Name change


Name change is the legal act by a person of adopting a new name.
The procedures and ease of a name change vary between jurisdictions. In general, common law jurisdictions have looser procedures while civil law jurisdictions are more restrictive. While some civil law jurisdictions have loosened procedures, a few remain complicated.
A pseudonym is a name used in addition to the original or true name. This does not require legal sanction. Pseudonyms may be adopted to conceal a person's identity, but may also be used for personal, social or ideological reasons.

Reasons for changing one's name

Changes in status

  • Marriage or civil partnership
  • Adoption by or marriage of a custodial parent
  • Divorce or estrangement of parents
  • Religious conversion or deconversion, ordination or return to lay status
  • To better fit one's gender identity, or as part of one's gender transition
  • To reflect immigration or adaptation of the name to a different language or script

    Associative

  • To associate themselves with a hobby, interest, or accomplishment
  • To associate themselves with a famous or fictional person
  • To remove associations from a family black sheep.
  • To remove associations from an ethnic origin.
  • To remove associations from a slave name.
  • To reclaim a traditional name.

    Practical

  • To evade the law, a debt or to commit fraud.
  • To avoid a stalker or harassment.
  • In accordance with witness protection.
  • Personal dislike of one's name
  • To bring the legal name in line with the one used in everyday life.

    Financial

  • To receive an inheritance conditional on adopting the name of the deceased.
  • Commercial sponsorship.
  • To make their name more attractive or "catchy" so as to increase their chance of professional success.

    Other

  • Protest or activism
  • To gain superstitious consequences of the old name
  • To circumvent election law governing what information can be provided on a ballot paper, by changing one's middle name to a short political message.
  • Losing a bet

    United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, citizens and residents have the freedom to change their names with relative ease.
In theory, anyone who is at least 16 and resident in the United Kingdom can call themselves whatever they wish. However, over the past hundred years or so, formal procedures that are recognised by record holders such as government departments, companies and organizations have evolved, which enable someone to change the name recorded on their passport, driving licence, tax and National Insurance records, bank and credit cards, etc., provided that "documentary evidence" of a change of name is provided. Documents such as birth, marriage and educational certificates cannot be changed because these documents are considered "matters of fact", which means that they were correct at the time they were issued. However, exceptions exist, such as holders of a Gender Recognition Certificate.
Documentary evidence of a change of name can be in a number of forms, such as a marriage certificate, decree absolute, civil partnership certificate, statutory declaration or deed of change of name. Such documents are mere evidence that a change of name has occurred and they do not themselves operate to change a person's name. Deeds of change of name are by far the most commonly used method of providing evidence of a change of name other than changing a woman's surname after marriage. A deed poll is a legal document that binds a single person to a particular course of action. The term 'deed' is common to signed, written agreements that have been shown to all concerned parties. 'Poll' is an old legal term referring to official documents that had cut edges so that they were straight.

England and Wales

People whose births are registered in England and Wales may, but are under no obligation to, have their deed poll enrolled at the Royal Courts of Justice in London.

Scotland

Residents of Scotland can change their name by deed poll or statutory declaration. Scottish-born/adopted people may optionally apply to the Registrar General for Scotland to have their birth certificate amended to show the new name and have the respective register updated. There is also an alternative route to changing one's name in Scotland, equivalent to enrolling a deed poll with the College of Arms; one may petition the Court of the Lord Lyon for a name change and subsequently receive a Certificate of Recognition of Change of Name.

Historical usage

From the medieval age to the 19th century, the era of family dynasties, name changes were frequently demanded of heirs in the last wills and testaments, legacies and bequests, of members of the gentry and nobility who were the last males of their bloodline. Such persons frequently selected a younger nephew or cousin as the heir to their estates, on condition that he should adopt the surname and armorials of the legator in lieu of his patronymic. Thus, the ancient family otherwise destined to extinction would appear to continue as a great dynasty in the making.
Such changes were also more rarely demanded by marriage settlements, for example where the father of a sole daughter and heiress demanded that as a condition of his daughter's dowry her husband should adopt his father-in-law's surname and arms. Thus the progeny of the marriage would continue the otherwise extinct family's name. Such name changes were generally only demanded of younger sons, where an elder brother was available to inherit the paternal estates under primogeniture and carry on the name and arms abandoned by the younger brother. Such name changes were effected by obtaining a private act of Parliament or by obtaining a royal licence.
Well known examples are:
A less radical procedure adopted from the 18th century onwards was for the legator or settlor to demand only that the legatee or beneficiary should adopt his surname in addition to his patronymic, not in place of it, which gave rise to the "double-barrelled", even the "triple-barrelled" name, frequently parodied in literature as epitomising the wealthy "squirearchy" with an embarrassment of inherited estates.

