How to change your name online

Thankful, at least, he wasn't conceived in Scunthorpe

You're not alone if you don't like your name. But how would you go about changing it? Thousands of people are turning to the internet to help secure a new identity, writes BBC News Online's Jonathan Duffy.

Little Brooklyn Beckham isn't going to grow up wanting for much - except perhaps a different name.

As any school-age Hieronymus, Orlando or Guinevere will attest, having an unusual name is not the surest route to popularity in the playground.

Wacky in-deed

Lord of the Rings fan Craig Thompson became Sauron, the Dark Lord

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In later life, the opposite is often true. How many of today's toddling Jacks and Chloes (currently the most popular babies' names) will one day crave something more individual?

Increasingly it seems, people are choosing to take such matters in hand and change their name by deed poll. Now, the process has become quicker and easier than ever, thanks to the internet.

Anyone who fancies a change of identity can log on to a website and, with a couple of clicks and a credit card number, set the wheels in motion. If, after a few months, the name loses its appeal, change it again.

Contrary to general perceptions, there is no limit to the number of name changes someone can have.

Another misconception is that a name can only be changed by deed poll - there are other, more informal means, for doing so.

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However, a deed poll, which is simply the legal term for the document of name change, is the most official way and is likely to have most sway with institutions such as banks.

Because of the inherent informality, it's difficult to know each year exactly how many people change their name.

Last year, the Passport Agency handled about a million requests on this front. About a quarter would be newly married women adopting their husband's surname - for which a marriage certificate, rather than a deed poll, will suffice.

All change

But many of those with other reasons for a name change go to Deedpollsonline.

Does your keyboard have the requisite squiggle?

The process is straightforward and requires no human contact, although it does involve an element of snail mail. Fill out a few details online, including your current name and prospective name, tap in your credit card number (the cost is £38) and a completed deed poll, in a format approved by the Passport Agency, is dispatched in the post.

Once you receive it, sign it and the deed is done. It's another false assumption that you have to officially log your new name with the authorities.

Mike Barratt, who runs Deedpollsonline, first picked up on people's interest in name changing when he set up a wedding guide website.

Name of the law

"I'd get lots of calls from couples wanting to know how they could double-barrel their name. But also non-wedding related calls - transsexuals and such - who wanted a new name but hadn't a clue how to go about it," he says.

'Deed Poll' explained

'Deed' as in a signed and delivered written agreement

'Poll' was a legal term to describe the way a document was cut (polled)

Solicitors have traditionally taken on the work, but Mr Barratt thought he could cut costs by doing deed polls online and, at the same time, help demystify a widely misunderstood process.

"People tend to think that you need a lawyer to do the job and that it's a long-winded process. Even the word "deed poll" is confusing - 98% of people know what it is but wouldn't have a clue what it involves."

The deedpollsonline site helpfully explains that a "deed" is a signed and delivered written agreement; while a "poll" was a legal term to describe the way a document was cut (polled) so the edges were straight.

So how much demand is there for Mr Barratt's site? He is reluctant to divulge figures, but says business is booming for him and his two staff.

Absent fathers

The net, he says, has been a boon for the name change industry. The Passport Agency deals with more of his deed polls than any other single operator, he says.

Buy any other name: The Passport Agency recognises deed polls

And he estimates that were it not for the web, only about half of his customers would go through with the deed poll process.

So what is driving people to change their name? A common scenario is a mother who wants to change her child's surname because the father has left them.

Another theme is a newly separated wife who wants her maiden name back before she obtains a divorce.

But there are light-hearted reasons as well - the man who wants to take his wife's surname when they get married.

A new title

"Often she's refused to take his name because it's something like Pratt or Willy," says Mr Barratt.

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And some just want to stand out from the crowd.

"We draw the line at people who want to change their first name to a title, like "Sir" or "Lord", because they're going to use it for deception.

"But we let anything else go through. I've had a bloke change his name to Nobby Bear, another to Ed Case."

One of the more outrageous examples was the recent case of Gary Brett from Bristol, who, without telling his wife, decided to officially take the name of his hero.

Thanks to deedpollsonline, Mr Brett is now Mr Hong Kong Phooey.