Judgment of the Central Netherlands Court on May 28, 2021
The petitioner experiences significant inconvenience in her daily life due to her official first names. This has several reasons. Firstly, at birth, the petitioner was given the nickname Elize*, and she has been called by this name for most of her life; she is known by no other. It often causes discomfort for the petitioner when she is confronted with the official first name Margareth, and she feels like a different person when she hears or sees the name Margareth; she has gone through life under the name Elize since birth, and that is who she is. As long as the official name exists, it feels like ‘two people’ to the petitioner.
It is also important to the petitioner that she can bear the name Elize because she wishes to make a fresh start in her life. She has experienced many burdensome experiences with her parents during her youth and adulthood. This has led the petitioner to occasionally feel inadequate. She has struggled to distance herself from her parents, a choice she considers a ‘liberation.’ The petitioner’s official first names do not reflect who she is; at least, she would prefer the names to disappear so that she can continue with the long-standing nickname Elize. Her official first names and surname are associated only with negative feelings. The petitioner wishes to take her husband’s surname so that she can move forward with her life and leave behind all the negative associations surrounding her names.
She regards this request for a first name change as the conclusion of a very impactful period in her life and has the desire to permanently relinquish her current official first names and surname.
The court grants the request. No oral hearing took place.
- Real first names are fictional.
