Mine are not the same, but I will continue to use my passport for flying - I have no need for a "real" ID with my driver's license.

Obviously I cannot change the name on my birth certificate, but I did change the name on my driver's license in 1974, and this is the name that is on my passport. SS would not allow me to change my name, and so that is the same as what is on my birth certificate, and my new medical cards also have this name, although it is not the one I use on a regular basis.

I also have two fictional business names, and I can sign business checks with those names, if I want to.

My name changes were more drastic than yours, and so I have two completely different first names with different first letters.

No, same issue, divorced and use my maiden name. BC is missing my middle name and last name is spelt wrong. DL has all correct information. Passport needs to be the same as BC. Health card has married last name.

Can I change the name on my social security card so that it matches my passport and drivers license? Get rid of the initial S?

My husband has three names and goes by his middle name. But he signs things differently like two initials last name, first name, middle initial, first initial ,middle name. It's time he gets his act together because we bought our Subaru Outback from the leasing company and the title wasn't sent because he signed it differently than on the request.

@Annegriet.....the person you get at the social security counter will decide. No really. I put a nickname on one social security card....wasn't a legally attached to me name at all....but it was OK with the person helping me. The next time I put my legal....as it reads on my birth certificate name on my SS card. As long as it goes into the same account....for YOU....then I don't see why not.

I go by my middle name so all of my government ID (passport and Drivers Licence) are my full legal name. Just about everything else is First Initial, middle name, last name.

I have never used my first name, just my second.  However, to governments (both Australian and Canadian) I am known by either my first name or by both names. Passports, driver's licence, tax file number in Aus, SIN card in Canada have both names. To the Australian Medicare system I am known only by my first name (but I've trained doctors, dentists and physios to use my second when interacting with me rather than Medicare). To the bank, credit card company, the various vendors for whom I have loyalty cards, and the assorted utility companies,  I am known only by my second name. My will and other significant legal documents have my full name.  I always sign using both initials and my last name.

First name, middle initial. I'd have thought that for people who don't like their given name(s) whether it's the first or middle one, that it would be easier to simply have changed it early on.

I don’t see any discrepancy there that I’d bother adjusting. All the items you’d need for ID line up, only difference being some have middle and some have middle initial. That that is different between birth cert and ssn card is pretty standard I’d say, license is how you like it so leave well enough alone, the rest who cares.

I did not change my name on marriage and use the name on my birth certificate which is the same as on my passport. Never any problem about what I’m called.

I was one of those poor souls who has always been called by my second name. When I got married, I saw my chance to ditch my first name since I have never liked it and didn't appreciate the confusion it caused in school settings. All of my documents except my birth certificate have my second name, maiden name or initial and my last name. It seems to me that method is beneficial for genealogical research, obituaries, etc.

• <That that is different between birth cert and ssn card is pretty standard I’d say, license is how you like it so leave well enough alone, the rest who cares?>

California DMV cares.

**Any legal name changes will require legal name change documents**

I might get away with not having legal name change documents, since my passport and driver's license have the same name. But if they ask for SS ID, there will be a problem.

Kevin tried to apply for a real ID when he got his driver's license renewed, and he was rejected because some of his ID had his middle name and some did not.

I think the requirements may vary from state to state.

@Lars - I didn’t say anything about a name change. I was referring the difference between one document having middle intial and another having the name spelled out. For example my wife’s SS has just her middle initial, the rest of us have our full names. My wife’s passport has her full name spelled out, as does my current one, but my old one has neither of my middle names nor my middle initials. Our licenses all have middle initials. These discrepancies have never caused us problems.

And when I said ”the rest who cares” I was referring to “the rest.” Bank, paychecks, utility bills. Mine are a mix, I’m not going to dig them out now, but I’ll tell you that after 18 years of marriage we just today - yes coincidentally literally today - finally got checks with my wife’s ”new” last name on them. Has never mattered. Keep a positive balance and pay your bills, that’s all that matters. 🙂

All my US documents have my married name, which is a super long hyphenated affair. My Canadian and EU passports are in my maiden name which is awful to me since I have never, ever gone by that name. I used my step father's name before being married.

