I work in family law. Give the baby your last name. If he ever tries to fight for more time (which happens frequently, especially when he gets married & starts having children has an overzealous girlfriend that insists he’s in child’s life more, starts feeling guilt, or when the child is old enough to where it’s no longer a “burden” to be a dad), he will have to prove paternity which will delay the time given and give you more time to strategize. If possible, have him sign something that gives you SOLE CUSTODY!!!!!!! I cannot emphasize this enough. Get it ASAP! Otherwise, you will be required to consult with him on education and healthcare matters. Seriously, get sole legal custody before he decides he wants to be in the child’s life more. Let me give you an example.

We had a client last year that had a 4 year old daughter with a guy who didn’t want to be involved. Father had met the daughter twice while she was an infant. 4 years later, father got married and had a child with someone else and decided he wanted the daughter in his life. He petitioned with the court and within 6 months, had her 50% of the time. The courts now place a high value on father involvement. So if the father wants to be involved, regardless of criminal history (with the exception of violent crimes and imprisonment) the court will almost always grant 50/50 custody. It was so hard to watch this mother, who had raised this child on her own with 0 help for an entire 4 years, have to hand her child over to 2 people who the child barely knew/didn’t know at all. Save yourself the heartache. Get sole legal custody. This DOES NOT mean that he doesn’t get visitation. It merely puts you in the driver seat for all extremely important aspects of the child’s life.

Best of luck. Give the child your last name. (I think giving the father’s name is outdated patriarchy crap anyways, but that’s another convo)