No, I’m not trying to off someone and make it legit…it’a about changing my name.
even sven’s thread over in IMHO got me thinking…what if I were to change my name. There’s only one thing I would change it to…bouv. Everyone calls me bouv (well, everyone but family.) I don’t want a last name, or a first name, just a middle name- bouv. How legal is this? Do I need a surname? If most forms of ID use a first and last name, would mine all be blank? Or maybe just a b for the middle initial? Desperate minds need to know!
Hell, The Artist Formerly Known as Prince That Temporarily Had a Brain Cramp To be Named a Symbol And Is Once Again Known as Prince was able to change his “name”. How weird is that? Does anyone know if Prince changed it legally?
IANAL so I can’t say that you are required to have a surname but I doubt it. (It is painfully obvious that we need more lawyers on this board to provide pro bono advice). I know middle names/initials are not required and that a woman’s taking a man’s name in marriage is tradition, not law.
IANAL (obviously), but as far as I know you can call yourself anything you like. I don’t think you even need to get it “legally” changed, although the gubmint seems to prefer that you do something formal.
Check with your local county clerk. I doubt there’s much of a procedure involved. In Texas, you file a petition containing certain information, including the reason for the change, and if the judge doesn’t think you’re a total wingnut, the name change is granted. The Texas statutes about name changes are in the Family Code, chapter 45.
But, that costs money. There’s no law stating that you have to pronounce your name a certain way. Just tell everyone, “Oh, sure my name is spelled Mr. Or Mrs. John Smith, but it’s pronounced ‘bouv’.”
searches through memory Assuming I am remembering this properly, I think you could use any name you liked as long as: you aren’t using it for illegal purposes (to get out of a lawsuit, imitate someone else, etc.) and you can prove that you are you if you need to. So, you could (in theory) have your credit card in the name ‘bouv’, bank account, etc., so long as you could prove that you are the person/leagal entity known as ‘bouv’. Notarized statement of ‘doing buisness as’ (which perhaps Prince did a variation of?), or something that legally connects you with the name should be sufficient.
Of course, since IANALawyer, etc., etc., you’ll want to take this with a grain of salt, since I don’t know how accurate this memory is. Or even if it’s currently valid. Hmm, something to do research on…
Hmm, something to do research on…