How Can a Baby’s Name Be Legally Changes after Its Birth Is Registered?

More than 50.000 peoples ask courts to change their names legally every year. Some of these changes are requested by parents for their children when the names originally chosen no longer suit them.

Changes in a minor child’s given names are possible in some states without a court order, with time limits ranging from a few days after birth to any time at all. In some states a simple affidavit signed by the parents or a notarized amendment is sufficient to make a name change. Others require various documents to show proof of an established new name, such as a baptismal certificate, an insurance policy, an immunization record, or the family Bible record. For older children, school records or the school census are usually allowed.

When court procedures are necessary, they involve petitions to a county probate, they involve petitions to a county probate court, a superior court, or a district court, following state laws. Often prior newspaper publication of the intended changes is required. The court then issues a “change of name” order or decree. In some states new birth certificates are issued for only amended.

Informal name changes can be and often are made simply through the “common law right of choice,” which allows individuals to use any names they choose. Such a change is informal, though, and is not legal in official procedures.