# Question about aliases **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 23, 2011, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-aliases/575706 "2011-03-23T10:01:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2011, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-aliases/575706/21 "2011-03-26T18:33:05Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Doesn’t Canada also have the whole legal name thing where you ahve to file to get your name officially changed? I could have sworn that’s come up in the debate about a wife taking her husband’s name. Québec does, but AFAIK, not the rest of Canada. Getting married in Québec does not give a free legal name change the way it does in most other jurisdictions. From the [Justice Québec](http://www.justice.gouv.qc.ca/english/publications/generale/maria-a.htm#names) (ministry in charge of marriage) website: > [@](#): > > Spouses’ names > > Both spouses keep their birth names after marriage and continue to exercise their civil rights under that name, i.e. they must use their birth name in contracts, on credit cards, on their driver’s licence, etc. > > This rule applies to all spouses domiciled in Québec, even if they were married outside Québec. > > However, women married before April 2, 1981 who were already using their husband’s surname before that date may continue to exercise their civil rights under their married name. I don’t know what the motivation is/was behind this regulation, other than perhaps cost-savings/ease of record-keeping. To legally change your name, it must be done through the courts and/or the _Directeur de l’état civil_, as described [here](http://www.etatcivil.gouv.qc.ca/en/change-name.html). Everyone eligible must go through that route if they want to change their names, newlyweds included. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2011, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-aliases/575706/22 "2011-03-26T19:50:43Z")
I seem to remember an old Dragnet episode, where a character called himself Mike Coopersmith, but some witness saw him sign something as just plain “Mike Smith”, which she thought was suspicious. It turned out his name was in fact Smith, but his middle name was Cooper, but he preferred to use Coopersmith in his everyday dealings. As I recall, at the end of the episode, where they listed what happened to the characters, “Michael Cooper Smith” was “found guilty of whatever and sentenced to nine months in jail” . ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2011, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-aliases/575706/23 "2011-03-27T04:52:25Z")
IIRC - the common wisdon I have heard in Canada (except Quebec, see above) is: As mentioned you can use whatever name you want, as long as it is not for fraud. Some guy ran for mayor of Toronto once as “Rik of the Universe”. However, your “legal” name is the one you were born with, unless you change it legally. Driver’s licenses and passports, especially since 9/11, they want to match up with real legal documentation. When you marry - may vary between provinces - you can at the time of marriage assume the spouse’s surname. This then becomes your legal name. Originally this applied to the wife, but I know a few couples that have adopted each other’s surname with a hyphen. Not sure if this was a legal name change. If you don’t do it at the time of marriage, you cannot assume the surname later on without a legal name change. Yes, I knew one fellow in our company from the middle east who was called “Sam”. At a get-to-know-us-all dinner in 2003, he said “one thing about me you may not know is that ‘Sam’ is short for ‘Osama’.” His co-workers then launched into a rendition of “Ohhh-sama, Ohhh-sama” to the tune of “Oh Donna” by Ritchie Valens. I sense this ribbing had happened before. (I also saw a guy at a computer convention once with the name tag “Rhett Butler”; I asked him “Joke nametag?” and he replied it was his real name; he semed mystified why anyone would doubt this. Whereas a co-worker David Crockett’s parents just had a cruel sense of humour. ) ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2011, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-aliases/575706/24 "2011-03-27T09:27:53Z")
> [@mnemosyne](#): > > Québec does, but AFAIK, not the rest of Canada. It would be odd if the remaining provinces didn’t have some procedure in place to get your name change recognized by the government and thus have it reflected in your government-issued ID. A quick check shows that Ontario and Saskatchewan both have official procedures. You can find the government procedures for name changes by doing a web search for something like _provincename name change_. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2011, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-aliases/575706/25 "2011-03-27T13:24:09Z")
Oh and there are situations in the United Stqtes when you can get a “free” chance to change your name. For example, if you apply to be naturalized as a citizen, there’s a space right on the form where you can indicate a name change. Also, in some states, form to apply for marriage licenses also have this option. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2011, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-aliases/575706/26 "2011-03-27T17:53:34Z")
FWIW, I can use my husband’s name socially (and several of my friends wish I would, since he has an awesome last name!) but all my legal paperwork remains in my name. I didn’t want to deal with essentially having two names, so I never bothered to use his name even in social situations. It’s a great telemarketer filter though “Hi, may I speak to Mrs. D-?” “Nope, sorry, no one by that name here, please remove this number from your call list!” ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2011, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-aliases/575706/27 "2011-03-27T19:27:59Z")
