Judgment of the Amsterdam District Court dated May 27, 2020
The petitioner has gone by the first name José* since birth. For unknown reasons, the petitioner’s parents apparently neglected to officially register this first name at the time. Initially, the petitioner did not experience much, if any, inconvenience due to this situation. However, the petitioner has increasingly found it burdensome that the long-standing first name is not officially registered. There is now a growing sense that there is a different identity on paper because of the name. It is also impossible to use the first name when dealing with official matters, such as booking a flight. Moreover, it frequently occurs that the petitioner incurs administrative costs to change the name because the names do not match the ones on the passport.
The petitioner has submitted several pieces of evidence in the proceeding, demonstrating that the petitioner has been known by the first name José since birth. The petitioner wishes to remove the inconvenience experienced in the past and may face in the future by formalizing this first name. The petitioner has also provided a court ruling from the Oost-Brabant District Court dated February 14, 2020, ECLI:NL:RBOBR:2020:1085, where the facts and circumstances were similar to those in this proceeding. Based on the considerations of the court in that case – where the court granted the request – the petitioner believes there is an interest in changing the first name. The petitioner further argues that the societal interest in a consistent use of first names should yield to the personal interest in changing the first name.
The court, considering the petitioner’s motivation, grants the request. No oral hearing was held.
- Actual first name is fictitious.
