Why change your name?

What is it about?

Why do people change their names? This article looks at personal name changes in America, suggesting that people often change their names because their sense of self has changed. Common reasons for name change include marriage, a newly awakened ethnic identity, or religious conversion. There's always a tension between self-expression and the need for a society to have ways of tracking individuals over time, which may explain why formal name changes are relatively uncommon in America.

Featured Image

Why is it important?

A person who changes their name legally may worry friends and family or experience bureaucratic challenges as they lose continuity in their public life. But a name change can also represent important internal changes to the world. Understanding why people change their personal names is useful for the individual in question, as well as for the people around them.