“Subsection 5(5) of the Change of Name Act states that the Court shall determine an application to change the name of a child in accordance with the best interests of the child. The change of name is not an administrative act. It is not to be done merely for convenience. The onus is on the parent wishing the name change to demonstrate that the child will benefit from the change: Herniman v. Woltz, 1996 CanLII 8087 (ON SC), [1996] O.J. No. 1083, 22 R.F.L. (4th) 232 at para. 7. I would adopt the factors set out in Wintermute v. O’Sullivan, [1985] A.J. No. 21, 48 R.F.L. (2d) 275 (Alta.Q.B.) at para. 7:
The factors to which courts should have regard in cases of this kind are set out in Davies, Family Law in Canada (1984), at p. 32:
(a) The welfare of the child is the paramount consideration.
(b) The short and long term effects of any change in the child’s surname.
(c) Any embarrassment likely to be experienced by the child if its name is different from that of the parent with custody or care and control.
(d) Any confusion of identity which may arise for the child if his or her name is changed or is not changed.
(e) The effect which any change in surname may have on the relationship between the child and the parent whose name the child bore during the marriage.
(f) The effect of frequent or random changes of name.”