A change of name or surname is subject to a certain legal procedure.
Pursuant to Article 27 of the Civil Code, a lawsuit to change the name and surname can only be filed based on justified reasons. The concept of just cause is considered within a very broad framework. The just cause also covers the personal subjective reasons of the person.
A lawsuit for changing the name or surname can be filed for numerous reasons such as the name or surname being ridiculous, reminding a trauma, identification with the name of a well-known person, professional or artistic reasons.
An action for change of name or surname can only be brought by the person himself/herself or by a lawyer who has been granted a specially authorised power of attorney. For minors, the lawsuit can be filed by the parents who have the right of custody or by the lawyer to whom they will give a power of attorney.
The competent court for name and surname change is the Civil Court of First Instance. The plaintiff may file the lawsuit at the Civil Court of First Instance where his/her residence is located.
An officer assigned by the Population Directorate shall attend the name and surname change case as a defendant. In the defendant section of the lawsuit petition, the Population Directorate must be named as the opponent. The lawsuit for changing the name and surname is a lawsuit that is mostly based on civil registry records. Therefore, no special document is required for the filing of the lawsuit. However, if the fact constituting the basis of the request in the name change and especially in the surname change case depends on a special document, the relevant document may be submitted as evidence.
If there is a confusion in social life due to the current name and surname used or if there are some complexities in official transactions, documents proving these issues should be submitted to the court together with the case file when filing a name change case.
The most important evidence of a name and surname change case is witness statements. If the name is not clearly ridiculous, does not have a known bad meaning, that is, if the name does not have a negative connotation in terms of form, witness evidence becomes important for the proof of subjective situations.
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