Can't make maiden name middle name?

AeroStyle

Hi all,

Sooo we went to get out marriage licence today and i was told that I can't make my maiden name my middle name. Has anyone come across this problem? Is this just on your licence? You hear about people changing their names to all kinds of stupid stuff? Can I still make it my middle name on my SSN card?

thebennerhalf

Ummm never heard that before... I did it just fine.

Aquarian342

I have never heard of that.  We went to the Municipal building in Kenmore for our license and asked them if I could do that, and she said that's not a problem.  Whatever I want my full name to be, I just need to start signing it after we are legally married and get my SS card changed, etc.

AZMagnini14

Ditto pp, go elsewhere.

AeroStyle

Do you have to go to the town you live in?

Aquarian342

No, it doesn't matter where you go.  We just went to the one in Kenmore cuz we live down the street from there.  In NYS (I looked into this) any US citizen can get married, even if you aren't a NY resident, so I'm sure you can go wherever you want and you will be fine, as long as you both have your NYS ID and birth certificate.

AeroStyle

Awesome. Thanks! I may just go out and get a second licence and just use that the day of. It was kind of important to me to keep my last name in some way & I got upset when then said no! Yes, I cried in the parking lot. lol

cmalchow

i didn't have an issue.  but, i am ADDING it to my middle name, so i will have my middle name and my maiden name as middle names.

i went to the town hall in hamburg...

Patineuse1124

I researched this a lot before I got married and NY is one of a few states that doesn't allow you to change your middle name for your free name change when you get married you're supposed to go through the courts.  Not sure how others were able to do it, as I'm jealous as I may have done that instread of hyphenating.  

32daisies

I work in a clerk's office. In NY State, you cannot use your marriage license to make your maiden name your middle name, not legally. There's an article here:
http://www.missnowmrs.com/Newlywed-Blog/index.php/name-change/maiden-to-middle-name-change.html
that talks about this. You *might* come across a clerk in one office, or another, that will not follow the rules the same way as another. Sooner or later, though, you then may come up against a state agency (like DMV) that will give you a hard time about it.

Always remember, there is nothing to stop you from using your maiden name as your middle name *socially*, and as your identity. From NYS's site: "Every person has the right to adopt any name by which he or she wishes to be known simply by using that name consistently and without intent to defraud." If you are Jane Smith, and you marry Robert Jones, and change your name to Jane Jones, you can use Jane Smith Jones socially, or for business, with no problem.

thebennerhalf

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_new-york-western_cant-maiden-name-middle-name?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:622Discussion:21e7e142-59a0-4c66-97c0-a37ec5ba8e6aPost:1452680d-302b-489d-9903-8c731382b6bd">Re: Can't make maiden name middle name?</a>:
[QUOTE]I work in a clerk's office. In NY State, you cannot use your marriage license to make your maiden name your middle name, not legally. There's an article here: <a href="http://www.missnowmrs.com/Newlywed-Blog/index.php/name-change/maiden-to-middle-name-change.html" rel='nofollow'>http://www.missnowmrs.com/Newlywed-Blog/index.php/name-change/maiden-to-middle-name-change.html</a> that talks about this. You *might* come across a clerk in one office, or another, that will not follow the rules the same way as another. Sooner or later, though, you then may come up against a state agency (like DMV) that will give you a hard time about it. Always remember, there is nothing to stop you from using your maiden name as your middle name *socially*, and as your identity. From NYS's site: "Every person has the right to adopt any name by which he or she wishes to be known simply by using that name consistently and without intent to defraud." If you are Jane Smith, and you marry Robert Jones, and change your name to Jane Jones, you can use Jane Smith Jones socially, or for business, with no problem.
Posted by 32daisies[/QUOTE]

I'll modify my statement- I wasn't even asked about middle names at the clerk's office, just was asked if I planned on taking DH's last name, which I was. So I paid no attention to middle name changing until the SS office, at which point it was no problem at all. All it said on my license was my full original name, and then a checked box that said "Last name after marriage: <u>Husbandslastname</u>".

Aquarian342

Ok, I hope I didn't give incorrect info on this.  I asked the woman in the municipal building who wrote up our marriage license about changing my name.  She basically just told me that I need to start signing my name as I would like it to be, and the consistency of using it that way is what makes it legal.  I'm assuming that when I go to the SS office, if my legal last name has been changed to FI's last name, then I can use my maiden name as my middle name on the form?  Now I'm questioning it! lol...oh well, either way, it has to work out somehow, FI's mom did the same thing and that is now her legal name, and she got everything done in NY state.

32daisies

The law has changed since your FI's mom got married, I am sure.

What the woman in the municipal building told you is true. However, I cannot say that they will alter your name as you wish at SS, and I am close to positive you will run into trouble doing so at DMV, the state is picky about such things. But why worry? Do whatever the forms want you to do, but use your maiden name as your middle name, like the woman told you to do, and that makes it a legal form of your name.

Ravenclaw79

I'm looking into this now, and I wondered something -- if we're allowed to change our name through common usage ("Every person has the right to adopt any name by which he or she wishes to be known simply by using that name consistently and without intent to defraud")... then should we just put, on the top line of the license where it asks for your name, Firstname Newmiddle Maidenname?  Would that make it legal, in that you'd now have the new name on the license to use changing it elsewhere?

tdevich

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_new-york-western_cant-maiden-name-middle-name?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:622Discussion:21e7e142-59a0-4c66-97c0-a37ec5ba8e6aPost:b8e8f388-05de-437f-a7d0-f0a5e7a60f4a">Re: Can't make maiden name middle name?</a>:
[QUOTE]I'm looking into this now, and I wondered something -- if we're allowed to change our name through common usage ("Every person has the right to adopt any name by which he or she wishes to be known simply by using that name consistently and without intent to defraud")... then should we just put, on the top line of the license where it asks for your name, Firstname Newmiddle Maidenname?  Would that make it legal, in that you'd now have the new name on the license to use changing it elsewhere?
Posted by Ravenclaw79[/QUOTE]

In the states that do not allow middle name changes, you are only allowed to change your last name to your husband's last name, or the DMV will not process the paperwork. They'll just flat out tell you "no" unless you have further proof of the new name.  I live in PA and I'm going through this right now. I got it changed to firstname maidenname newlast without any issues at the social security office, but the DMV refused to accept the new middle name unless I have other government documentation to back it up (or a court order, which costs several hundred dollars in addition to all the document fees, which are significant). I'm currently waiting on my new passport and tax records (reflecting the new middle name) but I will probably have to wait until January when I receive my W2 before I can go back to the DMV to prove that the government recognizes the change.
If you do not regularly have to sign legal/professional documents, then I suppose the "just sign your new name socially" thing is acceptable for almost everything besides the DMV. However, if you ever plan on flying, travelling abroad, or obtaining a professional license, all the information has to match, including the middle name (credit card, SS, photo ID, etc). I'm trying to get my architectural license and I've already established a career based on my old name, but to be a registered architect, all my legal documentation has to match (ID, SS card, taxes, professional license info, etc) or I could get in serious trouble. No matter which route I take, the process will take months. I bet if it were this hard for men, the laws would change pretty quickly :-/

jillkg

Hi. I got married this past July (2013) and just changed my name both with the SS office and PennDOT. I made my maiden name my new middle name (dropped the middle name I was born with) and took my husbands last name as my last name. No problems, whatsoever, in PA, as many websites will suggest.