How to Have My Last Name Changed

My question involves name change laws in the State of: Michigan.
When i was born my mother game me her last name (Smith), well i was taken from her and adopted and given the last name of the adopting parents. I am now 19 and have met both my biological parents and have decided i want the last name of my father. But problem is my fathers mother did not give him his fathers last name instead her current husbands last name. And the same thing with my Grandpas Dad... First off how do i find out what my great grandpas last name was and get my last name changed to it on my birth certificate. :wallbang:

First thing you have to understand is that you aren't going to get it changed on your birth certificate. Period. There is no legal process that allows you to do that.

The best you can hope for is going to court and having your name legally changed now for future use, but it won't be changed on your birth certificate.

As to how you find out your grandfather's last name, you'll probably have to hire a private investigator or a professional genealogist to do the research.

Not very practical.

Especially considering that you are probably going through some sort of emotional phase where you think this is important. Maybe rebelling against your mother.

Trust me, it isn't important. And the evidence of that is that your forebears attached different names to their offspring and nobody can tell you what the original names were supposed to be.

Besides, if you don't know what the name is, how do you know you even want it?

However, if you are determined to do this anyway, why not consider adding your father's first name as your last name and use Smith or Gavin as your new middle name.

After all, if you are trying to honor your father, he doesn't know what his name was supposed to be either, so it won't mean much to him (or anybody else) for you to wear a name that he didn't even know he had.

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Quoting adjusterjack

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First thing you have to understand is that you aren't going to get it changed on your birth certificate. Period. There is no legal process that allows you to do that.

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Um...about that.

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Legal Name Change -- If you had a legal name change, you can change your birth certificate by contacting the State of Michigan's vital records registry. Lansing would then file the corrected copy with the county. http://www.michigan.gov/mdch.

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Agreed. It's possible in most states to do that - you can get the birth certificate changed, but sometimes not the birth record.

I stand corrected:

Legal Name Change Requirements:

Completed changes application
Court order specifying the legal change of name.

If court order is granted before the registrant’s 18th birthday, a new certificate of birth is created that shows only the new name (new record).

If court order is dated after the 18th birthday, but contains an order requiring that a new certificate be created, a certificate is created reflecting only the name awarded by the court (new record).

If court order is dated after the registrant’s 18th birthday and in the absence of an order to create a new certificate, an addendum is added to the bottom of the certificate reflecting the new name, while retaining the information from the original certificate (addended record).

(MCL 333.2872(2), R 325.3263(2))


Above is from the same link JK provided.

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Quoting adjusterjack

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I stand corrected:

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btw: I think such laws are wrong. Did you know that if born in Ohio as a female and have a gender reassignment surgery, you can change the gender on your birth certificate to reflect the new gender?

I believe that a birth record should be just that: a record of the facts at birth. Those facts, with the exception of a correction of incorrect information, never change.

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Quoting jk

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I believe that a birth record should be just that: a record of the facts at birth. Those facts, with the exception of a correction of incorrect information, never change.

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I agree.

Just noticed your signature.

+1.