Several years ago, I got married, and changed my last name by way of signing the marriage license with my new name, first and last only. I went to the Social Security office too, and got a new card with my new name, and it shows only first and last. My new driver’s license had a middle initial on it.
Well, I got divorced (not recently) and didn’t change my name with the divorce paperwork (I didn’t know I could until it was too late to change the paperwork). So now I’m trying to change my name back with a Petition for Name Change, and it wants my full legal name. Did I give up my middle name by not signing it on the marriage license? A quick survey of people I know revealed that they all had their middle names on their Social Security card, except one who only has a middle initial.
Thats certainly the case in the UK, I’ve not used my real name in 6 years. Only my bank has it because I’ve had the account longer. I asked my solicitor about it and he said almost exactly what Chronos just said.
My maternal grandmother gave her four daughters no middle names, assuming they would all get married. Thus all their married names were Firstname Maidenname Husband’sname.
That isn’t as important as you might think because names can change through a lifetime sometimes just by adopting a new one/ Chronos is right that names are hardly regulated at all in the U.S. You can just adopt a new one or a variation of an old one and start using it. However, this doesn’t take care of everything because the federal government has some databases like the Social Security database that they may require some type of court petition to change their version of your name. Those tend to be routine.
Variations on names aren’t usually a problem at all. My first name is a family name and never meant to be used. I have always gone by my middle name but I have signed official documents with every variation of initials and parts left out that there are. It has caused exactly 0 problems in my life and it is a fairly common thing for people to do.
I actually have a little experience in a very similar matter.
The case here was of a man who had no fist name entered on his birth certificate for whatever reason. Apparently this is causing him some trouble now that he wants a bank account. The man in question (let’s call him John Doe) is homeless, and is receiving pro bono legal help in this matter from a large law firm here. I’m the bike messenger that got sent to the probate court to file the paperwork. The first attempt was a petition to correct a birth certificate. This didn’t work because the court seems to think that the name on his birth certificate is correct by definition, and he has merely been using an incorrect name for the last 55 years. They told him he would have to change his name (a far more expensive filing).
Well, some time later I end up trying to do that as well. This time, the clerk rejected the paperwork because the lawyer had filled it in as if his name was actually John Doe, rather than just Doe, and he had signed everythhing “John Doe”. And had omitted “John Doe” and “Doe” from the line where the actual names to change to and from were supposed to be. As far as the probate court is concerned, his name is Doe, and this whole John Doe name he’s been using his whole life is not his real name.
As far as I know, the matter has still not been resolved.
My advice would be to bring the marriage certificate with you as proof of what your name is, and fill out the paperwork using that name, letter for letter, wherever it asks your name. And be prepared to spend a lot of time dealing with the issue.
Naturally, this may be completely different where you are. FWIW, the above story occurred in Suffolk County, Massachusetts. And I’m not entirely convinced that things wouldn’t have turned out differently had I come on another time or talked to a different clerk.
My birth certificate has my middle name on it, but I’ve been through two name changes since I was born (one when I was a minor, and then the one when I got married). To try to make this simpler (names made up):
Birth certificate: Mary Jane Smith
First name change: Mary Jane Smith-Jones
Signed on marriage certificate: Mary Green
Social Security card received after marraige: Mary Green
Name I want back: Mary Jane Smith
The blank name change petition I have has blanks labeled “Full Legal Name”. I’d like to be as sure as possible that my full legal name is Mary Green, so that the paperwork doesn’t get sent back to be redone with Mary Jane Green in those blanks. (Yeah, some places in the US let you change your name just by starting to use the new name, but my state isn’t one of them - I need the new Social Security card to get a different name on my driver’s license).
A tangent: a guy in my father’s law office had no middle name; his initials were HT. Three-initial abbreviations were used by everyone in the office for memos, phone codes, etc. HT let the secretaries choose a middle initial for him.
The Social Security Administration keeps track of all names used for a number. Getting a new card with the name you want can be as simple as going to the local office and asking for it.
