Change of first name
When can I change my first name?
Anyone who wants to change their first name must submit a request to the court. You always need a legal representation (a lawyer) to submit such a request.
Change first name:
Anyone who wants to change their first name must submit a request to the court. You are obliged to be represented by a lawyer to submit such a request. For assigning the request for first name change, three requirements have to be met:
- an important (personal) interest in the name change must be demonstrated;
- There must be no reasons of public interest that oppose a name change;
- the requested name must not be unauthorized or inappropriate.
A first name change can involve obtaining a new first name, but also adding or deleting one or more first names. You can submit a request for a first name change if:
- an incorrect or incomplete name has been provided for the registration of your birth at the registry office;
- your first name is no longer suitable because you have undergone a gender reassignment;
- you find your first name ugly.
Jurisprudence shows e.g. that, there is also an important interest if:
- First names constantly evoke the association to be connected to a certain belief and violate the private life of the person concerned while the person has renounced that belief;
- the wish is to confirm the special bond between the mother of the minor and her father and that of the minor and his grandfather (it was the addition of a third name, namely a name of the grandfather's grandfather);