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General Discussion => General Discussion Boards => Other General Discussion => Topic started by: BigAl on February 17, 2013, 02:38:34 pm

Title: Changing my first name by law?
Post by: BigAl on February 17, 2013, 02:38:34 pm: I've been thinking about this for a while because my name (Alperen) is hard to pronounce and when I first meet people I have to repeat my name couple of times, also I have some difficulty repeating my name over and over again when I do something on phone. To avoid this, I want to change my name to 'Al' or 'Alp'. My question is that if I change my name, what would happen to official documents such as passport, licence and my ID at uni? Do you know anyone that has changed their name? Thanks
Title: Re: Changing your first name by law?
Post by: Jayward on February 17, 2013, 02:50:41 pm: I think that you would need to just make newly updated versions of your uni ID, licence and passport. i dont think it would be all that much of an issue, because people do change their names relatively frequently, so im sure the paperwork folk will be accomodating :D

I just hope that you've really thought this through, in terms of the potential social/psychological ramifications. Im sure that you've put a lot of time into coming to this decision, and i know it must be a little irritating when people mispronounce your name (trust me, ive been there), but is that really enough for you to change part of your identity? Just food for thought i suppose. this is really none of my business, and i just wanted to add my 2 cents. I hope everything turns out well for you :)

And youre name seems fine. great even. It doesnt seem that hard to pronounce at all :)
Title: Re: Changing my first name by law?
Post by: slothpomba on February 17, 2013, 03:43:30 pm: (http://www.101greatgoals.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/vlcsnap-2704447.png)

You can just put your shortened name on most of your forms or tell people to call you that without changing it, might be an option.
Title: Re: Changing my first name by law?
Post by: BigAl on February 17, 2013, 03:46:48 pm: Thanks guys. I really appreciate your help. I will definitely consider your thoughts :)
Title: Re: Changing my first name by law?
Post by: Fyrefly on February 18, 2013, 10:42:37 am: I don't think it would be too hard to change... I mean, I'm sure hundreds of women get married and change their surnames everyday.
Title: Re: Changing my first name by law?
Post by: FlorianK on February 18, 2013, 04:42:52 pm: I just let people pronounce my name the way they want to, no need to teach people the actual pronunciation or change my name
Title: Re: Changing my first name by law?
Post by: Professor Polonsky on February 18, 2013, 10:12:53 pm: If you do decide to go ahead with it, there is a general guide here. It seems like you have to have all your official documents updated. One thing which I often notice is that on official forms, they sometimes ask for any previous names which you've had.

A simpler solution (with less long-term ramifications) could be to get people to call you by a nickname or a shortened version of your name, as kingpomba suggested.
Title: Re: Changing my first name by law?
Post by: BigAl on February 19, 2013, 12:25:19 am: Thanks guys.. Seems like I'm gonna stick to the shortened version of my name unless i do something official.