How much do you like your name? Have you ever thought that your life would have turned out differently if your parents had named you Maverick or Uppercut? It’s too late to know for sure, but it’s never too late to try your hand at something new if you really want to try it. Many places in the world allow their citizens to legally change their names if they want to, so there’s nothing stopping you from becoming the next Robocop fighting master on the street if that’s what you want. If that sounds like too much for you, check out these real, incredible stories of name changes.
10. New Zealand judge strips parents of custody after giving their child a silly name
No child wants to be embarrassed by a parent, but some parents feel that embarrassment is in their genetic makeup. If you're lucky, it only happens once in a blue moon and is over quickly, so you can slip away and forget it ever happened. But not everyone is as lucky as 9-year-old Talula, a hula dancer from Hawaii.
A girl was made a ward of the court in Australia after a judge found her parents were basically idiots. The parents were in the middle of a custody battle when the judge learned the girl's name was K, just one letter, because she was embarrassed by her name. Apparently Talulah does a Hawaiian hula - that was literally her name, just a stupid sentence.
The judge stripped both parents of custody to legally allow the child to be renamed. He criticized the parents' poor judgment, saying the name had caused their daughter to be ridiculed, and her refusal to use it proved his point. Her new name was not released to protect her identity, and the guardianship was apparently established later.
9. French courts forced to name a girl Ella
Some people really like Nutella, which is essentially cake frosting masquerading as food that once even claimed to be healthy until a lawsuit forced them to stop saying so. However, despite being a chocolate-hazelnut spread, many people still like it. A couple in France liked it so much that they decided to name their baby Nutella. At least, that was the plan.
French courts had to step in and stop parents from giving their newborn a dessert-themed nickname. Some countries don't allow names for various reasons, and this one was denied because they thought the baby would be laughed at. And let's be honest, it probably would have been.
The judge said that a name that could lead to ridicule was not in the child's best interests. Instead, he forced the parents to name her Ella, which is at least approximate. Interestingly, this was not the parents' second choice. In fact, the parents did not even show up for the hearing, so the judge chose the name and approved it.
8. Man Officially Names Himself After Every James Bond Movie
James Bond is a cool name, thanks to the entire James Bond series of novels and movies. Everyone knows James Bond. He's cool, he's smart, he's deadly. Women seem to enjoy his company. A nice guy. And the name itself isn't weird or anything, it's just that what it represents has such appeal that at least one person has renamed themselves James Bond, and then taken it a step further. Or, in fact, many steps further.
In the UK, you can legally change your name by simply saying that you have changed your name. To make it official, you need to fill out a form, but this is just a way of telling the government that you have changed your name. You write your new name on a form and hand it to the government so that they can change it onto your ID and whatever else. It's very easy.
A poll has revealed how 23-year-old David Fearn changed his name to James Bond. But that's just his first and last name. He's also given himself a middle name. His full legal name is James Dr. No From Russia with Love Goldfinger Thunderball You Only Live Twice On Her Majesty's Secret Service Diamonds Are Forever Live and Let Die The Man with the Golden Gun The Spy Who Loved Me Moonraker For Your Eyes Only Octopussy A View to a Kill Alive Daylight Licence to Kill GoldenEye Tomorrow Never Dies The World Is Not Enough Die Again Casino Royale Bond.
7. The Ultimate Warrior officially changed his name to Warrior
If you were a fan of old-school wrestling in the '80s, you'll recognize the name Ultimate Warrior. With a fiery temper and an intimidating physique, the Ultimate Warrior became one of the biggest stars of the bunch, alongside Hulk Hogan and the macho Randy Savage. Part of Warrior's gimmick was that he was a little unhinged and mentally challenged. It turns out that wasn't the whole gimmick.
The original Warrior, Jim Hellwig, was known to be petty, bigoted, and angry. He once wished for manager Bobby Heenan to die of cancer. He posted racist and homophobic blog posts, insulted Hurricane Katrina victims, and even celebrated the death of Heath Ledger.
At some point, Hellwig decided that life would be better for him if he left Jim and just became Warrior full-time, so he legally changed his name. He has two daughters, and although Warrior passed away in 2014, the daughters still use Warrior as their last name.
6. Dentist officially changed his name to Painless
If you were a half-assed dentist operating in 1892, how would you attract customers to your business? Dentistry was not that advanced back then, and you can only imagine the pain a person had to endure before they went to some stranger and let him use pliers and other tools to rip rotten teeth out of their heads.
