If you changed your name for a non typical reason - not marriage or divorce, how did you explain it to your work, your colleagues, your friends and peers?
And did you segregate people who you didn’t want to know? [name_m]How[/name_m] did you stop them finding out?
Did you send a round robin email explaining?
I think this post needs some love, so despite the fact that I haven’t changed my name, I’ll share ways that I’ve known people to explain or ways that I would explain. I’m assuming you mean surname and not first name, but this could apply either way.
If you feel like your name doesn’t fit you and you want to change it, explain it as that. I think your explanation depends on how close it is to your original name. For example, if my surname is [name_u]James[/name_u], and I change it to [name_u]Jamison[/name_u], it would not be much of a shocker to most people. I could just say that I like it more. If I changed my surname to Nox or something, I’d explain why I think the name suits me more and why I prefer people to use it.
Changing your name is very situational, but overall I’d probably explain the true reason that I changed it. I would do so in whatever way felt right at the time, such as texting, mentioning it when hanging out, etc.
I would tell people that I don’t want certain people to know of this change, and I would not tell them. Hopefully through that, and continuing to use your original name around that person, would keep the secret.
I wouldn’t send a round robin email explaining. Perhaps send an email to each person individually and change it slightly so it’s more directed at them.
Good luck!
I just said ‘This is the name I wish to be known as now because I never liked my name’.