I am a pregnant unwed mother. I want to use the father's last name, hyphenated with my own on the birth certificate, but for various reasons, I do not want to state the father's name on the birth certificate. I live in California, is this allowable?

I do not know the legal answer to your question but, for the sake of your child I would consider the consequences of not having the father listed on the birth certificate...

Perhaps my answer is in response to your unlisted "various reasons"...

I firmly believe that our children should not be responsible for pickin'up the rotten fruit from the trees that we plant but choose not to tend...

Legal or not, put your child first... If he is not prominent enough to put on the birth certificate (a piece of paper), why attach his name to your child (the priceless gift)?