Name restrictions
In theory you can change your name to almost anything – with a number of exceptions and restrictions. For example it is an offence to change your name with the intention of deceiving or defrauding an individual or organisation, or to avoid an obligation.
Additionally, we cannot allow applications for a change of name comprising just one letter; all names require at least two letters per forename and surname. Plus there are a number of factors to bear in mind if you wish to change your name to a 'fun' or temporary name.
Whilst we can allow the following accents and marks: acute, grave, circumflex, tilde, diaeresis/umlaut, ogonek, macron, caron, cedilla and a dot, we cannot allow names which include punctuation marks - unless you wish to use a hyphen in a double-barrelled name (e.g. Smith-Jones) or an apostrophe (e.g. O'Hanlon).
The remainder of this guide explains the restrictions we impose on what you can change your name and title to.
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Subjects covered in this guide
- Name restrictions
- Are there any names that you are not allowed to use?
- Can you use a Deed Poll to legally change a title?
- Can you change your name to a 'fun' name?
- Can you change your name to a famous name?
- Can you use more than 250 characters in a name?
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This page was last checked today by Amanda Dawson, Senior Deed Poll Officer.
