Changing name by deed poll

[EleanorRedFox]

Hi,
I want to change my name via deed poll. I don't want give my real full name here so here's an example of what it is with random names to help explain:

Eleanor Lucy Jones Smith

Eleanor and Lucy are names chosen by my parents as first and "middle". Jones and Smith are my parents surnames. I have a strained (to say the least) relationship with both of them and feel badly having their names in my own. I am the only one of my sisters that has both surnames and both of my sisters are married and have taken on their husbands last name. I am not married.

Would it be odd to have a full name like Eleanor Lucy? (My "middle" name is girly.. think Anna, Lucy, Rose etc and not a surname)
Should I choose a surname for myself to make it seem more professional and less unusual?
Have you changed your name by deed poll and if you have how did you find it?

Thanks.

I just changed back to my original name from my married name, which doesn't help you much! What I would say, and I'm sure you've thought about this, is if you have a traditional first name as a surname you could potentially spend your life on the phone confirming that it is in fact your last name, which could quickly get old for you. Choosing a surname might be empowering for you, and could save you irritation down the line.

Thank you for your reply @SpongeBobJudgeyPants I have thought about looking into family ancestry to see if there are any surnames that I like. Empowering is exactly how I felt when I decided to change my name. Funny how a name has the power to do that.

People name their kids things like Buddy Bear and Rocket Rose so in that sense you won't be unusual. I have changed my name but only to move to my last names apart. I had a mouthful of a last name so I changed it one part of it to be a middle name. You can choose a last name if you wish but I wouldn't consider a 'girly' last name any more bizarre than I would 'Smith'. So long as you are happy that's what matters.

I know someone who chose his own first and surname when he was 18 for similar reasons to you. He picked the name of a street in the end but I think it was mostly based on what he liked rather than a connection to anywhere in particular.

My own dh changed his first name as an adult. It all went quite smoothly. I think some people did think it was quite an unusual thing to do but everyone uses the new name now without a second thought.

My friend did this. She has a difficult relationship with her parents and her sisters are now all married. She kept her first name and used her middle name as her surname so Lucy Rose Jones became Lucy Rose. She is fine with it but slightly regrets not going for something more exciting as it is still a name chosen by her parents.

My immediate thoughts on reading this are that it will be a fresh start for you, completely empowering and that's fantastic.
If you do decide to keep your first two names and make your middle your surname - you could add a word to elongate it, think 'Rosewood' or 'Rosemill' etc.
But I do think people are more open minded about names in general, nowadays.
I think I would choose something that reminded me of somewhere I love or had a very positive experience and also a name that reminded me of my strength and success. Every time you say your name it will be a positive affirmation!
Whatever you choose will be right for you and that's really exciting!

When we met, my husband and I were pleased to find out we had both changed our surname by deed poll 10 years previously to '[not my father's surname]'.

When we married and had children we picked a whole new name for us all to share.

I really thought about this… I hated having my surname, my parents were abusive and awful. But to be honest, I never changed it… a bit of me felt like it was “mine”; and they didn’t have the right to force me to change it.

I got married last year and changed my surname to my husbands, other than professionally, and it does feel more “me”.

Have a good think about it; but if this is the best way forward for you; go for it. I love the idea of looking through family history to find a surname that means something to you.

I changed my name after separating from my husband. I just found the wording that needs to be used online, www.gov.uk/change-name-deed-poll, typed it up, signed and got two colleagues to witness it. Job done. Told everyone to call me by new name. You can register it with the courts, but I didn’t bother. I changed my name on my driving licence with it and used that for any further identification needs.
Pick whatever name feels right.

Phoenix as a symbol of a new beginning?

OP I doubt there will be confusion over your surname as in most cases these days you input your name into online forms so there shouldn't be any issues. I'd see if there's a name you like you could add as a new surname and think about the different situations where people will use your name and see how you feel about it. Although there are costs to changing your name, if you did find you thought you'd made a mistake you could always change it again. You can ask people to call you by a different name before you commit to actually legally changing it too.

For anyone considering reverting to their birth name after divorce, you don't need a deed poll to change your name, only if you are choosing something completely new.

A lot os traditional middle names are already surnames, ie, Rose, James, Edward(s) etc

Can you add something to your name to make it sound more like a surname? I think another poster suggested that already, ie, Rosewood,etc.

Or perhaps there is a village or town you are particularly fond of and could use, ie, Kendal, Cotswold, Cornwall, etc

I think you should change your name to whatever you want. I changed mine recently by typing up a statutory declaration, had it signed by two witnesses, went to my bank with it, changed my account then used a bank statement to change my passport

Have a look n the gov website www.gov.uk/changing-passport-information/names-dont-match-official-documents

Oh, if you decide to pick a name from your ancestry, just make sure you check it out thoroughly. An ex-uni friend did that, turned out the name she picked could be used as the name of someone performing a specific sexual act. I don’t think it was something that was well known at that time, but the advent of the internet and porn changed that and she was glad to get married and change it!