topic Re: Have you ever legally changed your name? in Community Chat

Have you ever legally changed your name?

cherry — Thu, 13 Oct 2016 01:25:05 GMT

My mother did. Her father's mother lived with them. She was German . When my mother was born she told the Dr my mother was to be named Maida (Her poor mother had no say in any of this it seems)

The Dr was old and hard of hearing so he wrote Magar on the birth certificate. MY mothers parents called her Ruth. When my mom found out the name on her birth certificate she hit the roof. She went to the courthouse and legally changed it to Ruth

Re: Have you ever legally changed your name?

libbyannE — Thu, 13 Oct 2016 01:29:06 GMT

No! I was born with this name, and my husband agreed with me when we married in the 1970s that the custom of a woman changing her name to her husband's was outdated. You can agree or disagree, and I respect that right of a woman to choose. But no name change for me.

Re: Have you ever legally changed your name?

lucymo — Thu, 13 Oct 2016 01:34:08 GMT

Only my last name when I was married.

Re: Have you ever legally changed your name?

Mary Bailey — Thu, 13 Oct 2016 01:35:08 GMT

DH works with a man that took his wife's last name.

I took DH last name when we married.

when I see hyphenated last names I wonder what they do when they marry, more hyphens?

Re: Have you ever legally changed your name?

Annabellethecat66 — Thu, 13 Oct 2016 01:37:53 GMT

I just took my husband's last name when we got married. I called him by his last name. We really had the same middle name so often people thought we were brother and sister.

Re: Have you ever legally changed your name?

sunshine45 — Thu, 13 Oct 2016 01:44:13 GMT

no, i have never changed my name. it is the name my parents chose for me and i cherish it.

Re: Have you ever legally changed your name?

Goldengate8361 — Thu, 13 Oct 2016 01:49:01 GMT

@libbyannE -good for you! Years ago, when I was briefly married, I didn't change mine either. Never remarried, but if I did, I would not change my last name. Didn't have kids;didn't want kids, so many of the complicating issues were not present in my situation.

Re: Have you ever legally changed your name?

AuntG — Thu, 13 Oct 2016 01:59:57 GMT

Just by taking my husband's last name. I work with someone who totally changed their name to that of an action figure - to each his own.

Re: Have you ever legally changed your name?

GCR18 — Thu, 13 Oct 2016 02:09:25 GMT

No name change.

Re: Have you ever legally changed your name?

libbyannE — Thu, 13 Oct 2016 02:26:31 GMT

@Goldengate8361 wrote:
@libbyannE -good for you! Years ago, when I was briefly married, I didn't change mine either. Never remarried, but if I did, I would not change my last name. Didn't have kids;didn't want kids, so many of the complicating issues were not present in my situation.

I understand. The name custom came from the days when a woman became her husband's property. I understand that customs do change and that more young women are changing their names again. My husband said he fell in love with love with the person I was and the name I had. Choice is a good thing. Back in the day, we were buying a house just after we got married, and we explained our names to the bank and signed our application papers accordingly, but when we went to close on the house, tne bank had changed my name to my husband's! I told them that I could not sign that, and they wanted to argue with me. I had to explain to the bank that no law required me to change my name, under which I had been writing for publication since age 15. They kept telling me to "just sign the papers," and I kept telling them that no such person existed and that I had to sign with my legal name! We left, they redid the paperwork, and we closed on the house a few days later. We were the first such couple they had encountered. But we never used that bank again.

Re: Have you ever legally changed your name?

libbyannE — Thu, 13 Oct 2016 02:38:47 GMT

@Mary Bailey wrote:
DH works with a man that took his wife's last name.

I took DH last name when we married.

when I see hyphenated last names I wonder what they do when they marry, more hyphens?

@Mary Bailey

hi. Good question. No answer. My husband and I actually talked about both of us changing our names to our two names hyphenated, and he was willing. But we decided that we were each who we were and why should either of us change our names? We've been married 42 years. I think it was healthy for the marriage that I preserved my identity. Where I grew up, it was common for children to have their mother's maiden name as their middle name, so combining names for children is only a hyphen away from tradition, anyway. Due to health issues in my 20s and early 30s, we never had children, so who knows what would have happened? Our cats, heh heh, have different names-- some have my last blame and sone have my husband's! Really.

Re: Have you ever legally changed your name?

Bellabutterfly — Thu, 13 Oct 2016 03:10:42 GMT

The same thing happened to my Mother. She was born in the 1920's, in the United States, both of her parents were Polish immigrants.

