The Trouble with a Name Change
For many years, I’ve wanted a passport. Over the last few years, I’ve missed a couple of opportunities to travel because I haven’t had a passport. I decided that I would no longer miss out on those opportunities. On September 30, I applied for a passport for the first time in my life. And I was told I didn’t have enough proof of my name change to complete the application process. Let’s walk through this. My given name is Cristen Leann Heath. That’s the name on my birth certificate. That’s what my parents named me, but they never called me Cristen. Ever. On the first day of Kindergarten, I didn’t raise my hand during roll call because the teacher called out “Cristen.” I didn’t know who that was. When I got married, I took my marriage certificate over to the Social Security Office to change my name. I asked if was possible to drop “Cristen” and use Heath as my middle name. The person at the counter said...