Birth registration enigma

[janesuffolk]

With the help of a fellow Rootswebber (thanks again Sheila  ) I finally have a baptism date in July 1838 for one of my ancestors but have been unable to find the registration of his birth.   The censuses all give his birth year as c1839 which fits with the baptism being of a baby and not an older child.
Some confusion had arisen over the fact his mother was married to someone else at the time of his birth, she was widowed 3 years later and remarried to my ancestors father.   On all the censuses he carries the name of his natural father which was his middle name at his baptism.
I've searched and searched for his registration in the name of his natural father and the name at his baptism with as many variations on spelling as I can come up with and found nothing.
Is it possible the birth was never registered?    Was this a common occurence especially if there was some scandal surrounding the birth?   Or is it more likely that the registrar may have mis-spelt the name totally?
Also I'm wondering about how a person can be baptised with one surname and then using another name for the rest of his life.    Would the names have to be changed 'officially' on his mother's remarriage or did people not bother too much with that sort of thing back then?
So many questions.....

Jane

[Garethboxing]

I don't think people are actually baptised with a surname - they are only given Christian names. (It's a few years since it happened to me and I must confess I wasn't paying that much attention at the time!)

Although  the parish clerk would include the surname in the register, I wouldn't have thought it would have any legal significance, so changing it later wouldn't be a problem.

   Gareth

[Gardener]

Gareth's right about the surname, nothing to stop you calling yourself want you want as long as you tell all the officials for tax purposes etc. If you have been baptised then you can't change that name so easily!
Most likley the birth was just not registered. 1838 was early days for the registration process and I think the onus was on the Registrar to record a birth rather than it being the responsibility of the child. Lucky you to have the baptism