can she legally change her name

[Vance83]

My friends 16 year old daughter wants to legally change her name. Can she change her name without her parents consent?

 

[missbishi]

That depends on where you are located. Different countries have different rules, as do all the different states in the USA. In the UK, you can legally change your name at 16 without parental consent and I imagine the rulings are similar elsewhere. I expect the legal age you can change your name is the same age at which you can get legally married - it wouldn't make sense otherwise.

 

[Josie]

Here, you can only change your name at 16 if you have written consent from your parents. I think there would have to be some pretty serious reasons to do it otherwise and you'd have to prove them unfit or get yourself emancipated etc.

 

[DancingLady]

I would think you would have to wait until 18, but I am not sure. At 18 you are an adult, so you definitely can at that point.

 

[JoanMcWench]

She'll likely have to wait until she's eighteen unless she has her parents consent. My guess is she does not due to wanting to change her name in the first place. Not sure of how this works across the world though.