Superseded in part. Adoption is no longer governed by the Civil Code. Republic Act No. 8552 (1998) and now Republic Act No. 11642 (2022), which moved adoption to an administrative process, govern who may adopt and the effects of an adoption decree, including the child’s surname. Read the rule below subject to those acts.
Text of the provision
Art. 365. An adopted child shall bear the surname of the adopter.
Civil Code of the Philippines, Republic Act No. 386, approved June 18, 1949, effective August 30, 1950. Reproduced in full; verified verbatim against the LawPhil and ChanRobles official-text renderings.
What this article means
An adopted child bears the surname of the adopter — the change of surname follows automatically from the decree of adoption.
Unlike the surname rule for legitimate children, which tracks a biological or legitimated relationship to the father, an adopted child’s surname follows a relationship the law itself creates: adoption gives the child the legal status of a child of the adopter, and the surname is one consequence of that new civil status rather than a reflection of actual parentage. The rule applies regardless of what surname the child bore before the adoption took effect.
Questions about this provision
Related provisions
- Article 364 — Surname of Legitimate Children.
- Article 408 — What the Civil Register Records.
Cases citing this article
- Francis Luigi G. Santos vs. Republic of the Philippines, The Office of the Local, G.R. No. 250520, May 5, 2021 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- In the Matter of Adoption of Stephanie Nathy Astorga Garcia, G.R. No. 148311, March 31, 2005 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Denise Ellison M. Viña vs. Stephanie Oteyza Ty, G.R. No. 273935, August 18, 2025 — read the decision on LawPhil →
Compiled automatically from Supreme Court decisions published on LawPhil that expressly cite this article, most frequently cited first. A listing means the decision cites the provision — it is not a statement that the case is the leading authority, and it does not show whether a ruling has since been modified or abandoned. Always read the decision itself.