Have you ever legally changed your first name?

[Upgradable]

I was watching the credits from a film recently and a question hit me. Did these peoples' mother's give them these names at birth? Many seem quite unusual, even given credit for cultural differences.

Have you changed yours? Why?

 

[Dancing Fire]

yes,when i became a U.S.citizen in 77. i was born with a chinese name then changed to an american name.

 

[mary poppins]

I know someone who did. She dropped her first name and uses her middle name as her first name. She thought her given first name was too ethnic.

 

[rosetta]

I know someone who did. She dropped her first name and uses her middle name as her first name. She thought her given first name was too ethnic.

I changed mine when I was eight. Or rather I convinced my parents to do so!

 

[sonnyjane]

My mom did in college. My grandma and my mom were both named Theresa. My mom went by Terri but for official documents, she still had to put Theresa which she really didn't like, so she changed it legally to Terri.

 

[Clio]

My husband did. When he started school, his parents let him pick an American name. That was the name he used for everything, though his Vietnamese name remained his legal name. At some point after we got married, he had it changed so that his American name is now his legal first name. Originally, he had 2 middle names, and he dropped one of those too.

 

[Deactivated member 42515]

My childhood best friend was named Isabel. But she hated it so she made everyone call her Lisa starting from about 2nd grade. And eventually changed her name legally in high school.

My name is misspelled thanks to my English as a second language parents. So everyone always mispronounces my name. It's not a hard name. The way it's pronounced, it needs to have one "N" but has two so the vowel is mispronounced. I've always wanted to change it. Just take out that one little "N" that's ruining it for all of them!

 

[mary poppins]

YayTacori's post reminded me about a friend from high school whose name was Lara. She changed it to Laura.

 

[rosetta]

I now think yaytacori's real name is Jenna!

Or maybe Hannah.

 

[rosetta]

Ok I misread.

Is it mona? Lena? Mina? Tina?

The mind boggles.

 

[Deactivated member 42515]

I now think yaytacori's real name is Jenna!

Or maybe Hannah.

Haha! That could be a fun thread! "Guess my name!"

 

[Upgradable]

I know someone who did. She dropped her first name and uses her middle name as her first name. She thought her given first name was too ethnic.

I changed mine when I was eight. Or rather I convinced my parents to do so!

Why?

My cousin had her parents legally change her name when she was in high school. Her given name was Kimberly. She changed it to Kymberly.

 

[isaku5]

My childhood best friend was named Isabel. But she hated it so she made everyone call her Lisa starting from about 2nd grade. And eventually changed her name legally in high school.

My name is misspelled thanks to my English as a second language parents. So everyone always mispronounces my name. It's not a hard name. The way it's pronounced, it needs to have one "N" but has two so the vowel is mispronounced. I've always wanted to change it. Just take out that one little "N" that's ruining it for all of them!

I've always liked my name and the way it is spelled. I was named after my mother's best lifetime friend. She became a doctor way back when females had difficulty getting a place in medical school. She eventually went to Johns Hopkins Hospital where she became a very successful surgeon.

 

[CJ2008]

Yes...I hated my first name all my life...ditched it and kept my middle one.

 

[AprilBaby]

I know someone who did. She dropped her first name and uses her middle name as her first name. She thought her given first name was too ethnic.

I changed mine when I was eight. Or rather I convinced my parents to do so!

Why?

My cousin had her parents legally change her name when she was in high school. Her given name was Kimberly. She changed it to Kymberly.

I was wondering the same thing..what was wrong with your name at 8 that your parents agreed to change it?

 

[TC1987]

I know 2 women who changed their names. They had strong feelings that their first names were too much of a "my-parents-just-made-it-up" kind of thing, and they both wanted conventional names that sounded like upper middle class. So, they changed, because they wanted names that would conform to the norms in the careers they've chosen.

 

[justginger]

I was named after my grandmother, who hated the name enough as to only be known by her middle name. Not sure why my mother thought I'd do any better with it.

Regardless, I've been known by a nickname my whole life. NO ONE calls me by my given name, not even my parents when I was in trouble growing up! In fact, they routinely call me by an even further shortened version of my nickname. Despite that, the fact I am never known by my given name, the thought of changing it has never occurred to me. I'd feel guilty - it was the name my mother gave me, and I'd hate for her to feel like one of her most exciting, biggest decisions when having a baby girl was...wrong.

I'll stick with my nickname. The real name isn't bad enough to constitute a switch - most people who know of it think it's a nice enough name, but after 28 years of being called something else, it's just not me.

 

[Maria D]

I'm another one that was officially named one name but called something else. I've never had my name officially, legally changed to the one I am called but over time have managed to have all important documents (social security number, passport, license, university transcripts) put in the name I'm called rather than the one on my birth certificate.