Pain was the main concern of dentistry, and Edgar Parker knew it. Rumor has it that he only graduated from dental school because he begged the dean, and overall he was a terrible dentist. He began advertising painless dentistry and injected patients with diluted cocaine before pulling their teeth. Sometimes he just gave them a drink. He was one of the first dentists to actively advertise and solicit patients, which was considered unethical at the time.
To reach a wider audience, Parker teamed up with a carnie and staged a dental circus. He traveled from town to town, and in the audience he had a plant that he would call up and then pretend to operate, quickly and painlessly pulling out a molar. When real customers came on stage, he would have a band play to drown out their screams. After two years, he legally changed his name to "Painless," so technically advertising "Painless Dentistry" wouldn't be false advertising.
5. Tutankhamun changed his name as a sign of respect for the ancient gods
Of all the Egyptian pharaohs, Tutankhamun is probably the most famous in the modern world. How ironic that Tutankhamun was not the name he started life with. He was originally Tutankhaten, which means “living image of Aten.” This was because his parents worshiped a god named Aten, who was the god of the sun.
Aten was part of a pantheon of gods less familiar to us in the modern world. When Tutankhaten became king, he changed his name to Tutankhamun because he was a supporter of the old gods, and so Aten was replaced by the god Amun. Amun later merged with the sun god Ra to become Amun Ra, and that is what most of us in the West know about Egyptian mythology today. But in Tutankhamun's time, the name change was part of the process of restoring the glory of the old gods.
4. Anne Rice's parents changed her name to Anne because that's how she introduced herself.
Anne Rice was one of the most popular science fiction writers in modern history, and her vampire novel series sold millions, not to mention spawned films and TV shows. What’s less well known is that Rice was born Howard Allen O’Brien, which you might recognize as a very traditional male name. Her father was also named Howard, and her mother thought it was a great name, so despite being the second of five daughters, Anne had the unfortunate fate of being named after her father.
As you might expect, Rice hated her name as a child and refused to use it. She attended Catholic school and introduced herself to the nuns there as Anna in first grade. She stuck with it, and since everyone knew her as Anna, her parents changed her name in 1947, when she was six.
3. An angry bank customer changed his name to "Yorkshire Bank - Fascist Bastards".
History is full of stories of people getting mad at banks. Sometimes they have happy endings, but most of the time they are just fairy tales of how banks screwed the average person and ruined their life. So how do you fight back? Most people can't, but some people choose to do what they can, no matter how ridiculous or petty it is.
Michael Howard was a customer of Yorkshire Bank when he was sent a notice saying he had taken out a £10 overdraft. He had to pay £20 for the notice. Outraged, Howard conducted one of those Simply British polls to change its name to "Yorkshire Bank Are Fascist Bastards".
The bank was unhappy with Mr Bastard's name change and demanded that he close his account. He replied that he would be happy if they would refund his 69p balance by writing him a cheque in his legal name.
2. Macaulay Culkin changed his middle name to Macaulay Culkin.
You're probably familiar with Macaulay Culkin, the star of the original Home Alone and its sequel. He found success as a child actor, and Home Alone became a classic. Culkin is an adult now and doesn't act as much, but he still pops up from time to time, including in some holiday-themed commercials in 2023 that parody his iconic role.
What most people don’t know is that Culkin has a middle name, and he chose it after an online fan vote. In 2018, he asked the Internet to give him a new middle name for Christmas. His old middle name was Carson. After 100,000 votes were received on his website, the public spoke out, and Culkin got his way, officially changing his name to the one people chose. Today, his legal name is Macaulay Macaulay Culkin Culkin .
1. Dr. Loki Skylizard chose his official name when he was 8 years old.
One of the greatest name-change stories of all time probably involves Dr. Loki Skylizard. Dr. Skylizard isn’t just a real doctor, he’s a thoracic surgical oncologist based in Missouri. He has an M.D. and specializes in robotic surgery for cancer patients. If you get Dr. Skylizard, you’re in good hands.
Skylizard, a Puerto Rican if the name doesn't put you off, was raised by unusual parents. When he was a child, his parents let him and his siblings just pick their own names. At age 8, he chose Loki Skylizard, and his parents legally changed it to him. He's stuck with it ever since.
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