Have any of you or anyone you know changed their name legally?

[gm]

I have someone in my family who wants to change their name legally because it is soooooo long.

Has it been hard since the name change (meaning, getting passports,drivers licence,college loans,)and most importantly, can you change it on your birth certificate?

Also are you happier since the name change and how has it affected relatives.

I am not talking about name change after marriage but a general name change from your original name to a totally different name.

Also do you have to have a middle name?

lastly, did you do it by yourself or through an attorney plus $$

any info greatly appreciated

 

[portocall]

I can't answer all of your questions, but my mother legally changed her name when she was 13. She is loves her "new name" and is very happy that she changed it. She was issued a new birth certificate (back in the 60's) and had no trouble with legal documents. (granted she wasn't old enough for most of that until after the change). Her current birth certificate makes no mention of the old name.

 

[kaytieeldr]

As long as it's not being done to defraud (any entity/person, I think), all one has to do to change their name is to start using the new name.

 

[gm]

katieeldlr,

I think I mentioned in my post that it is due to it being "sooooo" long. And obviously, I am asking ??? on legal name change because you cannot just be called donna and your drivers licence says tina smith so your answer about it being changed by just calling by the new name is not what I was looking for.

 

[Sparx]

yes i have.
it doesn't complicate anything at all really.
you just request a new birth certificate, new drivers license, and new social security card. its not difficult.
it has confused people, and years later, people i've not been close to still call me by my old name.

 

[gm]

sparx,

were you over 18 when you did the name change or under? I am trying to figure out if it is any harder to do it after 18. The person who is thinking will be turning 18 in 6 months.

yes i have.
it doesn't complicate anything at all really.
you just request a new birth certificate, new drivers license, and new social security card. its not difficult.
it has confused people, and years later, people i've not been close to still call me by my old name.

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

I've kicked around the idea before. My given name was the most popular name my year and there are so many of us out there. Right after being confirmed I thought about legally changing my first name to my confirmation name (Columcille) but it seemed like such a pain in the butt.

You don't have to have a middle name as far as I know. Some people will just have an initial. For instance, the S in Harry S Truman does not stand for anything. His "middle name" is literally just S.

For those of you who did it, how did yo uget people to start using your new name? How did they react, how did your family react?

 

[Sparx]

sparx,

were you over 18 when you did the name change or under? I am trying to figure out if it is any harder to do it after 18. The person who is thinking will be turning 18 in 6 months.

i was 14. but i had all the same legal documents (excpet a drivers license, but when i got my learners license and my drivers license, there was no problem, i just showed them my social security card and my birth certificate, and there was no problem.)

honestly, if you met me, you could go over my documents with a fine tooth comb, and you'd never know that i've had my name changed.

 

[gm]

eeeek!!! it might have been easier to do it before 18. I hope that the name can still be changed on all documents including birth certificate.

 

[Sparx]

eeeek!!! it might have been easier to do it before 18. I hope that the name can still be changed on all documents including birth certificate.

i promise it can.
all you have to do is provide the papers for the name change to the ssoffice and the local health department, for the birth certificate.

i only changed my last name (custody change), so my first two names stayed the same, but it is the same process. its just like when you get married and get a new social security card or birth certificate.

 

[bumbershoot]

My brother changed his first name. He did not have to change his middle, though I was completely surprised he didn't.

I don't think he had to change his birth certificate...the name change documents show the paper trail...then again, his was a change from his name to a nickname that he wanted done formally so the Air Force would stop bringing up his "old" outgrown name whenever they wrote him.

He did go through a lawyer...the lawyer was our uncle so there were no lawyer's fees, but they just paid a certain amount to announce something in the paper for a certain period of time, then whatever official things there were. Few hundred bucks, I think...our mom was against it (she's the one that originally named him) but she probably paid for it, and she would have balked if it had been more.

It was hard on all of us, because for so many years he would get angry if we nicknamed him...then suddenly he was demanding this particular nickname. He's a very stern person who can freeze you out, and just like he did when we called him a nickname before, he just would NOT answer if we called him by his original name. He was so strict about it that he and his wife were together a few years before she knew that he had an old name (whoopsie, I told her).

He so completely rejected the old name that he wouldn't even tell you if he was happier...he'd just ignore the question b/c it's irrelevant. In that way I'd say he's happier.

I think my brother was 19 or 20, in college, he'd been using the name since he was 15 or so (but close family was "allowed" to use the old name by accident, LOL) when he re-made himself after a cross-country move...

I don't think it would make a difference of what age you are. If you're a minor it might be more complicated, because you would probably need parental approval for it. Once an adult, however, that wouldn't be needed.