When I was pregnant with my daughter, my mom was bugging me to know what names we were considering. I didn't want to tell her (or any family members) because I didn't want opinions. She kept pestering me, then tells me that she always liked the name Nicole, what did I think of that? I went ballistic - she had the chance to name ME Nicole but named me one thing (not a "cool" name) and called me something else! I coulda been "Nicki!"

 

[KaeKae]

There is nothing wrong with my first name, except that my parents chose a less common spelling, which means I always have to spell it out for people. However, it's not a good fit with my maiden name. That became a non-issue when I got married and chose to use my husband's name. But the advent of Facebook has brought my maiden name back in to play. I use it there, in order to connect with old friends, and here I am, back to using my almost-but-not-quite rhyming last name, in one place, anyway. Half way through high school, some one suggested I go by my middle name. I wish I had done that starting in college, but too late, didn't think of it at the time.

 

[cygnet]

I am planning on legally changing my first name sometime within the next year or two. I hated my name when I was growing up, so I started going by Charlie when I was 18 (I am 24 now). No one calls me by my first name except for my relatives and I don't mind if they call me by my legal name (because they're used to it) but I really don't like the name very much. I am stumped as to what to do for my wedding. Do I change my first name at the same time I change my last name? Should I put my given name or my nickname on the wedding invites?? Ack, so confusing.

 

[sonnyjane]

I am planning on legally changing my first name sometime within the next year or two. I hated my name when I was growing up, so I started going by Charlie when I was 18 (I am 24 now). No one calls me by my first name except for my relatives and I don't mind if they call me by my legal name (because they're used to it) but I really don't like the name very much. I am stumped as to what to do for my wedding. Do I change my first name at the same time I change my last name? Should I put my given name or my nickname on the wedding invites?? Ack, so confusing.

Depends on the state in which you live. Some states are really strict about name changes, especially your first name. Others (Florida comes to mind), lets you change your name to just about anything you desire (first, middle, and last) provided you were going to change it anyway. For example, when my mom got divorced, she had paperwork to change her name. She obviously intended to only change her last name, but they explained to her that she could pick any name she wanted (could literally make it up) and it would be fine.

 

[cygnet]

I live in WA, which is pretty good about allowing name changes. It's been a while since I last read the name change criteria, but I'm pretty sure that all name changes are approved as long as they aren't ridiculous. Mine won't be too out of the ordinary, though I do have a friend whose son changed his name to Maxxx, which I thought was pretty entertaining. I'm not sure how that one slipped through the cracks, as it seems to be a pretty obvious joke name change.

 

[Deactivated member 42515]

I live in WA, which is pretty good about allowing name changes. It's been a while since I last read the name change criteria, but I'm pretty sure that all name changes are approved as long as they aren't ridiculous. Mine won't be too out of the ordinary, though I do have a friend whose son changed his name to Maxxx, which I thought was pretty entertaining. I'm not sure how that one slipped through the cracks, as it seems to be a pretty obvious joke name change.

Thats awesome cygnet! I'm in Washington also. East, West, North or South? You should come to the next GTG. I'm glad you took Gypsy's advice and you are staying around and posting more. Good to see you in hangout!

 

[VRBeauty]

yes,when i became a U.S.citizen in 77. i was born with a chinese name then changed to an american name.

Ditto. My given name (first two names, actually) was Chinese and my middle name (third of four) was the "western" name everybody used. I was forever forgetting which I used as my "first" name on forms etc., so when I was naturalized, I switched the order to reflect the way I actually used my name.

 

[cygnet]

Thats awesome cygnet! I'm in Washington also. East, West, North or South? You should come to the next GTG. I'm glad you took Gypsy's advice and you are staying around and posting more. Good to see you in hangout!

Yay! I'm in Western Washington. Sammamish, actually. You? I would love to come to a GTG! That must be the only time when it's socially acceptable to ogle someone else's diamonds... Are the GTGs very often? (sorry if threadjacking!)

 

[Deactivated member 42515]

Thats awesome cygnet! I'm in Washington also. East, West, North or South? You should come to the next GTG. I'm glad you took Gypsy's advice and you are staying around and posting more. Good to see you in hangout!

Yay! I'm in Western Washington. Sammamish, actually. You? I would love to come to a GTG! That must be the only time when it's socially acceptable to ogle someone else's diamonds... Are the GTGs very often? (sorry if threadjacking!)

Quick threadjack OP

I'm about 2 and a half hours away from you in Eastern WA. We usually talk about GTGs in Spring or Summer when people are readily available and the weather isn't too bad.