IT seemed a good idea at the time.

Naming your new baby son after the 1966 England World Cup team, or Lee Clark’s promotion-chasing Town team, may be great for a fan.

But what happens down the line when you realise it was a mistake and those allegiances cool?

Staff at Huddersfield Register Office know that changing names can be problematic, but there are ways of rectifying most situations.

Superintendent Registrar Lesley Hewitson said: "What if you name your new baby after all members of your favourite football team only to realise later this was not the great idea you originally thought?

"We have had people come to us and say that when their son was born six months ago, they gave him AJ as a first name.

"Later they regretted this and would like his name to be Andrew John. 

"Within 12 months of the registration of the birth there is provision for recording a new name.

"A name given after registration may be recorded in one of two ways. Two forms of certificate of naming apply; one is where the name is given in baptism, and the other on certificate of naming.

"On completion of one of these forms the new name (s) can be added.  Although a Registrar cannot make any alteration to the original registration, in space 17 they can add the new names. 

"Space 17 is at the bottom of a full birth certificate and an example of the wording would be: ‘Andrew John by baptism on 27th February 2011’ or  ‘Andrew John on certificate of naming dated 1st March 2011’."

She said that family is the link which connects almost all occasions taking place at Huddersfield Register Office.

A father away from home fighting for his country misses out on too many important and special occasions with his family, but not being featured on the baby’s birth certificate because he cannot attend the registration, does not have to be one of them.

This has been a question asked on more than one occasion in recent months at Huddersfield Register Office.

It is also very normal these days for family members to separate, but later unite with other families; step relations and adoption are common parts of the modern family tree.

Here are some other questions and the answers:

When I registered my daughter’s birth, my partner was working away and couldn’t attend the Register Office with me. On the birth certificate there is just a line where the father’s details should be, what can I do to have his name added?

You can re-register your daughter under section 10A of the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1953. The birth can be re-registered to include the details of the natural father if you were not married at the time of the birth, and have not married each other since the birth. You and your partner will need to attend the Register Office together to give joint information for the re-registration, and to sign the new entry in the register. You can then get a new certificate including the father’s name.

l am getting married in the summer and my stepfather, who adopted me when I was nine, will be walking me down the aisle. As I have never known, or had anything to do with my biological father I am upset that I have to have his name on my marriage certificate.ŠWhat can I do?

In a marriage register the bride and groom’s fathers’ names are recorded in the entry, but as your mother remarried and you were adopted by your step father, you can request his name appears in the register and the Registrar will record ‘stepfather’ in brackets under his name.

I am a gay man and my partner and I have lived together for 26 years. We would like to have a Civil Partnership but are reluctant to have a full ceremony and would like as little fuss as possible. What are our options?

There are two parts to getting married – firstly, formally ‘giving notice of intention to marry’ and secondly, the ceremony itself. Unlike a marriage, civil partners do not have to have a ceremony. Once you have both ‘given notice’ of your intention to form a civil partnership, you and your partner can arrange an appointment to sign the ‘schedule’ in the presence of a Registrar and two witnesses of your choice, with no fuss at all.

I recently got married in Mexico but live in Huddersfield; should I now register my marriage at the Register Office?

There is no provision to register your marriage here at Huddersfield Register Office. We can only register marriages which take place within this district. As you got married under the laws of Mexico, the certificate you received on the day of your wedding is the official proof of your marriage. If the certificate you received is not in English you will need to arrange for a translation of the document before you could produce it as evidence to anyone who might request this.