Legally Changing Your First Name

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Ask Saul… I mean Paul 😁

I agree that in itself it is not sinful, but the motivation behind it could be. For example, if a person changes their name from Stan Smith to Satan Smith to show their disdain for God, that sounds sinful to me. But if a person simply does not like their first name and prefers another, I see nothing sinful in that. My mom never liked her given name, Roseanna, and has always used Anne instead. I guess she legally changed it at some point, since Anne is on all her legal documents now.
 
christofirst said:
Ask Saul… I mean Paul 😁

I agree that in itself it is not sinful, but the motivation behind it could be. For example, if a person changes their name from Stan Smith to Satan Smith to show their disdain for God, that sounds sinful to me. But if a person simply does not like their first name and prefers another, I see nothing sinful in that. My mom never liked her given name, Roseanna, and has always used Anne instead. I guess she legally changed it at some point, since Anne is on all her legal documents now.
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Not to mention Abram/Abraham, Jacob/Israel, Simon/Peter, Nathanael/Bartholomew, Matthew/Levi or Pope Jorge/Francis …
 
I am changing it to align with my ancestry. What would the implications be for ones baptism and marriage certs etc?
 
Bare_Feet said:
I am changing it to align with my ancestry. What would the implications be for ones baptism and marriage certs etc?
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I would think you’d just need to keep a record of your legal name change to show that the person who was baptized or married was actually you.

It’s not going to invalidate your baptism or anything if that’s the fear.
 
Not a sin but it can give you some practical problems (see for examples all what people have to do when they change name/last name after getting married or becoming citizen).
The other thing to consider is that often parents pick a name for a reason, so unless they named you Adolf or Lemon, they may feel offended by your desire to change your name.
 
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We are baptised by our first name. As we are instructed in christening preparations, God know us and call us by our name. Why we would change it?
 
Anicette said:
We are baptised by our first name. As we are instructed in christening preparations, God know us and call us by our name. Why we would change it?
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Witness protection and entering religious life, to name a couple.
 
A new name to enter religious life don’t change the first name legally.

Witness protection is to prevent harm. it is not for reasons of choice.
 
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Bare_Feet said:
I am changing it to align with my ancestry. What would the implications be for ones baptism and marriage certs etc?
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Even if you change your name legally you would not be able to change it on your baptism certificate or your wedding certificate. What is on these certificates is fixed permanently.
 
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Fauken said:
Witness protection and entering religious life, to name a couple.
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Mental health.
Montrose said:
Even if you change your name legally you would not be able to change it on your baptism certificate or your wedding certificate. What is on these certificate is fixed permanently.
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Wait really? I can finally shed that name without looking back?
 
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Then you have those who were saddled by their parents with names that were selected for “uniqueness” or “to stick it to the Man, man” and now want to put that behind them.
 
Anrakyr said:
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Fauken:
Witness protection and entering religious life, to name a couple.
Click to expand...
Mental health.
Montrose said:
Even if you change your name legally you would not be able to change it on your baptism certificate or your wedding certificate. What is on these certificate is fixed permanently.
Click to expand...
Wait really? I can finally shed that name without looking back?
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It can be a matter of simple convenience.

No-one has ever, and I mean EVER, called me by my birth name exceot on my birth certificate and driver’s licence. So 90% of my ID and records are not in mybirth name.

As an adult I bit the bullet and changed my name by deed poll to avoid awkward explanations which were needed when showing documents with two.different names. My parents were totally fine with it, after all they never called me by my birth name either.
 
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Depending on where you live there may be no concept of a ‘legal name’. In many places there is a name registered at birth and people are free in law to some any other name they wish. Often this is done by women on marriage in some places where there is no provision for the name to be officially changed.

Catholics also regularly assume new names such as confirmation names and names taken at the time of a religious profession. The Pope does it on election.

Birth registrations and certificates (not the same things) often have errors. Ask any genealogist.
 
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