Article 376. No person can change his name or surname without judicial authority.
The change of name under judicial authorization is governed by Rule 103 of the Rules of Court. Section 1 of the said Rule provides that "A person desiring to change his name shall present the petition that the petition to the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of the province in which he resides, or in the City of Manila, to the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court." The State has an interest in the names borne by individuals and entities for purposes of identification.
The change of one's name or surname is not a matter of right but is a privilege; therefor, before a person can be authorized to change his or her name that may have been given to him either in his birth or civil registry, he must show proper or reasonable cause, or any compelling reason which may justify such change. Otherwise it shall be denied.
In oder to be able to change his or her surname, the same must be with judicial authority. There must be sufficient grounds to one's surname or name, like:
1. When the name is ridiculous or tainted with dishonor and/or extremely difficult to write or pronounce;
2. When the right to a new name is a consequence of a change of status, like where a natural child is acknowledged or legitimated;
3. When the change is necessary to avoid confusion;
4. A sincere desire to adopt a Filipino name to erase signs of a former alien nationality which unduly hampers social and business life.
In the change of name, what is altered is only the lable or appellation by which a person is known and distinguished from the others. It neither alters the family relations nor create new family rights and duties nor affect aperson's legal capacity or status or citizenship.
A case related to this Article inludes:
Calderon vs. Republic
L-18127, April 5, 1967
Facts: A mother who had a natural child by legal fiction, subsequently married a man other than her child's real father.
Issue: May the child successfully petition to change his surname from the real father's name to that o the stepfather who has no objection thereto?
Ruling: Yes. An illegitimate child need not bear the stigma of illegitimacy during his whole lifetime. After all, the stepfather was willing.
Moreover, the change od name allowed in Rule 103 of the Rules of Court does not alter the status, rights, duties, or citizenship. It merely changes the appellation by which a person is known, identified or distinguished from others.
References:
Family Code of the Philippines 2017th Edition by Judge Ed Vincent S. Albano
Civil Code of the Philippines Annotated 16thEdition by Edgardo Paras
The change of one's name or surname is not a matter of right but is a privilege; therefor, before a person can be authorized to change his or her name that may have been given to him either in his birth or civil registry, he must show proper or reasonable cause, or any compelling reason which may justify such change. Otherwise it shall be denied.
In oder to be able to change his or her surname, the same must be with judicial authority. There must be sufficient grounds to one's surname or name, like:
1. When the name is ridiculous or tainted with dishonor and/or extremely difficult to write or pronounce;
2. When the right to a new name is a consequence of a change of status, like where a natural child is acknowledged or legitimated;
3. When the change is necessary to avoid confusion;
4. A sincere desire to adopt a Filipino name to erase signs of a former alien nationality which unduly hampers social and business life.
In the change of name, what is altered is only the lable or appellation by which a person is known and distinguished from the others. It neither alters the family relations nor create new family rights and duties nor affect aperson's legal capacity or status or citizenship.
A case related to this Article inludes:
Calderon vs. Republic
L-18127, April 5, 1967
Facts: A mother who had a natural child by legal fiction, subsequently married a man other than her child's real father.
Issue: May the child successfully petition to change his surname from the real father's name to that o the stepfather who has no objection thereto?
Ruling: Yes. An illegitimate child need not bear the stigma of illegitimacy during his whole lifetime. After all, the stepfather was willing.
Moreover, the change od name allowed in Rule 103 of the Rules of Court does not alter the status, rights, duties, or citizenship. It merely changes the appellation by which a person is known, identified or distinguished from others.
References:
Family Code of the Philippines 2017th Edition by Judge Ed Vincent S. Albano
Civil Code of the Philippines Annotated 16thEdition by Edgardo Paras
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