What is name change?

Legally changing your name can be simple and hassle-free

Name change is a basic legal act that is recognized in practically all legal systems to allow an individual the opportunity to adopt a name other than the name given at birth, marriage, or adoption.

Why people seek name change?

Have you ever wanted to change your last name? Maybe you have recently married or divorced if you are female, and want to take your new husband's name or go back to your maiden name? Name changes are quite common for women in these cases, and easy to implement also. The marriage certificate or divorce decree is all that is needed to substantiate the name change. Common law marriage is slightly different however. The female partner's new name was accepted by usage alone, but when separation occurs between common law partners, there is no divorce decree to support the request of the name change. A birth certificate would be required to prove identity in this case, but the name still may not be readily accepted by creditors or other entities without persistence.

There are other reasons why people seek name changes. Possibly they are just unhappy with their name and want to change it to something else. This is okay as long as it is not being changed with some type of fraudulent intent in mind. In other words, people cannot change their names or assume the identity of another simply to avoid creditors or other type of legal action.

Name change requests can’t be offensive, as in a racial slur, or be intentionally confusing. So with this in mind, how did Prince change his name to an unrecognizable symbol if it's not allowed? Oh yeah, the power of celebrity status. Moving on . . . name change requests involving names of famous people, i.e. Marilyn Monroe or John F. Kennedy, will also be denied unless there is an acceptable reason to do so.

Is name change procedure complex?

For the most part, name changes are quite common. It is a fairly simple process, and as mentioned earlier, the new name can be assumed simply by usage alone. Formal court documents are not required in every case, only if changing to a completely different name. Requirements for the local county of residence should also be researched, because any papers will need to be filed according to their guidelines; any questions can be directed to the Clerk and County Recorder's office. Name changes may require a bit of extra paper work and effort, but once implemented, your name is yours to keep.

Name change in USA

Usually a person can adopt any name desired for any reason. There are differences in specific requirements among U.S. states, but usually a court order is needed to change names (which would be applied for in a state court). It is necessary to plead that the name change is not for a fraudulent or other illegal purpose. The applicant may be required to give a somewhat reasonable explanation for wanting to change his/her name. A fee is generally payable, and the applicant may be required to post legal notices in newspapers to announce the name change.

In some states, individuals are often allowed to return to the use of any prior surname (e.g., maiden name upon divorce.) Some states, such as New York, also allow married couples to adopt any new surname upon marriage, which may be a hyphenated form of the bride's and groom's names, a combination of parts of their family names, or any new family name they can agree upon adopting as the married name.