bearisgray

When applying for a passport, it is helpful to have a "clear" trail from one's name on the birth certificate to the name one is currently using.

My trail is murky, so the getting of my passport has been delayed.

So, if any of you are going under assumed names, it may be a good idea to tidy them up.

My birth certificate is:

First Name, Middle Name, Biological Father's Last Name

I went by:

Middle Name, First Name, Step-father's Last Name until I married.

Now I go by:

Middle Name, First Name, Husband's Last Name.

So - it may behoove some of you to get a "legal name" if you are going by an assumed name.

mamagrande

My husband who was delivered at home back in 1935 had his name on the the birth certificate as Babe (last name). The family named him Jose but never changed his birth certificate, anyway they called him Pepe. When he went into the military, the Army changed his name to Joseph, so all his legal documents are under Joseph.

nativetexan

My first husband kept arguing with a woman at some event. she wanted his name and he said Bobby. She said, Robert. they went on and on until he finally said my Mother named me Bobby and that is what is on my birth certificate. she was quiet after that. hopefully she no longer assumed things. legal, smeegal.
To get my drivers license, i had to take marriage licenses and divorce cert's and any other thing they wanted. frustrating but life these days.

yolajean

When I started my passport, needed a birth certificate with a seal. Didn't have one. My mother had told me that city hall in our town (with records) had burned down and that was why I didn't have a birth certificate. (I was born in 1938 at home.) When I called the county clerk in my birth county, she said that the city hall had never burned down. Okay!!! So how do I get a legal birth certificate? She said that I had to have 2 people who were present at my birth go to a notary public and swear that they saw me born to my mother. (Both my sisters were in their late 80s.) I was fortunate that my sisters were alive and capable of signing the affidavit. Whew!!! Oh! I always had the same name. I was lucky. Wonder what people do who do not have anyone alive who witnessed their birth?

DACO48

My dad had problems also. He too was born at home on the ranch in 1924. He always thought his name was King Clair (first and middle) My grandmas brother took the papers to be filed at the courthouse as it was 40 miles to town and he was the first one who needed to go to town. The papers were delayed because Dad was a preemie and no one thought he would live as he only weighed 3 lbs and was 23 inches long. Long story short, the ornery old buzzard changed my dads name on the paperwork and named my dad after himself to Charles King. Dad only found out when he was drafted into WWII. My grandma was furious at her brother and really never forgave him. Not only that, the clerk argued with my dad that he HAD to have been born in a hospital. Huh??

moonrise

Yep, I had my license renewed in April, and had to have the "name paper trail". My name has only changed once since birth ... when I got married 30 years ago ... and I had to have shown them my birth certificate and marriage license at that time, because my driver's license has had my married name on it ever since I was married.

Apparently that didn't matter. I had to "re-prove" who I was.

I was also supposed to bring two proof-of-address documents, and I was supposed to have my eyes checked. I've been renewing online for probably 20 years, so April was the first time I'd stepped foot into a DMV office in ages. Since it had been so long, I half-expected them to ask for a DNA sample (ha ha) to prove myself, but they didn't even ask for my address documents, and they didn't check my eyes. They just looked at my birth certificate and my marriage license, then took my renewal money and my photo.

I was dreading it soooo bad, but I was in and out in 10 minutes.

The only bad part is that they put a picture of some old lady on my license! What's up with that??

illinois

Some will accept a baptismal record as proof of birth for those who were born at home. School records, too. My late father-in-law ran into issues as he was adopted in the early 1900s but needed the paperwork when he filed for Social Security. I think he was able to use school records.

quilterpurpledog

I can cite another snafoo. My mother was orphaned at age six. She thought she had been officially adopted because her name, all of it, was changed. She went by the new name thereafter. When I was born in 1937, that name was put on my birth certificate. By the time my sister was born in 1939 she found out that she had not been adopted after all and was only a foster child. She went back to her original birth name and that is on my sister's birth certificate. That caused lots of difficulties until legal action was sought in the 1960's.

citruscountyquilter

A lot of the documentation is for an enhanced driver's license which can be used as federal ID. In some states you can get a "regular" drivers license renewed without the extra documentation and it will be labeled you can't use it for Federal ID. I did this as I didn't have the extra documentation when I renewed my license and had to do it quickly as we were leaving town and wouldn't be back until it expired. It was no big deal to me to have this license this way as I use my passport for any travel or where I would need to show Federal ID.

Wanabee Quiltin

I was just 18 when my Aunt Mary died. The family had a difficult time with papers because her legal name was Marie. After all that trouble, I started signing everything with my legal first name, middle name first initial and then last name. I’ve never had any problems and will continue this practice till I die. DH was born at home but has a birth certificate and signs his name just like I do. 99% of our friends do not know our legal first names, we go by our nicknames. Doctors and dentists call us our by our legal names.