{"id":593018,"date":"2026-08-14T12:36:13","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T12:36:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/593018\/"},"modified":"2026-08-14T12:36:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T12:36:13","slug":"why-more-people-are-changing-their-names-in-ireland-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/593018\/","title":{"rendered":"Why more people are changing their names in Ireland \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

What\u2019s in a name? Quite a lot, judging by the steadily increasing number of people in Ireland seeking to change their names by deed poll.<\/p>\n

For some, including survivors of residential institutions, transgender people and others seeking safety, changing their name can be a \u201cvery emotional\u201d process, says Brendan Creed, who deals with many of the hundreds of applications to enrol deed polls coming annually into the High Court<\/a> central office. <\/p>\n

Others\u2019 motivation may not be as serious, including some who changed their surnames to Messi<\/a> and Ronaldo<\/a>, perhaps aspiring to the same league as the soccer superstars. \u201cWe have,\u201d says Creed, \u201ca fantastic soccer team on deed poll paper\u201d.<\/p>\n

A small number of applicants, he estimates around 1 per cent, may have been involved in crime themselves, related to or associated with well-known criminal figures. \u201cMost of the criminal gangs have been in here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Perhaps in response to the deadly feud between the rival Hutch and Kinahan crime gangs, Patrick Hutch, a brother of Gerry \u201cThe Monk\u201d Hutch<\/a>, changed his name by deed poll in 2019. Family members of convicted criminals have also sought name changes with a view to ending any association with them.<\/p>\n

A deed poll is a signed declaration binding the applicant to a particular course of action from when it is signed. While usable for any course of action, the vast majority are now made for name changes. They involve a sworn statement to stop using your old name and to use your new one at all times and for all purposes.<\/p>\n

There is no automatic requirement to enrol a deed poll with the central office, but some authorities, including social welfare, will only accept enrolled deed polls. <\/p>\n

A condition of enrolling an adult deed poll is that the courts can publish it on a public register. However, a deed poll is valid even if not enrolled.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs an adult, you have free rein; you can change your name to whatever you like as long as it is not profane or rude,\u201d says central office registrar Naomi Tamblyn, who has discretion over whether to permit enrolment applications. <\/p>\n

\"StaffStaff of the central office of the high court in the strong room where the historic cause books and deed rolls are securely stored. Photograph: Alan Betson\/The Irish Times \"Photograph:Photograph: Alan Betson\/The Irish Times <\/p>\n

Some applicants want just one name, or even one letter. \u201cI had a woman who wanted to be called Z, but the tradition here is to have a first name and surname. You cannot be just X. You cannot be Adolf Hitler<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

One man who wanted to be named after a wild animal was permitted his choice on the basis that he used the animal\u2019s name both as his first name and surname.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t make a judgment on what the person is doing, but the documents must be filled in correctly,\u201d says Tamblyn. \u201cA name is very personal. We don\u2019t ask, we don\u2019t judge, you don\u2019t need to give us your reasons, but you can if you want.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSome people want to be a whole new person,\u201d Tamblyn says. \u201cSome come in and just say, \u2018I hate my name.\u2019 I\u2019ve never signed off on two names that are the same. Then you have some who go back to their original name. For some, it\u2019s just a bit of a whim.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are different criteria for changing a child\u2019s name by deed poll. Children aged between 14-17 who live permanently in the Republic can enrol a change of name by deed poll provided their application includes a signed consent of their parents. A court order dispensing with the need for consent may be sought if parental consent is not available. Necessary documents must also be certified by either a Garda, a solicitor or a commissioner for oaths.<\/p>\n

Tusla brings some applications, including for teenagers who have settled well in foster care and want the same surname as their foster parents. <\/p>\n

For children aged under 13, parents living permanently in the Republic can effect a change of their child\u2019s name. One parent fills out the form and the second signs their consent, which must be in front of a witness aged at least 18, and documents must be certified. <\/p>\n

Deed poll documents dating back decades are kept in folders known as deed rolls in a strongroom beside the central office on the ground floor of the Four Courts.<\/p>\n

Once the thick steel door is unlocked and the internal barred gate is opened, there is a sense of entering a past century. Huge ledgers containing indexes of court documents, large creamy paper scrolls and locked metal boxes relating to individual cases, many dating back to the foundation of the State, sit on some shelves in the high-ceilinged room. Other shelves store documents in more modern filing systems. <\/p>\n

