Judgment of the North Holland District Court dated June 29, 2021

The petitioner was originally born and raised in Afghanistan. His first name is unusual in the Netherlands, and because of a certain association with the name, he is teased with his first name in the Netherlands. He experiences a lot of difficulties in daily life because of this. The teasing and bullying are ongoing, which means that despite being an adult, he still experiences the negative connotation surrounding his first name. He wants to get rid of it.

To change a first name in the Netherlands, the person typically needs to have a Dutch birth certificate. However, the petitioner does not have one because he fled to the Netherlands with his parents at a young age. Therefore, it cannot reasonably be expected of him to provide a birth certificate for registration. In the procedure, he requests to officially establish his birth information so that the court can decide on the request for a name change. He provides several documents as supporting evidence to establish his birth information, including the hearings with the Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND), the royal decree of naturalization, and a statement from his parents regarding his date and place of birth.

The Registrar of Births, Deaths, and Marriages in The Hague is given the opportunity by the court to provide advice on the birth information. There is no objection to the request. The court establishes the birth information of the petitioner and approves the request for a name change.