Judgment of the Amsterdam Court on May 26, 2021
The petitioner wishes to change her first name and would like to add a second first name.
The reason for this request is that the petitioner’s grandfather, Wilhelmus*, has a total of five grandchildren, but to his great sorrow, none of his grandchildren have been named after him. The petitioner has a good relationship with her grandfather, and she finds it important to honor him and fulfill his desire to be named after. She has discussed this with her parents, and they fully support her choice. She would like to adopt his first name as her second first name, in the sense that she would like to have the second first name Wilhelmina.
The petitioner’s grandfather has expressed his disappointment about not being named after by any of his grandchildren during her childhood. However, it was only when the petitioner reached adulthood that she became aware of the sadness he feels about it. She loves her grandfather and would consider it a beautiful gesture to carry his name as a third first name, Johanna.
Lastly, it is important for the petitioner that her brothers have been named after someone, but she has not. For this reason, she would like to have two first names, just like them, from an equality perspective.
The court rules that the petitioner has a sufficiently significant reason for the request to change her first name. The request is granted.
- The real first name is fictional.
