Ribeiro v. Monahan

OPINION

KELLEHER, Justice.

The disputants in this Family Court appeal are the unmarried parents of a three-year-old girl. The father seeks to have the daughter’s surname changed from Ribeiro to Monahan. This change-in-name petition was originally considered and granted by a Family Court master. However, the mother appealed the grant, and a Family Court justice subsequently sustained her appeal.

The father bases his claim that the child share his surname on what he describes as “social custom.” He acknowledges that the position he espouses might be considered “sexist in today’s society” but…