I have a character who's surname I'm not sure which one she gets from either mother or father. Because her mother and father were never married and were separated until her mother's death when she was young. The father doesn't receive custody until a bit later. Does she get her mother or father's surname?
I'm fairly certain it can be either one. I guess it also depends on where this is because different places will have different ways of doing it. Most people I have met who grew up in that situation took the surname of the parent who raised them.
If the parents weren't together when the birth was registered, she would definitely have the mother's surname. If they were together, it would be the parents' choice - if unmarried (and in the English-speaking world), they might use the mother's surname, the father's surname, or a combination of both (I've seen a few examples of this in real life) either hyphenated or compound. (e.g. unmarried parents John Stephens and Mary Wood might decide to call their child Jane Stephens or Jane Wood or Jane Stephens-Wood or Jane Wood-Stephens or even Jane Stephenswood - I've seen names with all these different styles).
she gets whatever surname the mother put on her birth certificate... some single moms give their babies their own surname and some give the name of the biological father... latin americans and others often give their children the combined surnames of the mother and the father...
