Judgment of the Amsterdam District Court dated May 13, 2020

The applicant wants to change his first name and provides the following reasons for it.

The father of the applicant passed away at a relatively young age, and this was a very traumatic event for the applicant. The premature death has left deep emotional scars in the life of the applicant.

Today, the applicant finds himself in a situation where he has relatively few mementos of his father. He thinks about him every day. The applicant regrets the loss of his father not only for himself but also for his own son, who has never had the chance to know his grandfather. As a tribute to his father, the applicant has chosen to name his son after his grandfather. The first name is relatively uncommon, but it is present within the applicant’s family, as his grandfather also had the same first name.

According to information from the Dutch first names database, this first name is hardly ever given to newborns. Due to the fact that the first name is a reference to his father’s first name and the desire to honor his father’s memory, the applicant would like to obtain the first name as a second first name. In the past, it was often customary to name the son with a patronymic reference to the father’s name. Unfortunately, patronymics have lost their significance in modern times, to the applicant’s disappointment.

The applicant believes that he has a sufficiently weighty reason to change his first name, as provided for in Article 1:4 of the Dutch Civil Code. In his daily life, the applicant will primarily use his first first name. Additionally, the applicant believes that adding his father’s first name is a tribute to him. Lastly, the applicant believes that a reasonable interpretation of the law under Article 1:4 of the Dutch Civil Code implies that society has an interest in preserving classic Dutch names from falling into oblivion, and therefore, there is an interest in adding the second first name.

The court sees no reason to schedule an oral hearing and considers itself sufficiently informed regarding the request. It grants the application.