Name change
A deed poll is a legal document that binds a single person to a particular course of action (in this case, changing one's name for all purposes).
[13][14] 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.
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.
[17] 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.
[18] 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.
[25] 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.
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.
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.
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.
[32] Although the states (except Louisiana) follow common law, there are differences in acceptable requirements; usually a court order is the most efficient way to change names (which would be applied for in a state court), 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.
A fee is generally payable, and the applicant may be required to post legal notices in newspapers to announce the name change.
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.
Code of Civil Procedure § 1279.5 (a) reads, "Except as provided in subdivision (b), (c), (d), or (e), nothing in this title shall be construed to abrogate the common law right of any person to change his or her name."
Subdivisions b through e preclude one from changing their name by common law if they are in state prison, on probation, on parole, or have been convicted of a serious sex offense.
This name can show up on class rosters, online learning platforms, and student ID cards.
Important government agencies to be notified include the Social Security Administration[43] (generally following statutory law, not common law),[44] Bureau of Consular Affairs[45] (for passports),[46] the Federal Communications Commission,[47] the Selective Service System[48] and the Department of Motor Vehicles (for a new driver's license, learner permit, state identification card, or vehicular registration).
Additionally the new name must be registered with other institutions such as employers, banks, doctors, mortgage, insurance and credit card companies.
Most states require name changes to be registered with their departments of motor vehicles (DMVs) within a certain amount of time, and some state motor vehicle departments require updated social security cards to make changes, by first registering a new name with the Social Security office.
This forcible solidification of individual identities, in pursuance of Western legal and political orders, assisted in the federal government's efforts to remove their ownership of communally-held land.
Subsequently, an application must be made to the Government Printing Press, which issues an Official Gazette Notification certifying the change of name.
[59] The deed poll requires a witness affidavit, and may optionally be enrolled in the High Court upon payment of stamp duty.
Examples of requests that are usually considered favorably: In Brazil, legal name changes are regulated by the Public Records Act (Law No.
Nowadays, the process is as easy as in common-law countries; the subject merely submits the names wanted (providing that the surname chosen is not in use or is not used by fewer than 200 persons) to the local authorities for the purposes of election rosters and census counts; there is no longer an application process.
The Supreme Court of the Philippines Justice Leonardo Quisumbing on September 12, 2008, allowed Cagandahan, 27, who has congenital adrenal hyperplasia, to change the name on his birth certificate to read Jeff, and his legal gender to male.
When aliens apply for naturalization, they have the option of asking for their names to be changed upon the grants of citizenship with no additional fees.
[citation needed] According to the case law of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court, such requests must be granted only if the petitioner shows that they suffer substantially from their present name, e.g., if it is the same as that of a notorious criminal.
[90] Israeli law determine that every adult over the age of 18 that does not have a guardianship can submit a request for a name change.
