Ruling of the Limburg Court on May 21, 2021

The petitioner was originally given a nickname at birth, but her parents never officially registered it. As a result, her nickname is not officially recorded anywhere.

This situation is troublesome for the petitioner. She has carried her nickname throughout her life, but on paper, it appears as if she has a different name (in the sense that others address her by her baptismal name). This often leads to confusion among others. The petitioner frequently gets into discussions about her name (both in her professional and private life) and must then explain to others that her actual name is A, not B. The petitioner believes that formalizing her nickname would improve her daily well-being and happiness, as she would no longer have to explain this to others. It would also strengthen her sense of identity because every time she confronts her passport or other official documents, it feels as if they refer to someone else. The petitioner has been using her nickname since her early childhood.

In the request for a name change, the petitioner provides several pieces of evidence showing that she uses the respective nickname in her daily life.

The court rules that the petitioner has a sufficiently significant reason for the name change request and grants the application.