Know what documents to submit if you want to change your name

CAIRO – 27 October 2019: An average of more than 7,000 Egyptians are born every day, and theparents usually settle on the names of their children before the birth date.

For many, choosing the name of a baby is an important task that requires long debates and family consultations, as some usually look for trending, new and even strange names, while others prefer to name their children after their loved ones.

However, it appeared that in many cases the names were not satisfying to the holder. In 2009, Elaph website said that Egypt was among the Arab countries that received thousands of requests from people who want to change their names, which they believe were ridiculous, into modern names. Many of the requesters carried Pharaonic names, like: Narouni, Froweez and Zolaykha.

In September 1952, following the revolution by the Free Officers Movement that overthrew King Farouk, a magazine called “Monday and Life” then reported that around 217 persons named Farouq requested to change their names, in solidarity with the revolution.

New chosen names will be required to appear in all the person’s official documents and identification papers.

Egypt Today outlines the procedures Egyptians can seek in case they like to change their names:

According to Lawyer Khaled Mohamed, changing a person’s name needs certain documents be submitted, including: digitalized birth certificate, a copy of the parent’s marriage certificate, a copy of the ID numbers of both the parents, and an authorization from the father to change the name.

These documents are to be submitted to the closest Civil Registry to the citizen’s residency, and then theperson should head to the security directorate in his area to issue a birth and death query to make sure that the new name does not resemble that of a newborn or deceased person.

After receiving an official request to change the name, a person can then head to the Civil Affairs office nearby to issue a new birth certificate with the new name.