Does American law forbid a citizen from changing his or her name without going through the proper channels?

Question

Let's say that I just want to start calling myself "Paris" or "Rome" or "Studebaker." Would I be guilty of breaking the law in the USA?

Answer 1

Of course not.  You can call yourself whatever you please.  If you want to change your name permanently, then you can do that in court.  It's not a difficult or expensive process.  You start at your local town hall and file papers there.

Answer 2

No.  But for all your banking and work related things, you must Sign your name as it is lawfully and just be known as the other name.  If you want to change the name for all purposes, you must do it through the court system or it is a false identity.

Answer 3

Only if you tried to use it as your official real name. As in, when you fill out employment documents, tax documents, drivers license, etc. But you can call yourself anything you want.

Answer 4

You can call yourself anything you want, but if you want your driver's license and other things like credit cards to reflect your new name, then you must go to court and change it legally.

Answer 5

As long as you do not have fraudulent intent you are free to call yourself anything that you choose.  You might run into some difficulties where your legal name is required but you won't be in violation of any law that I'm aware of.

In fact, the military will allow you to enlist under an alias as long as you fully disclose your legal name and properly identify yourself to them for purposes of background checks, security clearances, etc.  Your enlistment contract would show both your legal name and the alias you were using and the Social Security Administration will usually accept that as proof of a name change to update the name on your Social Security record and card.

Answer 6

Call yourself Sunshine, but you still have a legal name. Go to court if you really want to be known legally as another name.