comments | Changing Names | typewriting

Comment by Libby

Thu, 16 Nov 2006 09:14:49 -0800

I've often thought about legally changing my name from Ashley to Libby, should I?

Comment by jessica

Thu, 16 Nov 2006 12:39:55 -0800

libby- i won't say it's a bad idea to change your name legally, but consider this: this way you kind of have an alter ego, and a quick way to weed out those who don't know much about you. if someone calls and asks for ashley, and it's not your grandparents, you must know they're selling something, right?

speaking of alter egos, i heard a piece on npr about alice b. sheldon, a female author (1915 - 1987) who wrote under the name james tiptree, jr.. but it was more than a pen name- she had a whole group of friends who she believed she was a man named james. they never met in person, but they corresponded regularly for years. having the alter ego must have opened up whole new opportunities for her- a woman- at the time she was beginning her career. but i don't know how well it worked out in the end. the truth came out, and later sheldon shot her husband and herself in a case of euthanasia before it was called that.

Comment by Scott Reynen

Thu, 16 Nov 2006 20:35:29 -0800

Speaking of women with male alter egos, here's an interesting story of a woman who fought as a man in the civil war.

But getting back to Libby's name (which I assume wouldn't change to a male name), legal names have always been a secondary concern to me when thinking about name changes. The important part is what people call you right? (Definitely not "Lilly.") The only time I've ever had any legal issues with names was when people wrote checks to "Scott Raynun" or something, but no one reads checks anyway so it's not much of an issue. Do you have any problems that would be solved by legally changing your name, or is it just an issue of the paperwork matching the name you actually go by?

You might want to wait until you need to declare bankruptcy or something before changing it legally.