Name change question

priscillaxkenny

Hi there, I have a maybe somewhat unique problem about changing my name, wanted to see if anyone else from California has similar experience - since I was not born in the US, my legal first name is my Chinese name which has two separate words, while my preferred English first name is my "middle" name. So it looks something like this (not real name): Xu Yao Jasmine Wong, where "Xu Yao" is the legal first name, "Jasmine" is the "middle" name (but preferred first name used in other aspects of life), and "Wong" is obviously last name. On my drivers' license, however, there is no distinction between the first and middle name. They all just sit in one line under "FN" (first name) in that order. 

My question is - I am applying for my marriage license today and I would like to put "Jasmine" as my first name and "Xu Yao" as my middle name which will then be replaced by my maiden name "Wong", and then replace my last name with FH's last name. The application says we must present our valid photo ID showing full name when we go pick up our marriage license. Is it going to be a problem if I reverse the order of my "first names" on my marriage license application? Can I technically consider "Jasmine" as my first name too since the DL has it all listed under the first name line? Has anyone done something similar and succeeded? 

maine7mob

This may be too late for you if you've already applied for your marriage license, but it may help someone else. When you apply, you need to put your legal names. You can then write what you will be changing to after your marriage takes place. In the example you gave, you'd write Xu Yao Jasmine Wong as your current name. Then, you could write Jasmine Wong Husband'sname as your married name.

priscillaxkenny

Thanks maine7mob. Putting my desired married name in the marriage license application was already my understanding, but in California they have restrictions about what names you can take after marriage. Technically we are “not allowed” to change our first name using the marriage process, so if we were to follow the letter of the law, I would’ve had to keep the “Xu Yao” part of my name as well, even after marriage. 

But, FWIW, here’s what actually happened: I put my current name as “Jasmine Xu Yao Wong” on the application with Jasmine as first name and Xu Yao as middle. Then in the post-marriage name section I put “Jasmine Wong FH’sLastName” with Wong replacing the Xu Yao as middle name entirely. We ran into no issues at all getting the marriage license at the county clerk’s office. The clerk just typed everything from our application into the marriage license and even asked us to double check to make sure it all looked correct. So, long story short, I got it done exactly how I wanted. So stoked for the big day now!

For reference, this was at Alameda County Clerk’s office.