a moniker switch up as Kylie Jenner also recently changed her son's baby name to Aire Webster.
In June this year, the mum-of-two filed to have the then 16-month-old's moniker legally changed from Wolf Jacques to Aire, according to court documents obtained by PEOPLE.
How to change a baby name in the UK
While changing a child’s name is an emotional decision, in the UK it is surprisingly straight-forward.
It only costs £42.44 to apply to change your child’s name if they are under 16.
You'll need everyone with parental consent to agree and you can apply by filling out some forms through the Gov.UK website.
Read more on baby names
What Happens If... You Hate Your Child's Name? (HuffPost, 3-min read)
How to choose a baby name as Jessie J's son's moniker is finally revealed (Yahoo Life UK, 5-min read)
As unusual baby names surge, 10 unique options for your child (Yahoo Life UK, 5-min read)
Top UK baby names
Other celebs who have changed their child's name
Amy Schumer changed her son's name, too. The American actor and her husband, Chris Fischer, originally introduced Gene Attell — 'Attell' in honour of their friend Dave Attell — shortly after his birth on May 5, 2019.
But the couple later had a change of heart. “Do you guys know that Gene, our baby’s name is officially changed?” Schumer said on her podcast. “It’s now Gene David Fischer. It was Gene Attell Fischer, but we realised that we, by accident, named our son ‘Genital.’”
Some celebrities have also been forced to make changes to the names they chose for their offspring. In 2020, Elon Musk and singer Grimes revealed they had to make some changes to the unusual name they gave their baby son.
The parents originally shared that they’d named their baby X Æ A-12 on social media, however in an Instagram post, Grimes, whose birth name is Claire Boucher, confirmed that their son would now go by the name of X Æ A-Xii.
The new mum was responding to a post asking if the alteration was made to comply with a California law.
“Did you change the baby name because of Californian laws? What is the baby's new name?” the user asked with Grimes simply responding. “X Æ A-Xii.”
While Grimes didn’t confirm the reason for the change, the addition of Roman numerals in place of the final digits is believed to be a way of getting around Californian law, which forbids the inclusion of numbers in a legal name.
Expert advice on changing a baby name
Baby name expert, SJ Strum from the Baby Names Envy podcast, has some advice for how to sensitively alter your child's name.
1. Share the news
"If the name has been announced already just be honest with friends and family and say 'it didn’t suit them' like Kylie Jenner has done," Strum advises.
"Don’t be embarrassed; it’s an emotional time for you making this big decision – but it’s yours to make and don’t feel you have to consider other people’s reactions. It won’t be as fraught as you imagine."
2. Consider a variation of the moniker
If your baby is older and known widely by their name; one consideration is to play with variations of the name.
"Many names have shorter, longer or similar names associated with them," says Strum. "For example, Charlotte could become Charlie, Lottie, Scarlet or even Chloe."
3. Try out their nickname or middle name
Could the baby go by a nickname or middle name? "Middle names used as the primary name are very common in Scotland and becoming more widely used throughout the rest of the UK," Strum explains.
3. Listen to name-change requests
If an older child asks to change their name, Strum advises parents to be open to their reasons. "Supporting them now could help with feelings of identity that are important to discuss," she adds.