Here my Mother was filing for a US Passport to travel to Europe with my Father, this was in the 1980's. My Mother needed her birth certificate. She had to write the courthouse to get a copy.

Well, here when it arrived it stated Antonio...and her last name. She was like, "What"?

She asked Mother, who was at that time now 90 yrs old, "Mom what happened how can this be"? My grandmother said, "We wanted to call you Antoinette". The doctor made a mistake.

She goes, "Ok that makes sense, but how come I grew up with the name Emily all my life"?

My grandmother, "Well your father thought about it and said no, lets pick another name...He picked Emily". They never gave it any thought to tell anyone of the change.

Well, my Mother went to a lot of trouble to get her legal name change to what she knew all of her life..."Emily".

Re: Have you ever legally changed your name?

Leu — Thu, 13 Oct 2016 03:28:56 GMT

Just to my married name, and I was so glad to do it. I had an awful maiden name, a common English word synonymous with dirty, so I couldn't wait to charge it. If I'd had a different last name, I might have kept it.

Re: Have you ever legally changed your name?

ECBG — Thu, 13 Oct 2016 03:51:37 GMT

Right after 9/11, when I went to renew my driver's license, I was told my license, checking account, and social security needed to all agree.

I was one of those people who always went by the nickname from my middle name.

I wouldn't want to have to do any more. That was enough!

Re: Have you ever legally changed your name?

Mz iMac — Thu, 13 Oct 2016 04:21:30 GMT

Nope! Kept my maiden name when I married. Just did. I knew there was no law stating I had to.

My child had my husband last name. She changed it to mine after she turned 21. She also kept her name when she married. Her child (my GS) has the last name too.

Speaking of birth certificates....

My 63 year old baby brother found out 5 yrs ago his birth "day" was not the day he thought it was.

He needed it for a cruise. His BC was lost so my mother sent away for another one. Everyone was shocked when it stated he was born on the 31st. My mother still swears he was born on the 30th. I told my brother at least she got the month right.

Now he celebrates for 2 days straight.

Re: Have you ever legally changed your name?

Shorty2U — Thu, 13 Oct 2016 04:52:42 GMT

Yes. After my first marriage ended I legally changed my LAST name back to my Italian maiden name. I talked it over with my children first, because that would mean I wouldn't have had their last name anymore and they said it didn't bother them.

Well I am remarried now as of almost 10 years, and I don't have my maiden Italian name anymore anyway. lol. Yes I took my 2nd husbands last name. He didn't care either way and I was going to hyphenate, but I didn't.

Re: Have you ever legally changed your name?

ALRATIBA — Thu, 13 Oct 2016 04:55:48 GMT

Yes!

Re: Have you ever legally changed your name?

mistriTsquirrel — Thu, 13 Oct 2016 05:57:59 GMT

No...but my brother did recently.

He's now "Lisa."

I know that I'm going to have to start referring to him as "her" and "my sister" soon...but I still haven't fully adjusted to the change.

Re: Have you ever legally changed your name?

NYwoman — Thu, 13 Oct 2016 06:14:15 GMT

I legally changed my name. After my divorce and after my child was grown, I decided to get rid of my previously married name. I found a name I was comfortable having and paid the court fee, went before a Judge to declare no evil intentions, and got my new name. I updated all my records, including SSA.

Re: Have you ever legally changed your name?

truffle — Thu, 13 Oct 2016 07:43:34 GMT

@libbyannE wrote:
@Goldengate8361 wrote:
@libbyannE -good for you! Years ago, when I was briefly married, I didn't change mine either. Never remarried, but if I did, I would not change my last name. Didn't have kids;didn't want kids, so many of the complicating issues were not present in my situation.
I understand. The name custom came from the days when a woman became her husband's property. I understand that customs do change and that more young women are changing their names again. My husband said he fell in love with love with the person I was and the name I had. Choice is a good thing. Back in the day, we were buying a house just after we got married, and we explained our names to the bank and signed our application papers accordingly, but when we went to close on the house, tne bank had changed my name to my husband's! I told them that I could not sign that, and they wanted to argue with me. I had to explain to the bank that no law required me to change my name, under which I had been writing for publication since age 15. They kept telling me to "just sign the papers," and I kept telling them that no such person existed and that I had to sign with my legal name! We left, they redid the paperwork, and we closed on the house a few days later. We were the first such couple they had encountered. But we never used that bank again.

Wow! Good for you and your resolve. Had I been in that position I think my husband would have become exasperated and told me to just sign so we could leave and I probably would have.