What’s probably sad, is I kept my current last name, which I hate (it’s the end of the alphabet and it rhymes with ‘rooster’) as a middle name to appease my parents. Which isn’t really working, but…
My full name is going from three names with 17 letters total to four names with 30 letters total. But then, I’m not planning on regularly using my middle names. (My current middle name is ‘Marie’ which is about as generic as you can get - no I’m not latino either. My new middle name will be Katherine, which is beautiful and has lots of possible nicknames. Which I realize isn’t really an issue at this point in life, but still.)
(Love you guys, but I’m not posting my first and last name on a random forum.)
For those making a similar statement, I did just that. 20 years ago, in California. Easy as cake.
Now come to renew my driver’s license in another state, and the SSN data doesn’t exactly match the DL name (close, but no cigar). So now I can’t renew my DL unless I produce documents showing that:
My name on the fed tax forms exactly matches
My name on the Driver’s License and
Exactly matches my birth certificate or court-ordered name change.
No exceptions, no allowances, no nothing. It’s all to prevent terrorism, of course :rolleyes: , but meanwhile, I can’t do shit unless I want to legally change my name again.
So be warned. It may be easy now, but 20 years later, watch out.
I’ve been considering doing this for a few years now and haven’t yet because it seems too daunting. Maryland is a usage state, but it seems like not having an official piece of paper might be inviting trouble. The actual court procedure involves a $105 fee, filing some forms with the county, and then publishing a notice. That’s not so bad, but anything involving the phrase “at the Department of Motor Vehicles” gives me the willies. Around here, that means bringing at least a 250-page novel.
