How to Change Your Name

You Can Legally Change Your Name *without* a Court Order

There are three ways for a citizen of the United States to change his or her name. The first is by getting married or divorced, though that applies only to surnames.

If a person wants a new first name, though, it gets a little more complicated. Most people believe that to get the government's official stamp of approval on the change, one must go through the courts. This second method works, but it is expensive, time consuming, fraught with aggravation and difficulty, and, sometimes, should the court deny the request, all the effort goes to waste.

However, going through the courts is not the only way; you have the right to change your name entirely on your own, by usage. This little-known option is actually a Constitutional one, backed by the Fourteenth Amendment.

While the States cannot abridge that right, they do have the authority to regulate how it is invoked. Here's what the New York State law says about non-judicial name changes:

New York State Domestic Relations Law, Section 15-1-b-1:

"Every person has the right to adopt any name by which he or she wishes to be known simply by using that name consistently and without intent to defraud."

New York State Civil Rights Law, Article 6, Section 65-4:

"Nothing in this article shall be construed to abrogate or alter the common law right of every person, whether married or single, to retain his or her name or to assume a new one so long as the new name is used consistently and without intent to defraud."

What that means is that any citizen of New York State can, at any time, simply change his or her name by act of will. There are a few stipulations: you can't change your name for any fraud-related reason, and once you change your name, you can never go back to your old name.