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Name Change Process
by Brian Thompson
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Meeting the Criteria
While every adult U.S. citizen has a right to change his name, the new name must meet certain criteria. No one may change his name for the purposes of committing a crime and concealing his identity. This stipulation also includes crimes of fraud, so it is also illegal for a person to change his name to that of a celebrity, for example, with the intent to impersonate that celebrity. After a new name is chosen, there are two options for having the new name legally recognized.
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Changing at Will
While every state has its own laws regarding the procedure for a citizen to legally change her name, these laws are mostly rendered moot by federal court rulings on the right of a citizen to change her name at will. The 1979 case of Jech v. Burch in U.S. Federal District Court set the precedent that it is every citizen's constitutional right under the Fourteenth Amendment to change his name at will. As long as a person consistently uses his new name on all personal and business documents, that name must be legally recognized by authorities.
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Changing Through Court Order
While it is possible to change one's name without explicit permission from any court, there are advantages to going through the legal process of changing one's name via a court order. Many institutions such as banks and insurance companies require a court order to change a customer's name in their records. While they may be forced to recognize a new name without the order, it can be convenient for a customer to have his new name recognized immediately.
Every state has a different procedure for obtaining a name change court order, so it is best to check with local government authorities to determine what one's particular process entails. Some states simply require acknowledgment that a person's name is not being changed for purposes of fraud or other crimes. Some judges will refuse to issue a court order if a person's new name appears to be unreasonably vulgar, frivolous, or otherwise distasteful to the judge. In these cases, the applicant may choose to appeal or to simply change his name via the right of common law.