Canada

In Canada, name changes are handled through the vital statistics bureaux of the various provinces and territories, except in Nunavut, where they are handled by the Courts.
All Canadian provinces and territories allow their residents, whether Citizens, Permanent Residents or Temporary Residents, to obtain a name change, provided they fulfil the pertinent regulations. Quebec, a civil law jurisdiction, has historically had substantial differences from the common law jurisdictions comprising the rest of Canada in how it permits its residents to obtain a change of name—for example, requiring them to be citizens, which was abolished on January 28, 2021, due to a Superior Court of Quebec decision.
All Canadian provinces except Quebec also recognize common law name changes—i.e. by "general usage"—even if not registered with the government or ordered by a court. Although a common law name change is still a legal name, formal processes may be required to obtain government-issued ID or change the name on accounts that depend on government ID; this is one situation where a person may have more than one name.
Quebec also historically had other strict regulations regarding name changes. For example, the transgender Quebecker Micheline Montreuil had to undergo a lengthy process to have her name legally changed. Initially, the Directeur de l'état civil refused to permit the change on the grounds that someone who was legally assigned male at birth could not bear a female name. According to Quebec law, Montreuil could not change her registered gender because that required proof of a completed gender confirmation surgery, which was not the case for her. On November 1, 1999, the provincial court of appeals ruled that nothing in the law prevented a person who was registered as male from legally adopting a woman's name.
Another issue specific to Quebec is married names. Because of the Quebec Charter of Rights, married women in Quebec have been unable to adopt their spouse's surname since 1976. Other provinces allow their residents to change their last name on the strength of their marriage certificate. The Directeur de l'état civil will amend a Quebec birth certificate if a name change certificate is issued by another province. Some have used that loophole to legally change their names by temporarily moving to another Canadian province or territory, which follow more permissive common law rules.
Additionally, Saskatchewan registers changes of name made outside its jurisdiction and issues a "Registration of Change of Name Effected Outside the Province of Saskatchewan".

United States

In the United States, state laws regulate name changes. Several federal court rulings have set precedents regarding both court decreed name changes and common law name changes, including Lindon v. First National Bank. In Christianson v. King County, 239 U.S. 356, the Supreme Court accepted a name changed using the common law method as a legal name.
Usually a person can adopt any name desired for any reason., 46 states allow a person legally to change names by usage alone, with no paperwork, but a court order may be required for many institutions to officially accept the change. Although the states follow common law, there are differences in acceptable requirements; usually a court order is the most efficient way to change names, except at marriage, which has become a universally accepted reason for a name change.
Where a court process is used, it is necessary to plead that the name change is not for a fraudulent or other illegal purpose, such as evading a lien or debt or for defaming someone else. Applicants may be required to give a reasonable explanation for wanting to change their names. A fee is generally payable, and the applicant may be required to post legal notices in newspapers to announce the name change. Generally the judge has limited judicial discretion to deny a change of name: usually only if the name change is for fraudulent, frivolous or immoral purposes. In 2004, a Missouri man succeeded in changing his name to "They". The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that a name change to "1069" could be denied, but that "Ten Sixty-Nine" was acceptable ; the North Dakota Supreme Court had denied the same request several years before.
In nearly all states, a person cannot choose a name that is intended to mislead, that is intentionally confusing, or that incites violence; nor can one adopt, as a name, a racial slur, a threat, or an obscenity.
Some examples of typically allowed reasons for name changes in the U.S. include:
  • Adopting a new surname upon marriage. This is usually done without court proceedings.
  • Returning to the use of a prior surname upon divorce.
  • Simplification or improved familiarity of spelling or pronunciation.
Under U.S. nationality law, when immigrants apply for naturalization, they have the option of asking for their names to be changed upon the grant of citizenship with no additional fees. This allows them the opportunity to adopt more Americanized names. During the naturalization interview, a petition for a name change is prepared to be forwarded to a federal court. Applicants certify that they are not seeking a change of name for any unlawful purpose such as the avoidance of debt or evasion of law enforcement. Such a name change would become final if within their jurisdiction, once a federal court naturalizes an applicant.