I am a father, and the mother didn’t give our child my last name. Can’t I require that the child has my last name?

Not necessarily. The law does not require that the child bear the father’s last name. If you want the child to bear your last name, you will need either a Court order or the agreement of the other parent.

In Pizziconi v. Yarborough, 177 Ariz. 422 (App. 1994), the Arizona Court of Appeals rejected the idea that a child must bear a father’s surname and adopted the reasoning from the Supreme Court of Utah that because these are now times of parental equality, it is no longer automatic that a child bears a father’s surname. Instead, the issue must be decided on in the child’s best interests.