A deed of change of name is a legal document which enables a single person or a family to officially change his, her or their name and is bound to that contract. It is a type of deed poll and in informal usage is usually referred to simply as a deed poll. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with legal name. ... A deed poll is a legal document binding only to a single person or several person acted jointly to express an active intention. ...

There are various reasons why a person would want to change his or her name:

• When a person changes their sex.
• to receive an inheritance conditional on adopting the name of the deceased (this reason was once quite common in landowning families in the UK)
• to replace a frivolous name given by their parents (e.g., old name James Bond, new name Jason Bond; a well known example is Elton John, who changed from Reginald Kenneth Dwight in favour of a career in the Music Industry)
• to replace a serious name given by their parents with a frivolous name (one person changed his name from John Desmond Lewis to Tarquin Fin-tim-lin-bin-whin-bim-lim-bus-stop-F'tang-F'tang-Olé-Biscuitbarrel)
• to dissociate themselves from a famous or infamous person (e.g., old name Michael Jackson new name Martin Jackson)
• to identify with a famous or infamous person (e.g., old name Simon Johnson, new name Simon Pendragon)
• to dissociate themselves from a family black sheep (e.g., relatives of Adolf Hitler)
• to revert to a former name (e.g., Cynthia Lennon, first wife of John Lennon, after her divorce from later husband John Twist)
• to gain sponsorship (e.g., Jimmy White temporarily became Jimmy Brown for HP brown sauce,^[1] and Ashley Revell became Ashley blue square Revell for The Rank Group's Blue Square service)
• as a form of protest or activism (e.g., old name Jennifer Taylor, new name Jennifer Save the Forests)

In England and Wales, such a deed may be registered in the Central Office of the High Court. Deeds so registered are advertised in the London Gazette. A deed of name change on behalf of a minor must be approved by the Senior Master on behalf of the Master of the Rolls who will take into account the child's best interests. Registration of deeds is regulated by the Enrollment of Deeds (Change of Name) Regulations 1994, Statutory Instrument 1994 No. 604. For specialized articles on surgical procedures, see Sex reassignment surgery male-to-female and Sex reassignment surgery female-to-male. ... This article is about the spy series. ... Sir Elton Hercules[1] John CBE[2] (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight on 25 March 1947) is a five-time Grammy and one-time Academy Award-winning English pop/rock singer, composer and pianist. ... Tarquin Fin-tim-lin-bin-whin-bim-lim-bus-stop-Ftang-Ftang-Olé-Biscuitbarrel was the name of a candidate for the British parliament in 1981. ... Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958), commonly known as MJ as well as the King of Pop, is an American musician, entertainer, and pop icon whose successful career and controversial personal life have been a part of pop culture for the last three decades. ... For other uses, see King Arthur (disambiguation). ... Black sheep is a derogatory colloquialism in the English language meaning an outsider or one who is different in a way which others disapprove of. ... Hitler redirects here. ... Cynthia Lillian Lennon née Powell (born September 10, 1939) in Blackpool, Lancashire, England. ... John Winston Ono Lennon, MBE (October 9, 1940 – December 8, 1980), (born John Winston Lennon, known as John Ono Lennon) was an iconic English 20th century rock and roll songwriter and singer, best known as the founding member of The Beatles. ... James Jimmy Warren White, MBE (born 2 May 1962) is an English professional snooker player. ... The HP Sauce logo HP sauce HP Sauce is a condiment; a popular brown sauce formerly produced in Aston, Birmingham, England, by HP Foods but now produced by H.J. Heinz in Elst, the Netherlands. ... Ashley Revell (born 1972) is a London resident famous for selling all his possessions (including all his clothes) and gambling US$135,300 on a single spin of a roulette wheel in Las Vegas, Nevada. ... The Rank Group plc was established on December 22, 1995 as a public limited company in England and Wales and in October 1996 it became a holding company owning all the outstanding shares of the Rank Organisation. ... The historic Blue Marble photograph, which helped bring environmentalism to the public eye. ... Her Majestys High Court of Justice (known more simply as the High Court) is, together with the Crown Court and the Court of Appeal, part of the Supreme Court of England and Wales in England and Wales: see Courts of England and Wales. ... The London Gazette , front page from Monday 3 - 10 September 1666, reporting on the Great Fire of London. ... There are various levels of judiciary in England and Wales — different types of courts have different styles of judges. ... The Master of the Rolls is the third most senior judge of England, the Lord Chancellor of Great Britain traditionally being first and the Lord Chief Justice second. ... Best interests or best interests of the child is the doctrine used by most courts to determine a wide range of issues relating to the well being of children. ... Statutory Instruments (SIs) are parts of United Kingdom law separate from Acts of Parliament which do not require full Parliamentary approval before becoming law. ...

The registration of a deed of change of name is not strictly required in the United Kingdom. A standard legal document, with stock wording, filled in by the person making the deed poll, and signed in presence of a witness, carries sufficient legal authority to be recognized. The witness need not be a solicitor but can be anyone over the age of 18 provided they are independent of the person changing their name. Organisations such as banks, government departments, social security offices, etc., will not recognize a change of name unless presented with such a deed. This article is about witnesses in law courts. ... This article is about authority as a concept. ... A solicitor is a type of lawyer in many common law jurisdictions, such as the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Republic of Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, and in a few regions of the United States. ... For other uses, see Bank (disambiguation). ...

In the UK, a deed of change of name will not change the name on the person's certificate of birth. For instance, when applying for a passport, both the certificate and the deed would need to be presented as documents of identity. For Microsoft Corporation’s “universal login” service, formerly known as Microsoft Passport Network, see Windows Live ID. For other types of travel document, see Travel document. ...

In re Parrott, Cox v Parrott [1946] Ch 183, Justice Harry Vaisey stated that he did not believe that a Deed poll could be used to change a person's Christian name (first name) — that could be done by only an Act of Parliament. Deeds that change a person's first name are registered in the High Court, and they are usually endorsed "Notwithstanding the decision of Mr Justice Vaisey in re Parrott, Cox v Parrott, the applicant wishes the enrolment to proceed". Sir Harry Vaisey (1877-1965) was a senior judge in the Chancery Division of the High Court of Justice in England and Wales. ... Christian name is a term more or less synonymous with forename or given name. It can be seen as an archaism due to the increasing secularisation of what were once compulsorily Christian societies, but it continues to be very widely used, and not just by practising Christians. ... An Act of Parliament or Act is law enacted by the parliament (see legislation). ...

References

1. ^ "Jimmy Gets Saucy with Name Change", no by-line, BBC News (online edition), "Sport: Fun and Games" section, 8 February 2005; accessed 14 March 2007

is the 39th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 73rd day of the year (74th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ...

External links

• Enrolment of Deeds and other Documents Department of Constitutional Affairs website.