As long as you don’t aim to mislead or deceive anyone, you are free to alter your name or names at any time. You can use it for anything once you’ve made the decision to change the name. For the majority of formal purposes, nevertheless, you will need to provide documentation of your name changes.
Legally registering the name change with the Registrar General is recommended, however it is not required. In certain situations, such as when domestic abuse is involved, it might not be in your best interest to have the change documented. When a Change my name Scotland application is filed, even a violent ex-partner may go to the public record.
Civil Partnerships or Marriage
As long as no fraud is planned, you are allowed to use any name you choose after marriage, including your spouse’s. It is possible to document a name change that occurs following marriage or any civil partnership. Your birth entry will be updated to reflect this change. But, since your marriage or partnership document is accepted as adequate evidence of a name change, there is not really any advantage to doing this. You can utilize a service to change your name by deed poll if you were not born in Scotland and are so not permitted to legally record a name change in that country.
Changing the Name of a Child
Only the person in charge of parenting the child may alter their name if they are less than sixteen. This will usually be the child’s mother if the parents are not married, and the child’s parents if they are. Only after taking on parenting duties can an unmarried father alter the name of his child. You can request a name change from the Registrar General if you were born or adopted in Scotland. You should learn how to apply for a name change in the nation where you were born or adopted if you currently reside in Scotland.
