Should I change my name?

Question

Ok, well my name is Charles Manson...........seriously. I want to change is because people are always associating me with the murder. I'm 17 and people have suggested that I change it when i'm 18 before I enter college.
I have a few questions. Will changing my name affect my scholorships and transcripts? How would I take care of this? And will employeers be able to know that I changed my name?

Answer 1

Names can be changed in two ways:

Pick a new name and consistently use it. This is called "common usage."
Go through a more formal court process.
Both are equally legitimate. However, you can't just change your name to anything you want. Here are the main limiations:


You can not change your name if you have "fraudulent intent," meaning that you're trying to avoid bankruptcy by becoming someone else.


You can not change your name in the hope of messing with a trademarked name. For instance, you can't rename yourself Merrill Lynch and open a stock brokerage house. This also applies to giving yourself the name of a famous person. You can't legally change your name to Meryl Streep and then try to make money off of your new name.


You can not use numbers in your name, like 911, in order to intentionally confuse people. You also can not use symbols (ampersands, percent signs, whatever). However, you can add Roman numerals to the end of your name if you want a pretentious one like Winthrop Winterbottom IIIVVXXI. (It is unclear whether the artist formerly known as Prince is aware that his symbol is far from legitimate.)


Naughty or violent words are not allowed by the courts, nor is anything with a racial slur. Yes, there are porn stars who give themselves rather questionable names, but these are often stage names and are treated as nicknames.


If you're a minor, you need to have a court decision. This often occurs when parents get divorced and a child wants to join his/her mother in using her maiden name.


For more information I would go to this web site : http://www.soyouwanna.com/site/syws/changename/changenameFULL.html

They have almost step by step instructions as to how to change your name, as well as what can/can't be done/affected.

Answer 2

You are asking very good questions. The best thing to do is call the city you live in and ask for the birth certificate department asking about changing your birth name and what or how does this look to an employer and everything else. I would change my name before I start working, the most important thing to do before you start any of this, get a copy of your birth certificate now notorized by a Dr. stating its a true copy of birth certificate both sides must appear on one page of paper. And get complete copies of all your School Records, I mean from the date you started school until the present and keep all transcripts from now on, anything of importance with your present name you will need for school ASk about SIN # is should remain the same. If you don't keep copies of all this stuff and someone looses your file you won't exist on paper!!! Take care Heather

Answer 3

Instead of changing it why not use your middle name IE:
C. Andrew Manson.
If you do want to change it though, you will have to be of legal age in your Province or State. Once you have legally changed it you will need all new ID with your new name on it as you will not be able to use your previous name for anything. You will need to show your change of name documents to your college, bank, landlord etc. so that new documents can be set up and issued to you in your new name. Your scholarships and transcripts are kept track of by your S.I.N or S.S.N, so no that doesn't change, only the name on them. You can not change your name if you owe any outstanding money to the Government or if you plan to change it to avoid criminal prosecution of any kind. The cost of all your new ID etc. is your bill to pay. Good luck to you and pick a name you can live with because it's an expensive thing to do.
Been there, done that, no regrets.

Answer 4

I have a cousin name Charles Manson, he got teased a lot. He laughed right along with the ones who teased him. One day, it stopped. Never be ashamed of your name, change nothing. Adults, real grown up people, knows that your not that same guy. Since this will take a appearance in court to legally change your name, use the court paper, granting the name change, Take it to who ever you have to , to have this changed on all scholarships and transcripts, drivers license, social security number . As for as future employers, they could find out with a back ground check, in fact, anyone could find out if they had a good P.I.

Answer 5

lol.. I think it's time to have a chat with your parents; were they high when they decided to name you after this heathen? Well, enough with that...sorry if I offended you... changing your name is no sweat; first, find out which governmental office handles that, and then pay a small fee (it's definitely under 100 dollars) to have it done officially. I figure you would probably keep your surname. It might be a little tricky with school matters, but in the end, you'll feel better.
Be sure to give the name change much thought before deciding which one to pick.

Answer 6

Changing your name will cost you $500. I'm sure there's other people out there named Charles Manson. Trust me. It will not effect anything you do. When u change your name it will legal and that has nothing to do with school

Answer 7

well I suppose I might be inclined to..how do your parents feel about it? you have to go to court and pay $50 and sign a paper saying you're not doing it for fraudulent reasons, then you take that paper to the license agency and get a new driver's license. The only people who will know are those who knew your name before you did it, and they will only know if you tell them or have to show them ID for some reason.
You do not need a lawyer, that's a lot of expense for nothing, go to the courthouse and see the clerk,. I know we just thru it with someone.

Answer 8

if r u not personally satisfied with ur name than u should change it , otherwise don't listened to any one,& in case of transcripts it dose not matter ok,in case of employeer when u get 18 u have an id card as nationality than only u can have ur desired name after that u can not changed it.

Answer 9

I changed my first name between high school and college. It wasn't too huge of an issue with transcripts. I'm not sure what employers will know, though.

Answer 10

My husband changed his name at 18...His FULL name...Jobs don't ask and the few that do, they just want to know what past aliases you have had in order to check references. As far as school, they will go primarily by your ssn, They might question the different names, just be honest with them :)