Judgment of the District Court of The Hague dated February 9, 2021

Applicant is originally from Afghanistan. She experiences significant inconvenience due to her official first name in the Netherlands. This is because others often mispronounce or misspell her name. She frequently has to explain how to pronounce or spell the name, which results in exhausting situations for her.

Because the name is unusual, people often make spelling mistakes with it. Applicant frequently has to correct these spelling errors. According to information from the Dutch first names database, the name is almost non-existent in the Netherlands, confirming that it is highly unusual. Applicant feels that the name disturbs her daily happiness, and she no longer wishes to tolerate this. What bothers her most is that due to the infrequency of the name, others interpret it as both male and female. Because of the name’s pronunciation, people often assume it’s a male first name and subsequently consider her as such. This often leads to uncomfortable situations. Applicant doesn’t want to completely abandon this name but would like to add an additional first name. She believes that this change will help eliminate all the inconvenience surrounding the name. Since she will complete her studies in the near future, she expects that the name change will also benefit her in both her professional and personal life.

Applicant does not have an original birth certificate, so the Registrar of Births, Deaths, and Marriages in The Hague must provide advice. However, she does possess documents from the Dutch Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) and has obtained Dutch nationality, which is a requirement for changing a first name in the Netherlands.

Considering the submitted documents and applicant’s refugee status, the Registrar of Births, Deaths, and Marriages states that applicant is not required to provide a birth certificate. The Registrar advises determining the birth data, and applicant has no objections to this advice. The court accepts this advice and grants the request for a first name change.