The title of this column is a line Shakespeare gave to Romeo who, when he spoke of his soul, meant Juliet. It was she who said,

What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other word would smell as sweet.

So far as we can tell, neither of these star-crossed teenagers was transgendered. If they were, these lines would have had the same meaning for them as they do for me. My soul is distinctly Janet, but my name decidedly isn't. That, however, is the easiest thing to change and in this column I'll talk about how that is done. Because it's a legal procedure, I will have to refer to some law in place of the poetry I usually quote. Sorry about that -- believe me.

Before there were any statutes on the books, you could use any name as your legal name provided that the intention was not to deceive, defraud or impersonate another individual. Even now, you can be 'Julie Newmar' if you want, but don't try to use her credit cards. Many people, especially entertainers, still have one legal name and another name by which they are more commonly known. There is no law against that. Similarly, it is not illegal for a t* person to have one legal name and to be known by another name when in the other gender role. In some situations, where required to identify one's self to the police for example, the correct legal name must be given.

Our legal names have become much more important in a century which saw the permanent introduction of income tax, driver's licences, social security, consumer credit reporting and a thousand other sets of permanent records. Almost everywhere, your legal name is the name on your birth certificate and the law now says that you have to follow some formal procedure to change it.

In Ontario, the part of Canada where I live, there is a law called the Change of Name Act which says that people can only change their legal names if they follow its requirements. In most cases, this is a straightforward administrative procedure which means filling in a form and paying a small fee. When the form is processed, an official called the Registrar General notifies other authorities of the change and publishes a notice in an official gazette. Some places require a newspaper notice as well.

When can you make an application?

Well, anytime, depending where you live. A New Jersey court, for example, said in 1991 that a transvestite who wanted to adopt a 'female' name would be entitled to the change. This decision can be found in volume 127 of the New Jersey Law Journal. An Ontario judge in was asked in 1986 to approve a change of name for a pre-op, m2f ts living as a woman. By that time, other applications had been approved after SR surgery, but this was the first time the Ontario courts had considered a pre-op application. The applicant had already obtained a driver's licence and other identification in the new name. Recognizing the extent of the transition that she had achieved and her determination to proceed to SRS, the judge approved the change of name. Details of this case can be found in volume 56 of the second series of Ontario Reports. As I understand it, the name change can be made anytime today.

When I first posted some of this information on the Internet, several people provided information about their own areas. As I recall, all of them were pre-op at the time they changed their names and most of the procedures were very close to the Ontario procedure. All of the costs were under $200. In your area, the local probate court, state secretary, registrar of births and deaths, or a community legal clinic should be able to direct you to the proper office or provide you with the proper forms. If you want to do your own homework, try the reference section of the local library and see if they have copies of the laws and regulations for your state or province.

What about changing other documents?

The most common document people talked about was the driver's licence. The problem is not the name change, but the gender marker -- 'M' or 'F'. Here in Ontario, several people have changed both without any formality; same in Minnesota. In British Columbia, however, you need the formal name change to alter the driver's licence and proof of surgery to alter the gender marker. In California and Connecticut, a form signed by a medical doctor or gender clinic will enable you to change the gender marker as well. In Oregon, the form must be signed by one of 7 or 8 'approved' therapists. In Texas, the ICTLEP says 'there is no law' (just as we always suspected) and recommends that a knowledgeable attorney be consulted. The best procedure everywhere is to drive carefully and stay within the speed limit.

In most areas the same rules will apply to birth certificates, but not everywhere. Ohio is one of two states that do not permit birth certificates to be changed. That is also true in Britain, which is the issue that 'Tula' Cossey took to the European Court of Human Rights, and lost.

All other documents, like credit cards, can be changed without difficulty to include your new legal name.

What about Old Records?

There is no law to prevent prospective employers, banks, credit agencies or others from enquiring about personal history, previous employment, school records, credit ratings or other such information. It may be helpful in some cases to contact these agencies and ask them to amend their records to show the new name and gender so you can have a 'past'. They are not required by any law, at least not in Canada, to comply with this request.

Any Other Advice?

First, remember that this is only general information. Laws do differ and, when you deal with a bureaucracy, your personal experience may very much depend on who's sitting across the desk that day. You may have an easy time with a name change and getting a new driver's licence with the gender marker changed where you live, only to find that you can't change your birth certificate if you were born somewhere else. Or you may have all three documents in hand only to find out that you can't get a passport with all the appropriate changes. I just want to make sure I can use the picture at the top of the page on all my documents: it's the spitting image of me : )

Second, try everything but assume nothing until you know for sure. In Canada, for example, a post-op can get a new birth certificate and marry as though born in the new gender. In Britain, the opposite is true which can lead to strange results. It was recently reported that a post-op m2f lesbian there was able to legally marry her partner because the law still considered her to be a man. As Dickens wrote, "If the law believes that, then the law is an ass!"

Third, a final bit of advice which seems to apply everywhere, and no matter what name you might be using: STAY OUT OF JAIL!

Janet