Judgment of the Central Netherlands District Court on March 22, 2021
The petitioner has been using the name Milan* his entire life, but this common name is not officially registered. In his daily life, he experiences a lot of inconvenience due to this. He often gets into discussions about his name (both in business and in private life) and frequently has to explain to others that his actual name is Milan. This often leads to uncomfortable conversations. The petitioner believes that formalizing his common name Milan would improve his daily well-being and happiness, as he would no longer need to explain this to others. It would also strengthen his sense of identity because every time he is confronted with the data on his passport, it feels like he cannot truly be himself; the names seem to refer to someone else. The petitioner has been using the common name Milan since his early childhood.
Furthermore, he experiences inconvenience from his official first name because it strongly associates with the Islamic faith. However, the petitioner is not a Muslim and has no connection with the Islamic faith. He does not find his official first name fitting in that regard. As proof, he submits several documents in the proceedings that show he uses the common name Milan in his daily life. Based on this, he believes he has a sufficiently substantial interest in changing his first name; he sees it as a formalization of the common name that has existed for years.
Considering the petitioner’s motivation, the court grants the request for a first name change (in writing). No oral hearing was held.
- The actual first name is fictional.
