I have jut managed to acquire a copy of a book titled "Vital Registration - a manual of the law and practice concerning the registration of births, deaths and marriages in Scotland" by G F Bisset-Smith. Among other things, it describes down the precise wording required in various different situations, such as the way the mother's surname is listed if she is unmarried, or if the child is not her husband's. Also the way multiple surnames are to be listed. In particular, "Registrars are forbidden to enter the name of any person as the father of an illegitimate child, save at the joint request of the mother and the person acknowledging the paternity, who must attend the Registration and sign the Register along with the mother ... When the paternity is acknowledged, the child is registered in the name of the father ... when the father does not attend at the Registration ... the entry is made under her surname only .." In spite of the dusrty subject matter, the author manages to display either a dry or an unintentional sense of humour, for example he writes, "Most legitimate births are registered [by the] father ... who generally remembers the mother's maiden surname ... " and, "A very common error is for the informant to state ... the day of birth wrong by a full week ... if the informant is hazy in this way, the Registrar may find it necessary to send him back to the mother to make sure ..." So if anyone is looking for chapter and verse to make sense of something in a certificate, just drop me an e-mail. Anne Blessed are they who can laugh at themselves, for they shall never fail to be amused