The central office has seen a steady rise in deed poll enrolment applications to more than 1,000 annually in recent years. So far this year, more than 870 deed polls have been enrolled, and others await final processing. Most are finalised within ten weeks and cost \u20ac60, rising to \u20ac80 if an additional sworn statement is required.<\/p>\n

A public register of enrolled deed polls since 2014 is available online, while the office holds records from earlier decades, including a book with an alphabetical index of deed polls enrolled since 1922. Among those early entrants is a small number of men knighted by the English monarchy. Historians, researchers, garda\u00ed and people hoping to find out more about their family history can request a search of deed poll documents for a fee of \u20ac25.<\/p>\n

In recent years, many enrolment applicants are refugees or immigrants who got Irish citizenship and wish to have their children\u2019s names changed to a more Anglicised or Irish version.<\/p>\n

\"ThereThere are different criteria for changing a child\u2019s name by deed poll. Photograph: Alan Betson\/The Irish Times \"Photograph:Photograph: Alan Betson\/The Irish Times <\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a bit sad sometimes to see parents come in and say they want their child to have a more English name so they will fit in better at school,\u201d says Tamblyn. \u201cIt may be to make their lives easier, but you would hope it is not because they have been the victims of some sort of racism.\u201d<\/p>\n

Because some applicants cannot speak English, they can find the process difficult to navigate. The central office, Tamblyn says, has tried to make it as simple as possible, and staff help applicants ensure forms are correctly completed. <\/p>\n

The office encourages applicants to engage solicitors, especially where minors are involved, but mistakes by solicitors in certifying affidavits are \u201ccommon\u201d, she says. \u201cSolicitors need to get the paperwork right; everything we reject is because it is a breach of rules or procedure.\u201d<\/p>\n

A considerable number of applications result from estrangement from a parent, she says. Some people who have their father\u2019s surname want to change it to their mother\u2019s if their father was not involved in their life. <\/p>\n

Others want to alter their name to its Irish or English equivalent, and an estimated 10 per cent of applications are by transgender individuals. <\/p>\n

It is \u201cimpossible\u201d to overstate the broad range of reasons for deed polls, says Creed. He dealt with two girls who told him they decided, after just completing their Leaving Certificate, their \u201cprize\u201d would be to change their names. Other applicants were doing final exams for medicine and wanted a certain name on their degree.<\/p>\n

A heavily pregnant woman who came into the office told him that, while in a Dublin hospital waiting for her baby to arrive, she decided to change her name by deed poll so it would be \u201ccorrect\u201d when her baby was born. Pregnancy was an impetus for others to seek name changes, he said. <\/p>\n

The office will prioritise urgent applications, including where a wedding is approaching. In one such case, the wedding was just a few weeks away, but the man could not prove his name. <\/p>\n

There is no uniformity across Europe when it comes to changing names, says Creed. \u201cIn France, for example, if you change your name by deed poll, your new name goes on your birth certificate. That does not happen here.\u201d <\/p>\n

Deed poll enrolment applications here show the extent to which Irish society has changed, reflected by some seeking a new identity or to leave behind a difficult past. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt is fantastic to see the relief in their face when they have gone through the process. One man told me: \u2018I should have done this 30 years ago, but I\u2019m here today\u2019,\u201d says Creed. \u201cSome people have come in and said, \u2018the witch doctor gave me my name\u2019. \u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a very emotional process for some people; I see them coming in ashen-faced. This is the biggest thing they have ever done. Some want to tell their story, I\u2019m very sensitive to that, but I would try to focus on the practicalities: what is needed for them to change their names. For some, it is about achieving closure on something that has been very traumatic.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"What\u2019s in a name? Quite a lot, judging by the steadily increasing number of people in Ireland seeking…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":593019,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[49539,15561,70422,73,61,60,27006,28776,43],"class_list":["post-593018","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-adolf-hitler","tag-cristiano-ronaldo","tag-gerry-hutch","tag-high-court","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-kinahan-cartel","tag-lionel-messi","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/593018","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=593018"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/593018\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/593019"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=593018"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=593018"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=593018"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}