Judgment of the Limburg District Court of February 17, 2020

Petitioner emigrated from Thailand to the Netherlands around 2010. Shortly before that, she had changed her first name in Thailand.

In Thailand, it is relatively easy to change the official first name, and it is common to choose a first name that best suits the person at that time. Petitioner’s new first name has a special meaning and fits her well.

However, despite the name change, petitioner experiences inconvenience from this name in the Netherlands. The name is unusual in the Netherlands, and she often notices that others consider the name strange. People also have difficulty pronouncing the name. Since it is common in Thailand for individuals to have an unofficial nickname, petitioner wants her Thai nickname to be officially registered in the Netherlands. Therefore, through a request for a first name change, she wishes to formalize the long-standing (unofficial) nickname in Dutch records so that she will no longer experience inconvenience from her current first name.

Petitioner possesses an original, legalized Thai birth certificate, which is valid in the Netherlands. The court grants the request for a first name change and instructs the civil registrar to register petitioner’s birth certificate.