Judgment of the Zeeland-West-Brabant District Court dated June 4, 2021

The petitioner experiences a significant daily inconvenience due to his second given name. The reason for this is that it strongly evokes associations with a well-known dictator. The petitioner faces daily difficulties with his second given name; every time he has to use his official full names for any matter, he is confronted with this name. The petitioner has often experienced others making fun of or even getting upset about his name. It is also common for others to have a hard time believing that he was given this name. He finds it very frustrating that others react negatively to him, while he cannot do anything about the name. In the petitioner’s perception, the unpleasant experiences are continuous.

The petitioner would like to abbreviate his second given name so that the association will no longer be present. The abbreviated name is also quite common within the petitioner’s family, making this change a logical choice. In order to prevent further unpleasant experiences related to the use of his second name and to do justice to his family name, the petitioner wishes to alter his second name. He argues that this change will improve his daily happiness. It is a minor alteration, in the sense that the petitioner’s initials will remain the same.

The court grants the request, considering the petitioner’s motivation.