Famous Personalities Who Changed Their Names in India
Date : 20 Jul, 2023
Post By admin
Introduction
Changing your name refers to the process of altering name, it could be changing the initials or adding/ deleting a single letter, or changing one’s name completely.
Indian culture and name changes
In Indian culture a person’s name plays a very important role many people name their children based on their religious beliefs. They choose name of Gods, synonyms for sun, moon, heaven etc. But the trend has changed now and people want modern names. Hence, they prefer to change their names. There are other reasons as well for name change such as in India the tradition is that the bride will change her surname and adds her husband’s surname. The other reasons are marriage, adoption, divorce, etc.
Famous personalities who changed their names
Amitabh Bachchan: Many celebrities in India have changed their names, based on various reasons some are: suggestions by astrologer, or lucky alphabet, or to be memorable, etc. The legendary actor Mr. Amitabh Bachchan popularly known as Big B of the Bollywood industry has changed his name. His name was Inquilaab Srivastava, however, before debuting in his first film, he opted to change his name to Amitabh Bachchan.
Salman Khan: The famous actor world-wide known as Bhai, but very few of us know his real name i.e. Salman Salim Abdul Rashid Khan. As we can see that he has a very big name and hence for his fans and film industry he chose to keep it short to Salman Khan that is easy to remember.
Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi: Popularly known as Nawab of Pataudi has changed his name to Mansur Ali Khan and dropped Pataudi from his name. Gradually his son Saif Ali Khan has also adopted the surname Khan. Mr. Mansur changed his name in 1971, as princely titles were abolished then and hence, he removed Pataudi from his name.
Akshay Kumar: The one of the most famous Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar has also changed his name. His real name was Rajiv Hari OM Bhatia and he has changed his named to Akshay Kumar before entering into the Bollywood. This name is easy and simple to remember.
Saif Ali Khan: Saif Ali Khan’s real name is Sajid Ali Khan and it was revealed recently when copy of marriage certificate with Kareena Kapur went viral on the internet.
Process of name change in India
Affidavit
✔️ Make an affidavit with regard to name change and get it notarized.
✔️ You have to mention the specific reason for name change.
✔️ For example: whether you are changing the name due to marriage, divorce, or due to astrological or neurological reasons etc. you have to specify the same in the affidavit.
✔️ After printing of the same on a stamp paper it needs to be signed by two witnesses
✔️ In the case of a central government employee, the procedure for name change needs to be done according to the Ministry of Home Affairs
✔️ Married women, wiling to change their surname or want to change their name, they need to mention the following in the affidavit:
1. Old name mentioning the father’s name and address;
2. New name mentioning the husband’s name and address;
3. Date of marriage.
Overseas Indians, can change their name by submitting a deed stating the change of name, duly signed by the Indian High Commission office or the Indian Embassy.
This affidavit can be used for changing your first or last name and also using the same you can completely change your name. Also, preserve the scanned copies of the newspaper with you.
Newspaper Publication
You have to publish your changed name in two newspapers, one local newspaper and another national. Use the following format for publication about your name change in the newspaper:
Notification in the gazette
This is important and you must notify about your name change in the Central Gazette for that you need to:
1. Visit your local Government Press or visit the department mobilizing Gazette notification.
2. Get two copies of “Deed Changing Surname Form”.
Conclusion
Changing your name in India involves certain procedures and documentation as discussed above. You must have a valid reason to change your name and you must without fail update all your identity documents with the new name. If you are willing to change your name then you must note that your new name becomes your legal name. One can change name due to many reasons that can be religious, social, adoption, marriage, divorce, etc.
This article was written by Shivangi Dubey, an extremely established lawyer. Shivangi Dubey holds a BSL-LLB degree from ILS Pune & also is a gold medalist in LLM-Business laws from Amity University. With 12 years of experience in the law domain, she has established herself as an expert in her field. Presently, Shivangi works as an Advocate at the Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Government of India. Her expertise as well as insights have considerably added to the content of this article.
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