Opinion No. (2000)

BILL LOCKYER Attorney General ROBERT L. MUKAI Deputy Attorney General

THE HONORABLE TED LEMPERT, MEMBER OF THE STATE ASSEMBLY, has requested an opinion on the following question:

Is a common law change of name valid in California?

The question presented for analysis is whether a common law change of name is valid in California. Before answering the question in the affirmative, we undertake to explain what a common law change of name is.

The phrase "common law change of name" refers to the adoption and use of a name different from the one by which a person was formerly known, without resort to judicial process or other intervention by the state. The usage reflects the fact that at common law, all persons had, and in most common law jurisdictions including California, 1 continue to have a right to change their given names and surnames at will. In modern times the phrase generally denotes the right of a person to use whatever name he or she chooses, as long as the purpose is not "to defraud or intentionally confuse." (Weathers v. Superior Court (1976) 54 Cal.App.3d 286 , 288 .)

In California, as in most American jurisdictions (see Note, South Dakota Supreme Court: Keegan v.…