I thought I would change it with marriage
Then do it. Pick your celebrity crush, then get together with friends and family for a fake wedding and name change
this post was submitted on 29 May 2026
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McGillicuddy? Meredith McGillicuddy.
I'm just here to say having a common name is really nice imo.
change it to "happy-adjustable-spanners" like that one guy did when he lost a bet 😄
lol’) ; drop table users;
I knew a couple that did this. Neither of them changed their names when they got married, and both their names were just weird. They wanted more professional-sounding names, FWIW.
I somewhat agree to explore the un-messed up spelling, but can see how that might not work. My friends just dug through family histories until they found one they liked. Settled on Snook. Worked for them.
Starting from scratch, I would start with syllables first to see what fits. It's either you want a mirroring of the syllables of the first name if you want something formidable and important-sounding, or a single syllable that is a stark punctuation if it suits you more.
A few examples:
2-syllable names might do better with 1 or 2 syllables - Maureen Star, Maureen Wright. Maureen Harper, Maureen Rivers flow well.
3 syllable names might work with up to 3 - Meredith Mackenzie. Meredith Lancaster.
You might also want a "job name" as other suggested as they are sort of ethnically neutral (other than being English) - many 2 syllables. Taylor, Harper, Archer, Tanner, Hunter, Sawyer, Driver, Wainwright, etc.
Or something you like in nature - Rivers, Forester, Woods, Fields, Bay, Mariner
If you go for 1 syllable, make it a word people know that pops. Knox. Hale. Quinn. Snow. Stone. Frost. Hart. Steele. Black. Night. Day.
Also, search online first to make sure that no one with the same name is a serial killer or something.
Best of luck!
Ok you're Virgil !
My last name makes me too identifiable. It is an Ellis Island misspelling that makes me the only person on this earth with my exact first and last name combo.
I used to think this, until someone on Facebook popped up with my name. They still feel like they cropped up (like some CIA cover name/id theft) because my brother worked in the Navy in the very town he worked in 20 years ago. But whatever.
I used to think so as well, until apparently there’s another me in Chicago. He’s a bit older and a college professor
I vote for Name Mc(Name) face
Olga McOlgaface has a very nice ring to it.
If the issue is identifiability why not just change it to another, more common family name? Fix the misspelling so it's not as rare or change to your mother's maiden name. Or some of your grandparents.
If it's an Ellis Island misspelling, could you not just correct the misspelling and go with the corrected version?
'); DROP TABLE Names; --
Little Bobby Tables strikes again!
Why is every field on my phone just NULL VALUE now??
Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho
The only true good suggestion on here.
If it's currently a misspelling, why not use the correct spelling?
Best suggestion IMO.
Or research the history of your correctly spelled last name and see if you like any more common historical variants.
My immediate thought: the paperwork system of the world would fail. Correcting an extremely unique misspelled name (let's say it's two letters transposed) falls into that weird bucket of "close enough typos" that the OP would never recover. I'd be worried most about the financial systems screwing me over.
IMHO, best to change to something clearly different so that the paperwork world is given a clear indication of intentional change. Broadcast the intent loud and clear to force systems to change and not ignore it as "some stupid typo." $0.02
edit: sorry replied to the wrong comment my bad, meant the parent
Could do a double change. Change from Zmyth to Brewski and then back to Smith, avoiding the misspelling pitfall.
Oh yeah, good point!
(your name) Mc(your name)ey face
Could go with the "last name thats just a job title" like baker or smith or computer scientist
me: Is that Gretchen from marketing?
my coworker: No, that's Gretchen Marketing. She's in sales.
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Namey McNameface, if you're looking for a middle name change too.
I knew a woman a long time ago that took the last name von Finglebum-Smythe. People would ask if it was German, or English, or whatever. She would always reply “No, it’s fictitious”
I have always loved that
Your full name should be [FirstName] Mc[FirstNameFace]
... it is old-fashioned English--think Meredith, Esther, Olga, Gretchen...
I realize this is kind of beside the point but bear with me please. None of these names are English. Meredith is Welsh, Esther is from the Bible, Olga is Russian with a tinge of Scandinavian, and Gretchen is straight up German. Now, your actual name might be English so it is only tangentially relevant. And while you could dismiss this all as smarteassery on my part, which would be fair, I just want to impress upon you that what you think about names may not be correct. It's not a popular piece of advice in 2026 but: do your own research first before you go to the courthouse. Just confirm with the search engine of your choice that you got the right idea. Don't trust disagreed m so-called AI with this.
I wish you best of luck with your search. I'd suggest "Lee" - a common family name both in the anglosphere and a variant of a common Chinese one as well.
Ellis Island misspellings are a piece of patina of the US. I think at this point in time that makes them in themselves worth preserving. I don't mean to talk you out of your plan here, it's just fruit for thought.
Also, seems like according to The Smithsonian (2015, I assume it's reliable), the Ellis Island misspellings never happened
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Just something you should be aware, getting your name changed could be a royal pain in the butt and takes a long time, fair bit of money and a lot of patience. I recently went through the process and it's quite the journey. First thing you need to get is a signed paper from a judge in your state. Here are the list of things you have to do afterwards. There are some dependencies so you may not be able to get them done simultaneously. Social security card and state drivers license are the two most important and everything else comes afterwards.
- Social Security Card - Depending on your location, an appointment could take few months.
- Driver's License - In my state name change doesn't require an appointment however if you're upgrading to Real ID then it may require an appointment. Appointment could take several weeks to several months depending on your state.
- Car registrations
- Car titles - This could cost some money
- Car insurance
- Passport and Passport Card - This could take some time and may cost some money depending on your situation. https://travel.state.gov/en/passports/renew-replace/change-correct-passport.html
- Your employer
- If you own a company then there may be some paperwork to be done.
- If you are renting then you'll need to talk to your landlord or property manager
- If you own a house you might need to talk to your city
- Utility (Electricity, Gas, Internet, Mobile, etc.)
- Your healthcare provider
- Health/Life insurance
- Property insurance
- Voting registration
- Bank Accounts - This requires new drivers license as ID
- Credit Cards - Same as above.
- Investment accounts (Broker, 401K, IRA)
- Local public library card
- Memberships like AAA, Costco, AARP, etc.
EDIT: There are several more additions I just thought of.
- If you own a house or condo with home owner's association, you'll need them to update their records
- if you have children, your daycare center or school will need their emergency contact updated
EDIT: The following don't pertain to me personally so I really don't know what is involved with name change. You should to do more research to find out for sure if they pertains to you.
- If you are a certain licensed professional like doctor, lawyer, accountant, real-estate agent, electrician, plumber, etc. you may need to update those records
- Firearm registration may need to be updated
- if you are in your family member's will, those may need to be updated
Damn that is a long list. First thought is thank you for taking the time to type it out, second thought is how crazy it is that married women just quietly swallow this additional burden. Saving this comment.
I've known people who've gone through the process. It's really a one step at a time thing and not as overwhelming as it sounds. A good resource though
No problem. The list was very easy to make since I just went through the process. Yes I agree that it's crazy that practically every married women have to slog through the gauntlet of bureaucracy. I'm genuinely surprised I haven't heard more complaints from married women about it.
I hope I haven't discouraged you from going through the steps of changing your name. Social Security Card and Driver's License are the two that takes some time and effort but it's all down hill after that. Everything else is just tedious and not difficult at all. When you eventually hold your new documents with your new name in your hands, it will be well worth it. I won't spoil it for you but you'll feel it. Good luck!
Wouldn't a "zany" last name become just as identifiable as your current unique name?
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