"There are plenty of excellent reasons that someone might change their legal name, including choosing one that better reflects their identity or family. Sometimes, a new name can also reflect a general outlook: We're not that far removed from the days when World B. Free played professional basketball, after all. But certain name changes have encountered legal pushback, and a recent New York case serves as the latest example."
"As Gothamist's Giulia Heyward reports, a judge in Manhattan ruled they would not approve someone's attempt to legally change their first name to "Dr." Among the reasons cited by the judge was one you might expect: The person seeking to change their first name to Dr. was not, in fact, a doctor. Gothamist reports that the court pointed out that such a name change "may reasonably lead to fraud, deception or confusion," which seems fair."
People change legal names for identity, family, or personal outlook, but courts can deny requests that risk deception. A Manhattan judge refused approval for a first-name change to "Dr." because the applicant lacked medical credentials and the court found the change could "reasonably lead to fraud, deception or confusion." Other governments have rejected unconventional requests, including denial of a lengthy sequence of characters. In some jurisdictions, offering alternative-language versions of names on ballots has produced ornate or flattering renderings that prompted official pushback. The presence of bad actors seeking misleading names increases enforcement challenges for local authorities.
Read at InsideHook
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