Name Change - Complicated

I would call your county clerk and ask because every state is different on what they allow you to change. Some states allow you to make your middle name your maiden and others allow you to only change last. I would guess you would need to go through the courts and have an official name change but I don’t know for sure.

Most people just hyphenate their last names not change it to their middle name. That's probably more complicated so you should probably contact your county clerk to figure that out.

I think most places you need to petition the court to change your first name. But call and check what you'll need to do!

I don’t think it should make a difference. You’re changing your name and filing the proper documentation. Lots of people move up their maiden name to their middle, so I wouldn’t think moving your middle name up to be with your first should be an issue.

View Quoted Comment Agree with this point. Social security in my jurisdiction didn’t care about changes to middle names, but changing your first name is another story. Do you actually go by (socially or professionally) you first and middle name together as your ‘first name’ already? If yes I can see this making sense. If not it seems like more trouble than it’s worth to me. But it’s your name and only you can decide what’s right!

It’s probably not that simple, but you need to look into the name change laws in your specific state. In my state the ONLY name you can change just by marriage is your last. You can’t even swap a middle for a maiden without petitioning the court, but in other states it’s fine. I’ve not known a legal first name change to be so simple though. I wouldn’t expect the marriage certificate to be enough to do the trick, but as PPs say, I’d check with your town/county clerk.

Ssoooooo Update! The application I filed to the SSA had my first name as my first name + middle name, my middle name as my previous last name and my new last with my husband’s last name. They sent me my new SSN card with my original first name, new middle name (as previous last name) and new last name (as my husband’s last name). I would think that they would have done it based on what my application said and if they could t do that then they would send some sort of rejection letter. It was weird but anyways I decided to just go with it because I waited 6 weeks to get my new SSN card with my new name. Before I received the new SSN card, I called the court to ask what the rules were with name changing and all she said was you just file it the way you want it along with a copy of the certified marriage license and you should be fine to have your name changed entirely whatever way you want. I was surprised that new new card didn’t actually reflect the first name I wanted. anyways I’m glad I have my new last name (a little sad that my first name doesn’t include my previous middle name tho). But oh well. I will always remember the middle name I was born with :-)