Most of the women in my family go by their middle names. It's really not that big of a deal.

My husband goes by his middle name and hates it. He finds it to be an incredible hassle and wishes his parents had just used the darn name they liked as his first name. He was very adamant that our child would be called by his first name.

Just call her by her middle name.

I’m a Wendy and I say change it if it doesn’t feel right to you!

One of my best friends - her legal name is like (not her real name) Paula Elizabeth. As a young child, she hated the name Paula, so her mom offered her that she use some variation of Elizabeth, and so she is Beth. They did not legally rearrange her name.

Plenty of people go by their middle names.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My parents changed my name when I was a baby, and I say go for it!!

It's a very minor inconvenience that I have to have both my birth certificate and the affidavit once every 5-10 years when I got my driver's license, when I got my first passport, when I've moved and got a new driver's license, etc., but I keep them together, so it's fine.

Can't you amend the birth certificate to reflect the name change? Or, are you saying that even with an amended birth certificate, you sometimes still need to present the affidavit?

Not OP, but considering adding a middle name post birth and wondering about the process.

We changed our daughters name when she was a toddler— we just added a middle name but the process was the same. Yes after it’s complete, you just order anew birth certificate and use that for everything.

Thank you!

Anonymous wrote:I wanted to name my baby a name and my mom talked me out of it so we used it as her middle name.

10 months in, I'm still thinking about it. Her name just doesn't seem to suit her. I was thinking of just calling her her middle name, which was the one I wanted in the first place. Crazy? DH seems to be whatever about it.

My son goes by his middle name! It’s really no biggie. For what it is worth, my husband also goes by his middle name so we didn’t think it was weird!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My parents changed my name when I was a baby, and I say go for it!!

It's a very minor inconvenience that I have to have both my birth certificate and the affidavit once every 5-10 years when I got my driver's license, when I got my first passport, when I've moved and got a new driver's license, etc., but I keep them together, so it's fine.

Can't you amend the birth certificate to reflect the name change? Or, are you saying that even with an amended birth certificate, you sometimes still need to present the affidavit?

Not OP, but considering adding a middle name post birth and wondering about the process.

We changed our daughters name when she was a toddler— we just added a middle name but the process was the same. Yes after it’s complete, you just order anew birth certificate and use that for everything.

I'm confused by all of the posters saying it is hard to change a name. It is not hard. I changed my last name at age 16, my brother at 14. My DH changed his middle names as an infant. Many women change their last names when they marry. None of this is a big deal at all.

The only people I know who have trouble with their names are those who go by something other than their legal name. Two examples I can think of are a woman going by her middle name and another woman going by nickname. For both it caused trouble at work (in terms of HR) - neither was long term issue but both were hassles.

Anyway, OP I think you can go either path, but agree do it sooner than later.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is OP, thank you everyone! I honestly have no intention of changing her legal name as it seems like a pain and this is still her name! Now I'm wondering about the legal stuff

Why did you say "name change" in your post title? Please change her name, she'll never forgive you once she has to correct people CONSTANTLY.

I guess I’m not sure why she would have to correct people constantly? The number of times I am spoken to by someone who is calling me by a name I did not provide them is pretty limited.

Anonymous wrote:I am a female that uses my middle name. It is much harder for people to accept for a female than a male. I wish my parents would have legally reversed my name as a child and I’m strongly considering the process myself if I get remarried.

Why? Maybe because people are used to "jr." being called by his middle name?
A lot of women in the south seem to go by their middle names

Anonymous wrote:My parents changed my name when I was a baby, and I say go for it!!

It's a very minor inconvenience that I have to have both my birth certificate and the affidavit once every 5-10 years when I got my driver's license, when I got my first passport, when I've moved and got a new driver's license, etc., but I keep them together, so it's fine.

Can't you amend the birth certificate to reflect the name change? Or, are you saying that even with an amended birth certificate, you sometimes still need to present the affidavit?

Not OP, but considering adding a middle name post birth and wondering about the process.

Anonymous wrote:This is OP, thank you everyone! I honestly have no intention of changing her legal name as it seems like a pain and this is still her name! Now I'm wondering about the legal stuff

Why did you say "name change" in your post title? Please change her name, she'll never forgive you once she has to correct people CONSTANTLY.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know a ton of people who go by their middle names. Like 4 of my coworkers on a hall of maybe 20 people. It's not a big deal.

I wouldn't change it legally because of the hassle but if you're just calling her that, eh.

Change it legally. At this age it’s super easy and straightforward. You don’t want to deal with school, doctors, activities for the next couple decades calling her the wrong name. Change it legally or decide you’re okay with people calling her either name.

The jne thing I worry about is all those forms that require you to list prior names. If she has to list that on every form ever, that's going to be a pain. Speak to an attorney to make sure the implications are clear.

Do you want to know how often you fill out those forms? Every 5-7 years if you have a security clearance, otherwise, every 10 years, maybe.

Anonymous wrote:I know a ton of people who go by their middle names. Like 4 of my coworkers on a hall of maybe 20 people. It's not a big deal.

I wouldn't change it legally because of the hassle but if you're just calling her that, eh.

It will be MUCH more of a hassle when the poor child has to correct people constantly for calling her the wrong name. Do it, my parents did, it's never been an issue. I love my name, I would be a completely different person with my birth name!