Judgment of the District Court of Central Netherlands dated December 2, 2020

The applicant experiences daily inconvenience due to his initials. He perceives his given names as ordinary, but the combination of his initials forms a word with a negative meaning. The applicant has been subjected to bullying because of this since elementary school. The negative connotation of the initials also exists in the English language.

The applicant is currently pursuing university studies and is expected to receive his bachelor’s degree at the end of the academic year. The prospect of having the abbreviation of his initials on official documents, including his diploma, passport, driver’s license, and future academic publications, is distressing for him. As he aspires to a career in academia, where he will be identified by these initials, the applicant experiences feelings of inferiority and a lack of self-confidence. The mere thought of others reading his initials strongly disturbs him. Consequently, he wishes to permanently change his current initials.

Given the applicant’s motivation, the court grants the request in writing, and there was no oral hearing held.