No one can choose the family he or she is born into. Being a member of a family, in most cases, also means you automatically share the same last name with other family members.

But what if that last name is undesirable or you feel the need to change your last name for some other reason? That’s what this post discusses: the most common reasons why Nigerians choose to change their last names.

Feel free to add yours.

Let’s jump right in.

1. Spiritual Reasons

Yes, a person may choose to change his last name completely for spiritual reasons.

Let me explain.

A person’s last name may be linked to a “small g” a.k.a. a god or an idol worshiped by his ancestors or relatives. Furthermore, his last name could have an evil or negative meaning.

In either case, that person may decide to change it to a name with a positive, wholesome, godly meaning to cleanse the foundation from ancestral pollution, and to set the right foundation for that person and his descendants. This is especially true for Christians.

Names are very powerful and prophetic, and I totally support name changes for this reason.

2. Converting from one Religion to a different one

Isn’t this the same thing as reason #1?

No.

Here’s why.

I chose not to lump this together with #1 for this simple reason: it is a different, more specific reason. A person who converts from one religion to another (e.g. Islam to Christianity or vice versa) may want to make a public declaration of his conversion, and a name change is one way to do this.

It is also a popular reason why people change all their names, i.e. first, middle and last names.

3. Marriage; Last Names include Compound Surnames, Hyphenated, Double-Barreled Surnames

This one is a no-brainer. It’s probably the number one reason why people (mostly women) change their last names.

In most cases, women drop their last names completely and adopt the last names of their husbands.

To illustrate, Sade Williams who marries Jimi Adeyemi becomes Sade Adeyemi.

To make it fancier, we can call her Sade Adeyemi (nee Williams). What this means is that she was born “Williams,” i.e. it is her maiden name, and “Adeyemi” is her marital name.

It is worth noting that not every woman completely discards her maiden name because of marriage. Some women (and men) choose to adopt a compound surname, i.e. a combination of the maiden name and the husband’s last name.  It could be hyphenated and double-barreled.

Using our previous example, Sade Williams who marries Jimi Adeyemi becomes Sade Williams-Adeyemi.

The proper way to hyphenate surnames is this:

Maiden Name + Married Name

4. Paternity Issues

It is possible for a person to be raised by a man who is not his or her biological father, i.e. an adoptive parent.

However, once such a person discovers who his biological “real” father is (like Baba Eleran in “The First Kiss“), then he may decide to bear the name of the biological parent in order to be identified as a descendant or blood relative of that parent.

5. Divorce from a Spouse

While nobody prays for divorce, it might be necessary in certain circumstances (violent, uncontrollable anger, domestic abuse or the general umbrella of “irreconcilable differences” for example).

It is common for women with young children to retain the last name of the ex-spouse for the sake of the children. When the kids are grown, a woman might choose to revert back to her maiden name, if she has not re-married.

6. Death of a Spouse

A widow might choose to revert back to her maiden name, especially if she is young and plans to re-marry.

7. Disinheritance or Disowning of a Child by a Parent

A man or woman may choose to change his or her last name as a result of being disinherited and/or disowned by a parent, in order to sever ties with that parent.

If you’re not sure if you’ve been disinherited, here’s a clue:

If your father leaves a will that says:

I bequeath to my not-so-beloved son, Oluseyi, the sum of 1 naira and zero kobo.

Take that as a big, fat clue that you’ve been disinherited, especially if your father’s net worth is more than the said 1 naira.

If your name is omitted completely from the will, that’s an even bigger clue.

I’ll stop here.

What reasons do people give for changing their last names? Did I omit any reason? Please share your thoughts.

Picture Credit: Bella Naija

P.S. If you live in Nigeria, Wikiprocedure provides a simple breakdown of the procedure for changing for name.