Parents of children born on or after January 29, 2019 will be able to give their offspring both surnames, expanding draft legislation to make double barreled names an option.

Legal protection minister Franc Weerwind is amending the draft law, which has not yet completed its passage through parliament, as a gesture to parents who are disappointed that the change is not yet in effect.

‘Many parents want to give their children two surnames and this temporary proposal will make that possible,’ Weerwind said in a note to MPs about the changes.

The temporary option will be in force for one year and both parents must agree to the change.

The new legislation will allow children to take the surname of both parents, without a hyphen and in the order they choose. If one parent already has double-barreled surname, such as Korthals Altes, it will be treated as one of the two names.

Adopted children will also be able to combine the names of their biological and adoptive parents, again with a limit of two.