I still think of my brother as his old name, though I never call him that anymore, it's been quite awhile. But to me, he IS the old name...and I know my mom felt like that always, and our dad (who has no contact with my brother) has never gotten used to the shorter name. I went many years hating my name (Molly), considered changing it many times, but once I saw what his name change did to my close family, I dropped it from consideration. Like it or not, it's who I've been since before I was born (thankfully I was a girl, b/c I would have been Oliver as a boy and I doubt I could feel positive about that...my mom just had unusual names for boys and better names for girls...my brother would have been Diana, if he'd been a girl, which is nice and strong) and I'm sticking with it.

 

[SandrA9810]

how long is a long name???

And there's a crazy lady at star wars weekends... just look to the front of the line for the star meet and greet at like 4am and you'll find her. I think she's linda skywalker now. Apparently she's changed her name to several different star war character's name, I mean legally change her name. She's a very scary person and any and every one that works at studio knows about her. She's the first one to show up... sometimes sleeping in her car in the parking lot. I wonder how the actors feel about this.... i'm sure a few have remembered her over the years.

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

Oh my goodness! Lynda Skywalker is a legend! My last CP (06) she apparently had a huge "fight" with Luke because she is a crazy stalker (and I believe Luke might have had security called or said something to her) and "broke up" with him and then changed her name to Linda Efron which is just slightly pedophilic. I haven't heard if she made the change permanent or not, but that is one frightening lady! I saw her once or twice when I was working entertainment in Studios, but thankfully I was never involved in Star Wars Weekends. Although by the end of 06 her new thing was High School Musical (she thought Troy was her boyfriend) and she would stalk those peroformances.

Some people feel sorry for her and that she is essentially harmless. Others are not appreciative of her obsession and are rather leery of her.

 

[gm]

its long believe me. I will give you the middle name though dhanilinisbier and the last name is even longer lol!!

bumbershoot:

this person is just like you mentioned. going out in the world and changing the name legally. The family is not happy though. Thank you for your insight.

I think in TX you cannot change it on a birth certificate but I could be wrong.

 

[Beca]

I changed my name legally when I was 21. The laws for how to do this vary state by state. I had to hire a lawyer and go to court to get the name changed. I dropped my middle name in the process. My state will not issue a new birth certificate. They did issue me a court transcript showing the change, that I now have to keep with me for the rest of my life. Yes...it is kind of a pain!! When I applied for a passport, I had to send in my birth certificate and my court transcript. I have often worried about what would happen if I ever lost that transcript!!!

But, I have no regrets on the name change!!!

 

[tennvalgirl]

Hey Eeyores Butterfly!

Referring to the Linda Skywalker thing

How many "Bella"s do you think there are now?

Not babies, I'm talking about name changes.

 

[EMom]

When I was practicing law, I used to love to sit in on court proceedings for name changes. Boy, were there some stories there. Names that were the same as famous criminals, names that were just plain hideous, names that had nasty connotations, etc. One day, a man came in and he'd obviously been born in another country, but was a citizen now. His accent was still heavy, so the judge had to ask him to repeat things quite a few times. The judge always seems to ask why the person wanted to change their name. It was self-evident in this case. His first name must have been 20+ letters long and the last name wasn't much better. And no matter how many times he said it, no one in that courtroom could make head nor tails of it. I muttered to my friend, "And he has to do this every single time he gives his name to anyone. No wonder the poor guy wants to change it." The judge finally asked him what he wanted his new name to be and I swear it was something like "John Smith." As plain as plain could be.

It was approved and he left looking mighty relieved.

 

[DVC-Don]

We had a customer come in a couple of years ago and wanted to change his name to Chief Rain Cloud. We told him if he could get DMV to issue him a license in that name we'd be glad to change his policies. He never came back to do the change.

 

[SandrA9810]

Some one said she's officially changed it five times... although that might be an exageration of it. I've never personally met her, but she gives me the hebby jebbies too. I've seen her several times over the past few years. Of course she's always at the front of the most popular line, and i'm far enough back that I usually get an afternoon time slot.

I hate my initials, SLO... in my early dating years, I thought it would change to SLK... however if I ever took Kari's name it would be SLK as well, but her norweigen name just doesn't sound quite right with my name.

Do women ever take into consideration what they're last names will be when they get married??

 

[browneyes106]

My uncle changed his first name years ago. Like another poster mention the laws will vary from state to state. My uncle said he didn't have to hire a lawyer but he had to file various forms with public records, courts etc. He did have to pay fees. My cousin legally changed his middle name and it didn't cost much.