My husband was given the same first name as his father, on his birth certificate. But was always called by his second name, (which was actually his mother’s maiden name!). While in high school he worked a summer at a children’s camp doing maintenance. While there, someone gifted him an old gas jockey shirt with the name ‘Bob’ embroidered on it. So the campers took to calling him Bob, and soon everyone was doing it. Tres amusing. When he returned to school, which included a couple of the campers, it spread. Until he simply went by ‘Bob’. That’s what he was called when I met him, and what I’ve always called him. Simple, right? Not so fast - his first paycheque came under Bob, and he had to have it switched. When he got his passport he reverted back to his real name. Once we’d been together for some time I began to interact with his family more, and constantly stumbled over referring to him as ‘Bob’. It seemed disrespectful to the people who gave him his name. But, eventually, I just gave up and called him what I was always used to, ‘Bob’, they didn’t seem to mind. After a few more years, it got so the bank would take cheques made out to Bob, without so much as a blink. So I guess you can just decide to change it and you’re good to go. But whenever I have to call a Dr, or Dentist, or such, it’s a royal pain in the ass, as he effectively has 3 names which his file could be under. In addition, his last name is extremely common.☹ ---
**Author:** ![Cheshire\_Human](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2011, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-aliases/575706/28 "2011-03-27T21:32:24Z")
> [@Cheshire\_Human](#): > > Amusing name change story, when my brother was in college in Chicago… > [@acsenray](#): > > “Legally” changed and changed back? I don’t believe it. Generally a legal name change in the United States means petitioning a court to issue a certificate of name change. It’s not goo involved, but you go before a judge and tell him why you want ho change. Generally the judge eill just confirm that there’s no funny budiness going on. For ghd oat part the judge will go along, but if it’s for some shady reason like ghat, I just don’t see it happening so easily. I’m just repeating the story as I heard it. I don’t stand behind any of it. It’s all hearsay. Got a problem with it, take it up with God. I’m sure he’ll care. ---
**Author:** ![Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Springtime_for_Spacers)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2011, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-aliases/575706/29 "2011-03-27T22:07:19Z")
> [@A.Gwilliam](#): > > In English law your “legal name” is whatever you choose to call yourself. > > It’s commonly assumed that the name on your birth certificate is your “official” name, but it has no greater **legal** status than any other name you may be known by; indeed, if you’ve never been known by the name on your birth certificate, then it’s never been your legal name. > > Also, there’s nothing in English law to prevent someone (other than with the intention to deceive or defraud) from having more than one legal name in use **at the same time**. So an actor could quite legally use their “stage name” for “real life” activities. > > A deed poll doesn’t change a person’s name; it formally records that the person has changed their name. A subtle but substantive difference. In contrast, obtaining a royal warrant for a change of name would (I guess) mean that your legal name was formally changed by that instrument itself. I think there have even been odd occasions when changes of name have been done via an Act of Parliament. Obviously those sorts of changes are only ever going to happen when large sums of money are involved, presumably via inheritance. > > Having said all the above, what the law says is **one** thing; convincing government departments, immigration officials, banks, etc. etc. is quite another! 🙂 > ETA: > By “those sorts of changes”, I wasn’t including deed polls. I live in the UK and went by two different names for many years (it’s complicated and a bit dull). I recently got a deed poll to change to my preferred name precisely because it was the easiest way to get it changed over for all official purposes not because there was any legal requirement to do so. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2011, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-aliases/575706/30 "2011-03-28T11:33:16Z")
Spain is one of the countries where changing your name _officially_ requires paperwork, but it also has what we could call “logical aliases”. If your name was Robert Charles Wilson-Smithers, the Spanish government considers “Bob”, “Bobby”, “Charles”, “Charlie”, “Chuck”, “Bob Wilson”, “Chuck Wilson”, “Bobby Smithers” and any other combination which is an evident shortening of the whole name a “logical alias”; they wouldn’t even list it in a list of aliases. This may include shortenings and substitutions which are not so evident: “Pepe” is often used for guys called “José” - this isn’t obvious if you’re not familiar with it, but it’s obvious here. I have a very complicated name and the US government has over 20 “aliases” listed for me, of which all but one are shortenings or typos and would therefore not be considered aliases under Spanish law (the last one is “María García” and I imagine it’s linked to a call I once had from a debt collector asking whether I was her - apparently that debt led to Uncle Sam thinking that any María-anything living in Florida at the time went by that name). On the other hand, if you had that same name and introduced yourself as “Frank” or “the great Houdinani”, _that_ would be listed under “known aliases” (in the second case and if it was a stage name you would be able to trademark it; not the first one because it’s a very common name). ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2011, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-aliases/575706/31 "2011-03-28T12:11:50Z")
A guy named Bill Koch pronounced his last name as coke. He got tired of everyone saying it wrong so he asked to get his name changed to Koch is it. (after the Coke ads) but the court denied his request. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-aliases/575706.md?page=1)