Viva la Furia Roja
New member
I really love my family. My parents never abused me or anything like that. I hate the name because of the name. I know people have bigger problems than this but it's really causing me emotional pain. I feel like this last name isn't who I really am and I feel really depressed at the thought of having to go through life stuck with it. I hate it so much that it makes me CRAZY.
I've been told that you have to have a valid reason to change your last name in the USA and that no judge would consider my reasons valid.
Changing the name means so much to me and here are my reasons:
1. My full name is really plain and I hate how the first and last names sound together. I have a super common first and last name. I've never had a name all my own. I always get lost in the crowd. It really, really bothers me to have a FULL name that so many others have... I just feel like a number. I want a special name to identify just me. Instead I have two done to death names. Everywhere I've worked or attended school there's always another one. There's even a movie character with the same exact name! It's so embarrassing... no sense of identity.
2. I'm a musician. My absolute dream is to take it to the next level and do more than just sit at home playing guitar alone. I practice my fingers until they're literally bloody and my callouses are shredded and scabby and people say I'm really talented. But I feel like having a plain common name- a SUPER plain name- is a detriment. I want a name with more star quality. And I don't want to use a fake name, I want it to be my real name.
3. I have Spanish heritage and Hispanic culture means everything to me. I hate having an American last name because it disassociates me from the Hispanic culture I love. I don't hate the USA, but I love Mexico and Spain more and feel out of place in American culture. I hate our last name because people think I don't have Spanish blood and I need a Spanish last name so I'll be identified as having Spanish blood. Just TELLING people isn't good enough. I studied abroad in Mexico and Spain and I had a REALLY rough time readjusting to American culture. I don't belonghere and I often feel depressed and detached. I need a Spanish last name because it would link me to my Spanish heritage and the Hispanic culture.
4. I NEVER wanna get married but if I do, I would want to move to Mexico or Spain and follow the traditions. In those cultures the kids get two surnames, one from dad and one from mom. I want to pass down a Spanish last name to my kids and it would be such a shame for the Spanish surname in my heritage to die out.
I can't bear to go through life with this hideous last name. It causes me emotional pain every day and I've been unhappy for 29 years. I've struggled to accept it but it just makes me more miserable each day.
Getting married is NOT an option. First of all I'm too miserable to wait.
Second, I want to pass down the Spanish last name in my family to my children if I have any. I don't want to do it the American way- eg woman marries, takes his last name, and the kids have dad's last name. I want to do it the Mexican/Spanish way... woman keeps her name and then the kids get their dad's last name followed by mom's. And José González Smith isn't authentic.
I would like to know if anyone has heard of a case in the USA where someone legally changed their surname for similar reasons (eg desire)?
Thanks if you can help.
I've been told that you have to have a valid reason to change your last name in the USA and that no judge would consider my reasons valid.
Changing the name means so much to me and here are my reasons:
1. My full name is really plain and I hate how the first and last names sound together. I have a super common first and last name. I've never had a name all my own. I always get lost in the crowd. It really, really bothers me to have a FULL name that so many others have... I just feel like a number. I want a special name to identify just me. Instead I have two done to death names. Everywhere I've worked or attended school there's always another one. There's even a movie character with the same exact name! It's so embarrassing... no sense of identity.
2. I'm a musician. My absolute dream is to take it to the next level and do more than just sit at home playing guitar alone. I practice my fingers until they're literally bloody and my callouses are shredded and scabby and people say I'm really talented. But I feel like having a plain common name- a SUPER plain name- is a detriment. I want a name with more star quality. And I don't want to use a fake name, I want it to be my real name.
3. I have Spanish heritage and Hispanic culture means everything to me. I hate having an American last name because it disassociates me from the Hispanic culture I love. I don't hate the USA, but I love Mexico and Spain more and feel out of place in American culture. I hate our last name because people think I don't have Spanish blood and I need a Spanish last name so I'll be identified as having Spanish blood. Just TELLING people isn't good enough. I studied abroad in Mexico and Spain and I had a REALLY rough time readjusting to American culture. I don't belonghere and I often feel depressed and detached. I need a Spanish last name because it would link me to my Spanish heritage and the Hispanic culture.
4. I NEVER wanna get married but if I do, I would want to move to Mexico or Spain and follow the traditions. In those cultures the kids get two surnames, one from dad and one from mom. I want to pass down a Spanish last name to my kids and it would be such a shame for the Spanish surname in my heritage to die out.
I can't bear to go through life with this hideous last name. It causes me emotional pain every day and I've been unhappy for 29 years. I've struggled to accept it but it just makes me more miserable each day.
Getting married is NOT an option. First of all I'm too miserable to wait.
Second, I want to pass down the Spanish last name in my family to my children if I have any. I don't want to do it the American way- eg woman marries, takes his last name, and the kids have dad's last name. I want to do it the Mexican/Spanish way... woman keeps her name and then the kids get their dad's last name followed by mom's. And José González Smith isn't authentic.
I would like to know if anyone has heard of a case in the USA where someone legally changed their surname for similar reasons (eg desire)?
Thanks if you can help.