10 Bizarre Legal Name Changes – Listverse
The law allows people to change their names, perhaps to give such people a sense of self-fulfillment or to make life better. We may never know the real reason behind this privilege; What we do know, however, is that some people have taken advantage of it and used the opportunity to make extremely bizarre legal name changes. These are ten legal name changes that are overkill.
Related: 10 of the most unflattering nicknames given to royals
10 Londoner changed name to favorite food
A man called Simon (Sam) Smith changed his name to reflect his love of food after a night at the pub. Smith legally changed his name to “Bacon Double Cheeseburger.” One thing we find funny about this particular name change is that Sam was drinking with friends when he filed. Under the procedure, Smith was required to sign a document confirming that he had indeed requested the name change before he could respond to his new name.
Coincidentally, Smith was again drinking with friends when the confirmation paper arrived. His friends were unanimous in their support for his new identity. Smith also received support from his colleagues, but his fiancée did not find his new identity funny.[1]
9 Man named after an iconic movie spy
The name “James Bond” is known all over the world, thanks to the very talented writer Ian Fleming, who played him in twelve novels and two short story collections. When Ian Fleming died, other authors also picked up where he left off, with due permission. The James Bond character has been adapted for television, radio, film and video games with great success.
While James Bond's exploits in films amaze us, what we find most astonishing is the exploitation of a James Bond fan in the real world. A man named David Fearn changed his first and last name in every James Bond film ever produced, 21 titles in total. All we can say is, “Hello, James Dr. No From Russia with love Goldfinger Thunderball You only live twice on Her Majesty's Secret Service Diamonds are forever alive and let die The man with the golden gun The spy who loved me Moonraker Only for your eyes Octopussy A look at the killing of the living daylights License to kill Golden Eye Tomorrow never dies The world is not enough That one more day Casino Royale Bond.[2]
8 A dentist changed his name to Calm Patients
In the twentieth century, having your tooth removed was not something you looked forward to. At that time, the pain of tooth extraction was severe. It starts from the moment it is removed and lasts for several days. Unfortunately, technology at the time did not allow for effective pain relief. At that time, doctors went to great lengths to ensure that their patients did not focus on the pain.
Edgar Randolph Parker was a poor student who only graduated because he begged the dean to pass him after so many failed attempts. He was having trouble getting patients, so he decided to be innovative and looked for a way to bring his dental practice to life. He injected patients with watered-down cocaine before pulling their teeth. He even went so far as to legally change his middle name to 'Painless' to gain the trust of his patients. He eventually lost his dental license in several states.[3]
7 A man once defamed the Yorkshire Bank by changing its name
There is no shortage of stories of people getting mad at banks and doing their best to embarrass them. While cases of angry customers don't surprise us, we are surprised at how one customer became innovative in handling the situation.
Michael Howard was a Yorkshire Bank customer when he was notified that the bank had charged him £20 because he was £10 overdrawn. Howard had an argument with the bank manager, which was the straw that broke the camel's back, so to speak.
This prompted Howard to legally change his name to 'Yorkshire Bank are Fascist Bastards'. The bank could not hide its shame and demanded that Michael Howard change his name, close his account and move to another bank. Such a customer was undoubtedly too expensive for Yorkshire Bank.[4]
6 Home Alone Star multiplied its name by two
Maybe you've seen the movie Home alone during the last holiday period. The film stars Macaulay Culkin, who defends his suburban Chicago home from a home invasion by a pair of robbers when his family accidentally leaves him behind on a vacation to Paris. The film has many fans worldwide, and the same goes for lead actor Macaulay Culkin.
One day, Culkin was feeling playful: he posted a message on the Internet suggesting that people choose a middle name for him. Guess? The voting results came back and the middle name suggested was Macaulay Culkin. Since his first and last name are already known, the actor was stuck with the name 'Macaulay Macaulay Culkin Culkin'.[5]
5 The Ultimate Warrior legally changed his name
There's a chance you know the wrestler called “The Ultimate Warrior.” He was born James Brian Hellwig. and was a very popular wrestler during the Hulk Hogan era. He eventually legally changed his name to 'Warrior', which shouldn't have been surprising at all considering he was already associated with the name. But what makes this name change so bizarre?
In case you didn't know, Warrior's fighting spirit didn't end at the level of American Professional Wrestling. He was also quite combative in real life. To put it simply, he was a “warrior” in the real world. No one who knew him in the real world would ever miss the fact that he was an irritable person.
He once wished manager Bobby Heenan would die of cancer, insulted the victims of Hurricane Katrina and celebrated the death of Heath Ledger. When a man who should have been a warrior on stage becomes one in the real world and changes his name to reflect that, the whole thing becomes totally bizarre.[6]
4 Captain Fantastic is faster than all other comic book heroes
In 2008, a 19-year-old from Glastonbury, UK, traded his birth name – George Garratt – for a very unique, can't-miss name. The name is “Captain Fantastic Faster Than Superman Spiderman Batman Wolverine Hulk and The Flash Combined”. This automatically made Captain Fantastic a member of an elite club of people with unusually long names.
While Captain Fantastic is happy with his new name, it didn't come without some social costs. We do know that his grandmother stopped speaking to him as soon as she heard about the stunt. The name change immediately gave him (for a time) the longest personal name in the world. George publicly stated that the name change was influenced by the fact that he wanted a unique name for himself and was going for a superhero theme.[7]
3 Man changed name to ask a question
A man named Justin Brady from Las Cruces, New Mexico, went to court for an unusual name change because the relationship between him and his adoptive parents had irreparably broken down. His adoptive parents are named Brady, and of course he was named after them. However, when things turned sour, he went with a name his friends gave him: “Bubba.”
The first name idea that came to his mind was “Why Not Bubba?” But he decided that was far too long. He settled on 'YNOT', a shorter form of 'Why Not'. Justin completed the necessary applications and legally changed his name to 'Ynot Bubba'.[8]
2 Madonna Vogue on the cover of a magazine
Madonna is an iconic American singer, songwriter and actress popularly known as the 'Queen of Pop'. She became popular in the 1990s and is still in the spotlight to this day. The decades of Madonna's popularity have made her something of a super icon, with many fans willing to do outrageous things to celebrate her.
In 2009, twins and their friend from Britain decided to legally change their names to honor the music legend. While Lianna Dawson changed her name to 'Lianna Madonna Vogue On The Cover Of A Magazine McHale Dawson', Emma Dawson changed her name to 'Emma Confessions Of A Dance Floor McHale Dawson'. Gemma Mitchell, a friend of Lianna and Emma, changed her name to “Gemma True Blue Strike A Pose Carroll McHale Dawson Me Me Mitchell.”
The trio are eternal fans of the pop star. They go to her shows as much as possible and have bought every album and DVD she has ever made. The three ladies have not met Madonna in person since they changed their names.[9]
1 none of the above
Luther Devine Knox was a Winnsboro farmer who also had political leanings. He participated in several gubernatorial elections; Notable among them was the 1979 Louisiana gubernatorial election. One of Knox's goals was to ensure that a voter has the choice to choose “none of the above” as an option during an election if neither candidate appeals to such a voter. He wanted to ensure that voters don't elect people who are incompetent in the name of not having a choice.
Knox believed that if “none of the above” were elected by the majority, the election would be held again until the right candidate emerged. The more Knox argued his position, the more resistance he encountered from government officials at all levels. In fact, many believe that this strange position of his was the reason he became a perennial candidate who never came close to winning the Louisiana gubernatorial election.
When Knox saw that all conventional means of achieving his goal had been exhausted to no avail, he decided to do something bizarre. He changed his middle name to “none of the above.”[10]