Legal name change is a subject that is very dear to me. The first case I ever argued before a judge was a name change. I was fresh out of law school and waiting for the results of the South Carolina Bar Exam. I intended to open my own law practice as soon as I passed the Exam and was sworn into the Bar, which I hoped would happen in November. I was engaged to be married the following August; it was a year full of new beginnings and a bright future. A divorcee, I had taken my first husband’s name when we married primarily because he wanted me to, and when I resumed my maiden name after the divorce I decided that I would never again take a spouse’s name. My fiancé has a son though, a child who would call me to come over for “family hugs” with him and his dad, before he got too big for hugs to be cool anymore. Something about the bond that I have with my future stepson, and the prospect of being a stepmother, compelled me to want to share a name with my new family.
I struggled with how I was going to juggle creating an identity for a law firm at a time when my personal identity was likely to be changing within the next year. Always practical, I didn’t want to have to reincorporate under a new name, have a new logo designed, and order new business cards after the wedding. And I was concerned about losing the reputation I had established for myself professionally under my maiden name if I were to change my name at a later date. So I decided to ask the court to allow me to take my future husband’s name immediately, so that I could “develop a continuous professional identity.”
While a woman taking her husband’s name is a common reason for a name change, one need not be a bride to wish to take their new spouse's name. Rumor has it that when my own parents married, they flipped a coin to decide whether they would take my father’s name, or my mother’s (suspiciously, my dad’s side of the coin won). Just a few months ago, a Greenville man encountered complications with the DMV when he attempted to take his new wife’s name, although he did prevail in the end, with DMV stating that the denial of his request was in error, and that DMV policy since 2006 was to allow either husband or wife to keep their pre-married name, take their spouse’s name, or take any combination of the two.
Nor is marriage the only reason a person might change their name. Perhaps you are known by a nickname, or have always spelled your name differently than it is listed on your birth certificate, and want a legal name change to ensure that the name you are known by matches your legal identity. If you carry the surname of an absentee parent that you no longer wish to be identified with, a legal name change could be a good option for you to disassociate yourself. Or a parent may wish to petition to court for a name change for their minor child, often because the child’s legal name is not the name commonly used, or in the case of a step-parent adoption. A name change is a very personal thing, and although there are no guarantees that the court will ever grant a name change, any reason that is not intended for illegal or fraudulent purposes is a good reason.
My own name change has presented some complications. Many people have, quite understandably, assumed that my fiancé and I have already married, a misconception that I am quick to set straight since South Carolina is one of the few states that recognizes common law marriage (another post for another day). I thought I would wait until after the wedding to announce my new name to my extended family, forgetting that some of my aunts and uncles were friends with me on Facebook and would see my new name when I linked my personal page to my firm page, leading to a concerned email from my uncle and a confused phone call from my grandfather. My father has called my actions “weird”, and I don’t entirely disagree with him. I think though that my personal experience allows me to better understand that my potential clients may have their own unique reasons for seeking a legal name change.
I struggled with how I was going to juggle creating an identity for a law firm at a time when my personal identity was likely to be changing within the next year. Always practical, I didn’t want to have to reincorporate under a new name, have a new logo designed, and order new business cards after the wedding. And I was concerned about losing the reputation I had established for myself professionally under my maiden name if I were to change my name at a later date. So I decided to ask the court to allow me to take my future husband’s name immediately, so that I could “develop a continuous professional identity.”
While a woman taking her husband’s name is a common reason for a name change, one need not be a bride to wish to take their new spouse's name. Rumor has it that when my own parents married, they flipped a coin to decide whether they would take my father’s name, or my mother’s (suspiciously, my dad’s side of the coin won). Just a few months ago, a Greenville man encountered complications with the DMV when he attempted to take his new wife’s name, although he did prevail in the end, with DMV stating that the denial of his request was in error, and that DMV policy since 2006 was to allow either husband or wife to keep their pre-married name, take their spouse’s name, or take any combination of the two.
Nor is marriage the only reason a person might change their name. Perhaps you are known by a nickname, or have always spelled your name differently than it is listed on your birth certificate, and want a legal name change to ensure that the name you are known by matches your legal identity. If you carry the surname of an absentee parent that you no longer wish to be identified with, a legal name change could be a good option for you to disassociate yourself. Or a parent may wish to petition to court for a name change for their minor child, often because the child’s legal name is not the name commonly used, or in the case of a step-parent adoption. A name change is a very personal thing, and although there are no guarantees that the court will ever grant a name change, any reason that is not intended for illegal or fraudulent purposes is a good reason.
My own name change has presented some complications. Many people have, quite understandably, assumed that my fiancé and I have already married, a misconception that I am quick to set straight since South Carolina is one of the few states that recognizes common law marriage (another post for another day). I thought I would wait until after the wedding to announce my new name to my extended family, forgetting that some of my aunts and uncles were friends with me on Facebook and would see my new name when I linked my personal page to my firm page, leading to a concerned email from my uncle and a confused phone call from my grandfather. My father has called my actions “weird”, and I don’t entirely disagree with him. I think though that my personal experience allows me to better understand that my potential clients may have their own unique reasons for seeking a legal name change.
