Legal Question in Administrative Law in California

Re: wrong name on Birth Cert

One possibility is to go through the formal name-change process provided by California law and officially change you name from that shown on your birth certificate to that you've been using all your life.

The process is not particularly complicated and I think a lot of people do it without hiring a lawyer.

However, I'm not completely sure this is necessary, or even that it would be effective. Probably the best starting point for you would be to go to the Passport Agency (preferably after making an appointment) to discuss this problem with a knowledgable clerk. This problem has certainly come up before, and the agency probably has an established precedure for sufficiently verifying your citizenship and eligibility to receive a passport.

Re: wrong name on Birth Cert

Follow Mr. Whipple's advise. I have always switched my middle name with my first name [I did not see my birth certificate until I was about 13] and never had had any problems with it. Of course, Homeland Security is crazy and has probably cost the country more than foreign terrorists, so you have to check with they as to their idiotic procedures. Go to the Passport Office if one still exists and see if they will give you a short note as to what exists. Keep on using your current name; it did not cause problems before, and as far as they can tell Baby Fred Smith disappeared at birth.

What your father did was not illegal; you can use any name you want as long it is not done to commit a fraud. Many of the refugees from Germany and beyond changed their names to make it easier on their fellow countrymen; before the integration of the Armed Forces Sgt.'s sometimes changed the names of Black soldier if two or more in a unit had the same names, so that the Sgt.'s would not get confused. Many people use a shortening of their first name. There are not any rumors I have heard of that causing trouble.