Red Tape

And here we go again.

According to the law, I don't have to do anything to change my name other than to start using it (provided I do so in a way that isn't fraudulent). I'm using the handle "Chippy" at the moment because people need a name, don't they. I thought it might make it easier in an official capacity to change my name down to the letter "C" - that way my official documentation isn't wrong, it just isn't exactly accurate. The more I look into it, the more complex the road seems. I'm writing a letter that will serve as official notice/evidence, and I've a link to a free Deed Poll service to use in case things get really hairy and there is no other option.

Seems like the romantic notion of "a rose by any other name..." is just a notion for some organisations.

I've changed my name before. When I got married, when I got divorced, when I got married again. I've never changed how my gender appears, however, and I bet you that this is the step that most people will find painful to accommodate. From binary options on webforms and data systems to a lack of title options that make me jealous of those with Ph.D.s who can legit use the prefix "Doctor", there are some definite stumbling blocks in my way.

Ones I've already encountered: Blizzard. Good old Blizz won't let me change my name without "official" documentation, despite the common law in the US stating it's not needed. I'm going to give this one last shot by submitting a formally worded, signed doc to them, because at the moment every time I log in, those on my friends list get their screens taken over by all four of my names. Facebook. The Zucky thing about this one is that other people have made-up names or pseudonyms but when I looked to change my name to "C", it wasn't allowed. The shortest name you can legally have in the UK is a single letter. Again, a US based company which you'd think would follow common law. Screw that, I made a second Facebook account with one of my nicknames and lo, I did not have to provide official documentation to do so! PayPal also want "official" documentation. Ugh.

Those who are far more helpful include Tesco (yay!) eBay (yay!) and Amazon. Thanks guys :)

I'm anticipating trouble with the usual suspects, ie, the DVLA, HMRC.

I guess we'll see how it goes.