Changing one’s name or surname is subject to a specific legal procedure.
Pursuant to Article 27 of the Civil Code, a lawsuit to change one’s name or surname can only be filed on valid grounds. The concept of valid grounds is interpreted quite broadly. Valid grounds also include the person’s personal subjective reasons.
A case for changing a name or surname can be filed for countless reasons, such as the name or surname being ridiculous, reminding the person of a trauma, being associated with the name of a notorious person, or for professional or artistic reasons.
A lawsuit for changing a name or surname can only be filed by the person themselves or by a lawyer to whom they have given special power of attorney. For minors, the lawsuit can be filed by their parents with parental rights or by a lawyer to whom they have given power of attorney.
The competent court for name and surname change lawsuits is the Civil Court of First Instance. The plaintiff may file the lawsuit at the Civil Court of First Instance where they reside.
An official appointed by the Population Directorate participates in the name and surname change lawsuit as the defendant. The Population Directorate must be listed as the defendant in the lawsuit petition. A name and surname change lawsuit is a lawsuit that is mostly based on population records. Therefore, no special documents are required to file the lawsuit. However, if the facts underlying the request for a name change, and especially a surname change, are based on a specific document, the relevant document may be submitted as evidence.
If the current name and surname cause confusion in social life or if there are complications in official procedures, documents proving these issues must be submitted to the court with the case file when filing a name change lawsuit.
The most important evidence in a name and surname change case is witness statements. If the name is not obviously ridiculous, does not have a known negative meaning, i.e., if the name does not have a negative connotation from a formal point of view, witness evidence becomes important for proving subjective circumstances.
