How do I prove I am who I am on my birth certificate with no official name change...

[fruitslice]

New account as TOTALLY outing!

When I was born, I was given my married parents surname ( name 1 )

When I was around 10 my parents split up and I took my mothers maiden name - there was no paperwork, no deedpoll nothing ( name 2 )

When I was 16 I got my NI number/card in name 2

When I got married, my maiden name was name 2 and now I have name 3

I worked for an airline where we could add family members, I couldnt add my siblings as we had different names (airline had my first name as name 2 and my siblings had name 2)

I'm now looking at getting my Irish Citizenship (via the Grandparent route) but I cannot prove that I with name 3 am also name 1

Does anyone know what I can do?
(going to post in Legal as well - but here for traffic)

I had the exact same situation and my marriage certificate has my name that wasn’t legal on it it never caused me a issue as I’m now legally my married name

It caused my brother a lot of issues though he ended up getting changed by deedpol for his marriage.

I don’t think the checks were as strict back then I have no idea how I got my national insurance number or nhs records in my not legal name

hope you sort it

THANK YOU!!!!

Informal name changes were absolutely allowed, my mum said that all she had to do was to get my dad's agreement to the change of surname, then she went to the school and told the HT our new surname, went to the GP surgery and told them and that was it. It only became a problem when I applied for a job in 1981 where security was very very tight. I dont think Retrospective deedpoll existed back then that's why I needed the statutory declaration (sworn affidavit)

But how were the Government made aware of this so they had the new name to use for the NI Card?

OP, can you not remember how you proved to the registrar for the marriage that you were frutsliceName2? Can you contact the registrar’s office and find out?

Oh and my national insurance number had my 2nd surname on it.

You need to speak to a solicitor and organise affidavits one from your Mum and then any other relevant parent (Father or step Father, Aunts or Uncles or siblings etc. But there sounds like there is other traceability as well with parents names on birth certificates and your Mums changes of names that she instigated. It all just needs organising properly to tell the story

I literally thought I was reading a post about myself! I'm in a very similar situation. My mum remarried and I took my step-father's name. I had both a NINC and passport in my step father's name. My father had to agree to me taking step-father's name in order for me to get a passport in that name but that was it. I've since married and there is no legal document to prove that I am the person on my birth certificate.

I'm the same, but like others have said I needed to resolve to get married. I obtained from the council a form that states I have been known as both names 1 and name 2. This had to be signed by a registrar. And now I am known by name 3 and will NEVER change my name again.

(Disclosure - I live in Scotland so this may be a different process in England but I think your local registrar office is a good place to start)

I have no idea, all i know is it turned up addressed to me (2nd surname) just prior to my 16th birthday

I had to sign some paperwork for a colleague who was retiring and claiming workplace pension. It was as complex as yours or maybe more so. She changed her first name - she took her middle name as a first name and added a new middle name by deed poll, so she went from Jane Elizabeth Smith to Elizabeth Amanda Smith. She then got married and became Elizabeth Amanda Jones then divorced. She changed her surname by deed poll to something entirely different from her maiden name and her married name and became Elizabeth Amanda Brown. She then decided she hated her new adopted middle name, and changed that by deed poll too to Elizabeth Eleanor Brown. All the certificates and deed polls had to be sent off with the paperwork along with her passport in the name of Elizabeth Eleanor Brown. My head was spinning with it all but the pension officials worked it out and granted her pension. And sent all the original documents back, safe and sound.

I had similar - my birth certificate is in my parents married name. (name 1) They both started using a completely different name as they didnt like their surname (Name 2) My parents split up and my mum married my step dad and we used his name ( name 3)
NiNO , GP record etc all in Name 3. My passport is in name 3
I got married .... kept name 3
Divorced and re married (informally used name 4) - kept name 3 albeit some of my bills etc are in name 4

I no longer know who I am

Anyone can use any name they wish - there is no "official" method to change name (in England at least). Some people do a deed poll but that isn't legally necessary.

PSA: Women. Don't change your names. There's a reason men don't do it.

I have found a school report which has

First Name name1 name2

(hope the strikeout works as I cannot see a preview)

Interestingly my son is Name 1 Name 2 Name 3 Surname on his birth certificate, but when we were in hospital he was only Name 1 Name 2 Surname - we decided to add the second middle name when we registered his birth. The hospital record was the one that found its way to the government, so his child benefit letter, his NI number came in his shorter name, and so is his driving licence. His birth certificate and passport have all his names on! So there can be anomalies.

Maybe your mum claimed child benefit for you in her maiden name and that was why your NI number came in that name?

I had a friend at primary school who had various different names including double barrels as her mum married twice and she used various combinations of both her mum's surname and her dad and stepdad's surnames. It all gets very confusing.

This for me too

Everything was in new name - she may have changed when she did the child benefit, but shes getting on now, and is easily confused

The school report I mentioned above has dates in as well so I can track when it happened

I recall receiving a letter prior to my dc 16th asking what name they wanted their nino issued in, I assumed at the time this was because we didn't have the same name. I was definitely given the option to have it issued in my name.

That’s not quite right. In England you need to prove your identity to give notice to get married. To do this you need to produce either your passport or your birth certificate. You can’t just get a new passport or birth certificate in any name you choose without an official name change.

However you are free to refer to yourself by whatever name you like in daily life.

There is no need for a deed or any other document to change your name, if you use a new name for everything that is valid and legal. The only reason people get change of name deeds done is so that they can just produce the piece of paper to evidence it.

The colleague I was talking about a few posts up took a degree and a MSc post divorce, so she had her new surname on her degree certificates, but changed her middle name by deed poll after that. She contacted the university, and the AQA awarding body (where she took an A level) to replace the certificate with the new middle name, but they refused to do so.

I remember having a chat with her when I was countersigning all her paperwork, and she said she just wanted it kept simple, not having to get all the deed poll papers out every time she applied for a job to explain the discrepancy in names on the application and the qualifications.

OP will have used her Name2 passport to evidence her identity for her wedding, that explains how the marriage cert has name 2 on it. The conundrum is how she got the passport in Name 2…

Yes, back in the 1980s/90s it was possible to change a child's surname informally with permission from the other parent (informing the school, GP etc) - my NI, qualifications, passport etc. were all in surname 2. I needed to produce formal evidence of surname change via an affidavit with a solicitor to access student financing but otherwise there was no official record of the name change anywhere.

I may have asked the Doctor for a letter (it was 30+ years ago, so maybe? cant quite remember...

I have contacted the doctors so hopefully they can help?

My mum had this. Everything from early childhood was in her biological father's name but she'd actually been registered with a different surname at birth as she was the result of an affair. So she was first registered with her mum's husband's surname. Her mum just started using her biological father's surname but never officially changed it. She even got married with that name without it being flagged.

When she applied for a passport, it became a problem. She couldn't prove that she was the same person. She ended up having to go to court (or something similar) with her paperwork and swear that she was the same person.

But evidence is asked for all the time- in job applications, credit checks, bank account setup etc, so it’s pretty hard to go through life without needing an official document. However you can use 2 names at once.

I use my married name day to day but have never changed my passport or tax records, I just have to remember to book travel in that name. When I changed jobs recently I applied as MarriedName but gave them evidence of MaidenName when they did their checks. They were fine for me to be known as Married Name internally, but told HMRC they had employed Maiden Name.