maviskw

I named by daughter Beth. The only time I heard her called Elizabeth was when the priest called her to come up to be confirmed by the bishop. I didn't realize that was on her baptismal certificate. The priest at that time needed a saint's name and Beth was not good enough.

JanieH

We had problems at school when parents would name their child using a hyphenated last name. Then, sadly, a break-up would occur and the parent enrolling the child wanted just his or her name on the child's enrollment form. We had to explain that we were required to go by what was on the child's birth certificate as that was a legal document and if they wanted it changed, they would have to go through the legal process.

djmat

Jumped through hoops to get my passport many moons ago with original birth certificate, adoption papers, baptismal record, 1st & second marriage certificates because they wanted any officially documented name. No problems now as long as I keep it renewed. I have to show my passport to enter any military base because my OK drivers license doesn't meet federal "guidelines". Ironically, after driving for USPS as a rural carrier (federal job) for years, I still had to show all the docs to renew my OK drivers license, take the written & driving test, because I let it lapse, whew!

Anniedeb

I was recently asked to witness a long time friend's signature on some documents. He needed two people to attest that he was who he said he was. When I went to sign, the name listed was Earl. I looked at him and said who the heck is Earl? I've only known his as Shawn for 15 years! Earl is his given name.

madamekelly

When I was born, my father was an active duty Marine, stationed in San Diego, California. I was always told that I was born on Mexican soil because my mother went into labor while waiting in line to return to the US at the border. When I was eleven, I needed my birth certificate because the schools were requiring them that year. When we tried to send for one we were told that there wasn’t one. There have been two stories told to me about why. One story is that the Balboa Naval hospital where the Navy kept the records had burned to the ground, taking my birth certificate original with it. The other story is that my birth was never recorded, because of where I was born. At the time I needed the certificate, The state of California required one of my parents to appear before a notary in the state of California to swear an affidavit testifying to the particulars of my birth. Since my mother lived there, she did it (we lived in Washington state at the time). When we finally got a copy, we discovered that sometime after my mother walked away, my absent minded father had skipped one of my birthdays, so I turned twelve and thirteen the same day. Lol. I have never desired to travel outside the United States, which is a good thing, because even the DMV had problems accepting my “Abstract of Live Birth” that the state of California issued for me. I do not have a birth certificate, I only have the “Abstract of live Birth” that California issued. Trying to explain why I don’t have a “birth certificate” is a nightmare each time it comes up.

*(By the way, my “Absract of Live Birth” only lists my mother, there is no line for my father’s name.)

tranum

When I started 1st grade, my teacher called me by my first name. I had no idea why she called me that — I had always been called my middle name and didn’t know any different. I used this first name for a few years then insisted on going back to my middle name and that’s what it will be for eternity because I like it way better.

ptquilts

I have been gathering info to get an Irish passport through my grandfather who was an Irish citizen. His birth certificate has one spelling of last name, all documents in the US have a different. My dad changed it back. My grandmother, whom everyone knew as Bridget, is listed as Delia on her marriage certificate and my dad's birth certificate. My mother, who always told me she did not have a middle name until she was confirmed, is listed on her birth certificate with the middle name of Tolenza. I have no idea where that came from.

And in all this research, I can not find any trace of my dad's brother who died as a child. No birth certificate, no death certificate. And the year he would have shown up on a census, 1930, the whole family is missing.

QuiltingNinaSue

I was raised by foster grandparents who had raised my Mother. Although Mother and Dad had legally named me a first and middle name, grandma & grandpa did not like the name. When my 13 month older brother called me his little 'sister' and it came out as 'Sue', they called me by that name. It did not change until I entered college and started by teaching career. My husband called me Sue, but all my documents from college and places where I worked showed my regular birth certificate name. I finally adopted the southern style of the two names, legal first name and nickname as one word, NinaSue. But still signed legal papers with first and middle name from birth certificate and married name.

That was what the lawyer used in drawing up our wills. He said not to worry, school records would back that up since that had been my name for so many years. Never have had to get a passport, hope I never do.

Last school district I worked at changed my last name on the first check, but it was accepted at my bank. Next check, they changed my first and middle name. The third check cut my pay in half, losing my years of experience. Union straightened all out for my check before Christmas, so the family could enjoy it a little more. And I did work for the district over 20 years before retiring...with 37 years working as a librarian in various states at junior high level. Loved those children!

Jan in VA

My "also known as" is nearly half a page long, LOL!
I've been married more than twice, I'm a little embarrassed to admit, and that has complicated my name issue. I took my husbands' names, had daughters by two of them - different names - and then named myself in my final divorce in 2001 and had it written into the decree. I chose a name from my mother's distant past and a name from my father past and hyphenated them into my last name. I also legally dropped the "et" from my first name.

It has caused me quite a bit of hassle because hyphenated names are uncommon in Virginia (unlike Hispanic-rich Texas, where I living at the name change time). Here no one seems to know whether to call me by one name or the other. And, simple as both names are, they refuse to see how to pronounce the last one. At the doctor's offices, the nurses have mostly given up and just call "Jan" to the exam room, LOL!

Charleen DiSante

Tranum, that is he beginning of my story. First name was never used and 66 years later I was renewing my Mass drivers license and it is still coming up again. It has made me strong to have to speak up but some days I just answer to it like I am representing someone else. LOL