As of today (28th January 2021) I have officially changed my name.
By which I mean I did it nearly a year ago (14th February 2020) when I started setting up stuff like this site and telling a number of friends and then told everyone else later in the year (I want to say June 2020) and then finally I have organised a deed poll so that I can “prove it”.
The way this all works is quite interesting. In Scotland, there is no issue with me using an alternative name as long as I am not attempting to defraud people. But the amount of steps you need to go through to register your new name everywhere is baffling.
Facebook won’t recognise the deed poll, but they will recognise a utility bill. The utility company might recognise the deed poll, or they may require government-issued ID. So many of the companies that I pay money to for services don’t really care what my name is but they make it damn hard for me to change it once they’ve set their mind on it.
But the point is rather than I have “officially” changed my name – I have a bit of electronic paper which has been electronically signed by my witnesses, and now I can move on with changing it everywhere else.
