Legal Ways to Change a Name
- A person can legally change his full name or just his first name by petitioning the local county court. To do so, he must file a petition and may have to appear at a hearing. A judge will either accept or reject the new name. There are some general requirements depending on the county. The individual may have to live in the county and state for a certain amount of time, for example, at least six months prior to filing, according to Legal Zoom.
- After marriage, a spouse doesn't have to petition the local court to legally change her maiden or last name. Instead, the she can use her marriage certificate---or copies of the certificate---as proof to legally change her name. Even though the spouse doesn't have to go through the process of going to court, it still takes some time and paperwork depending on the business or government agency. For example, the United States Social Security Administration (SSA) requires a spouse to complete Form SS-5. Once the SSA receives the form, it changes the maiden name at no cost. In addition, the SSA will inform the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) of the name change.
- If a spouse wants to legally change her name back to her maiden name, it can be done through family court. The spouse must make a formal request to the presiding divorce court judge. Once granted, the judge will include the order in the divorce decree.
- Anyone petitioning his local county for a name change won't be able to change his name under some circumstances. For instance, a person can't change his name to avoid debts, defraud someone or avoid any obligations such as child support or alimony. A name that is similar to a famous company or person's name won't be accepted. Also a name that would cause confusion or have numbers in it won't be accepted either. Names that are a racial slur or have obscenities or promote violence are prohibited.