Popular Celebrity Name Changes
Now, how many of these people do you know (or at least have heard about):
- Cary Grant
- Barry Manilow
- Dean Martin
- Eminem
- Eric Clapton
- Faith Hill
- George Burns
- Muhammad Ali
- Snoop Dogg
- Tony Bennett
- Woody Allen
- Pope Benedict XVI
Well, as you can probably tell, these are the same people respectively listed on page one of this article who legally changed their names. Talk about a difference!
You likely got a few names correct like Eric Patrick Clap or Cassius Clay. Celebrities often change their names to enhance their image. Even the popes of the Roman Catholic Church change their names, but this is based on tradition dating back over one and a half centuries.
But celebrities are not the only people who change their names. In fact, thousands upon thousands of people change their names for many different reasons. Individuals often change their names for such reasons as marriage, divorce, adoption, career enhancement, escaping from an abusive spouse, getting rid of a difficult name to pronounce, or just to be different.
So, do you want to change your name? Or maybe you’re just interested in learning how the process works. Well, you’ve come to right place. Legally changing your name is likely easier than you think, but there are some rules you must follow. Otherwise you could be in violation of the law.
In this article, we’ll go over how to select a legal purpose for a name change, what you cannot legally change your name to, the process to change your name, and what to do after you change your name.
Next, we’ll go over some legitimate purposes for changing your name.