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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2017
    Posts
    7

    Default How to Change Your Name from One Last Name to Two Last Names

    My question involves name change laws in the State of: Florida

    Hello everyone,

    Soon I will be changing my name after filing for the USA citizenship. Right now, my last name is my husband's last name but I want to go back to having my two Spanish last names (one from my dad and one from my mum) because it is part of my culture, because I want to preserve my heritage, because I want to have all my passports under the same name, and because is my identity. I was wondering if having two last names, space in between, no hyphen is according to the laws in Florida. The other day I asked my manager if she ever had an employee with two last names. I even had to explain to her the use of two last names drawing a family tree because she could not possibly understand how someone could have two last names. Finally, she told me that no matter what my social security card says, for the employer and everybody else I would be Ms. Second last name because in the USA my first last name will automatically come to be part of my middle name. I am confused...Is she right? I am not and will not be Ms. Second last name. My first and my second last names are equally important so I don't understand why this could not be respected and my father's last name would have to be part of my middle name in the USA... Any words of wisdom? Thank you in advance!

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Oct 2014
    Posts
    8,238

    Default Re: From One Last Name to Two Last Names

    The U.S. imposes no restrictions or requirements on names. The late singer Prince famously had a symbol for a name for a number of years. Your full name could have five or ten names to it if you wanted. You can consider two of your names as both being your last name(s) if you wish. The law does not regulate any of that. That said, the most common tradition for names in the U.S. comes from the British custom of a first name, a middle name, and a last name. While some people use a compound last name with a hyphen, like Smith-Jones, it would be more unusual to see a last name as Smith Jones with the space rather than the hyphen. The main problem this custom will cause is (1) people seeing the name Smith Jones will tend to think that your last name is Jones and that Smith is one of your middle names, which may result in you having to keep explaining the convention from your native country that has two last names and (2) some computer systems can’t handle a last name with a space in it because the programmers assumed that everyone would be following the common convention of a single last name. Perhaps your employer’s record system suffers from that sort of problem. There are usually ways to deal with that to make sure that your records are kept properly, even if that means that the name is not represented in the computer exactly as you would like.

    In short, there is no legal barrier to adopting the name you want. There may be some practical issues with it that you will have to deal with.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jun 2017
    Posts
    7

    Default Re: From One Last Name to Two Last Names

    Thank you for your answer. I appreciate it. I have heard from the Social Security Administration that having the hyphen does not come without problems in computer systems since they say that many computer systems do not recognize it. Therefore, it seems that either way I would not free of some eventual issue for what they told me. Thank you again.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    May 2017
    Location
    Florida
    Posts
    355

    Default Re: From One Last Name to Two Last Names

    Your first step in Florida will be to go to your local courthouse and file a petition for change of name for an adult. The court will then issue a final judgement changing your name.

    Hispanic surnames have caused no small amount of confusion, but it has been getting better now that a significant portion of the population now subscribes to the practice. At the Social Security Administration, it seems to depend on how knowledgeable the person processing the paperwork is. A hyphen can help, but I understand that's not the convention for Hispanic surnames. The good news is that as more people retain their cultural surname, American government, business, and society are getting better at dealing with that although issues still remain.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jun 2017
    Posts
    7

    Default Re: From One Last Name to Two Last Names

    Thank you for your answer, I appreciate it. Regarding the court procedure I will change mine at the same time of citizenship during a judicial oath ceremony so I can have two things done at the same time. Thank you again for your input. I hope I do not find a lot of confusion. I am in the medical field so our surnames get used quite a bit.

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