Children should have the surnames of both their parents at birth, court rules

Children should be given the surname of both their parents, a court in Italy has ruled.

The decision overturns a longstanding tradition in Italy where babies were automatically named after their father.

Now Italy's Constitutional Court has said that mums and dads should be able to choose their baby's surname.

The old practice was described as "discriminatory and harmful to the identity" of children in a statement following the ruling on April 27.

Family Minister Elena Bonetti said that surnames are part of a person's "identity and personal history" and "a story that we can now pass down through women."

Speaking on Facebook, she added: "Today reminds us that the time has come to change.

"We need to give importance, even in the choosing of a surname, to the equal responsibility between mothers and fathers when it comes to parental choices.

"Let's move forward quickly and together on this road."

The decision was made by the Constitutional Court in Italy on Wednesday (Getty Images)

Children born in Italy will still be able to have one surname if both their parents agree, according to the new legislation.

The decision is to be approved by parliament which is required to implement the ruling.

Renate Gebhard, president of the South Tyrolean People's Party, said the issue has been "dragging on from one parliamentary term to the next", reports euronews.

A statement made by the court said the old practice was 'discriminatory and harmful' (Getty Images)

MP Laura Boldrini, of Italy's Democratic Party, added: "It is now up to Parliament to make this leap forward in terms of civilisation."

Pope Francis and political leaders in Italy have expressed concerns about the impact of a declining birth rate on the country, with the cost of raising children seen as one of the factors.

Italy's Parliament is to approve the decision (Getty Images)

In 2020, the birth rate in Italy hit an all-time low since the unification of the country in 1861, according to the national statistics office.

The figure fell for a 12th consecutive year with 404,892 births down 15,192 on the previous year, the ISTAT statistics office said.

Some 746,146 people died in 2020 when the population fell to 59.3 million.

Politicians have expressed concerns about the country's falling birth rate (Getty Images)

The slump continued in 2021 with provisional data for January to September showing 12,500 fewer births than in the same period the year before.

ISTAT attributed the plunge to the coronavirus pandemic being a major factor.