Judgment of the District Court of The Hague dated February 18, 2020

The petitioner experiences significant discomfort from his official first name. The name refers to a well-known dictator from the past, and the name directly associates the petitioner with that dictator. The petitioner is confronted with this name by others on a daily basis, and he encounters difficulties in almost all situations where he needs to use his name. He feels extremely insecure when he has to introduce himself to others or when he needs to identify himself. This has led to social hindrance for the petitioner because he knows from experience that people often make fun of his name.

Especially during his youth, the petitioner faced many problems due to his first name. He was often the target of bullying, and his school years were so traumatic that he did not want to go to school anymore and developed extreme anxiety in certain social situations. This led to a lot of absenteeism, and only with great effort and support from professionals was the petitioner able to complete his education. Now, the petitioner has reached a point in his life where he wants to change his first name once and for all and wishes to have names that reflect who he is.

The second and third first names of the petitioner are references to his father and grandfather, respectively. The petitioner now wishes to change his first names to names that are a tribute to his family members because he feels comfortable with this choice. The first name is a tribute to his father, and the second name is a tribute to his grandfather. The petitioner believes that this change is in his best interest. Furthermore, given that the initials will remain the same, and the petitioner is not expected to use them extensively in daily life, he believes that the societal interest in consistent name usage, as referred to in Article 1:4 of the Civil Code, should be considered of limited value. In other words, society is unlikely to be significantly affected by the change.

The petitioner has also attempted to use a variant of the name, but it has not proven sufficient, as he still encounters his official first name in situations where he needs to identify himself, among others. Additionally, the petitioner wishes to seek closure for several significant (youth) experiences from his past through this request.