"I'd have thought that for people who don't like their given name(s) whether it's the first or middle one, that it would be easier to simply have changed it early on."

In my case, my first name was my  mother's. Neither she nor anyone else ever called me by that name, but she would have been upset if I'd changed it. And you'd have to have been a pretty brave person to upset my Mom  ;)

I was taught as a young teen you have ONE official signature and name and EVERYTHING should reflect that. And it is so. Some things ya just don't mess with unless you like adding hassle to your life.

"I was taught as a young teen you have ONE official signature and name and EVERYTHING should reflect that."

I've never heard anything like that, that's according to whom? Especially, why would a signature matter?

I've probably never signed my name the same way twice, it doesn't seem to have made a difference for me.

My legal name is the one I use on my drivers license. I only use my middle name if it's required on the document I'm signing, which is rare. My CC's might have my middle initial but that's up to the cc company. I rarely use my maiden name but have always regretted taking my husbands name (which I do like!) because I like MY name better as it's mine. And it's different. Until the internet, I have never met anyone with my maiden name who didn't grow up with me. ;)

Kevin's passport has his middle name spelled out, and his DL just has the middle initial. That was enough of a difference for him to be denied on his online application.

I think if he went to the DMV in person, he could get it straightened out, but neither of us are concerned about getting a "real" ID. I have my passport with me at all times - Kevin does not, and so when we drove to Sault Ste Marie from Big Rapids MI, I could have crossed the border into Canada, but Kevin could not. That was in Aug 2019, and from now on, Kevin will have his passport with him whenever he flies.

My grandmother did not fill out my mother's name on her birth certificate until she was about ten years old, and my mother was mad at her for the first name that she gave her, since she only goes by her middle name anyway.

I use first name+middle initial+last name on nearly everything. I like to keep things as simple and uncomplicated as possible.

I'm not sure what effect changing your name on your Social Security card/account would have, that's something you would have to ask S.S. about.

I think I was taught the same as arcy_gw, or perhaps it was just the traditional way it was done back then.

I had to learn to answer to my first name when I became eligible for Medicare. I ask medical personnel to note on my file: "I answer to Sue." It's important for at least the nurses in Recovery to know that!

After Homeland Security came into being, my name presented a problem with our favored airline, where my mileage card was Middle Name + Surname, but I had to book flights with my legal name: First Name, Middle Initial, Surname.

I see that the DMV has me and my DH as: First Name, Middle Initial, Surname.

In my early life etiquette decreed that only a divorcee used her maiden name as a middle name: Mrs. Jane Smith Jones.

I have been considering going back to my maiden name. Wish I had never changed to my married name, but I was on the cusp of women keeping their names. Not sure how DH would feel, though. He would never object, but I think he likes that we have the same name.

All mine are the same, as I have never been married or anything like that. Most restaurants with my name saved under my number have me as Amy (SOs last name) because no one can pronounce or spell my last name for some reason, and his is shorter and easier. But that's not legal documents and so doesn't matter. I think if we were to get married I wouldn't change my name as is seems like a hassle. But I might because as I said, his is just easier to have.

I have a legal first name but have always used a nickname. My SS and DL use my nickname. I cannot recall what name my passport is in. My home is in my legal name. I’ve had no problems using both names. To avoid problems for my heirs, I made sure my will is in one name, but also says AKA with my other name.

DH's surname (and mine) is short and simple. Years ago one of his bosses told DH that he always made restaurant reservations in DH's name for that reason. (We evidently dined out at some great restaurants!)

I don't have a middle name but some financial instituions put my maiden name initial as my middle name for some reason.

Lars, Aren't all California DL Real ID now?

zalco, I think you need to go through the rigamarole of presenting a number of documents in person. Yeah, you can arrange an appointment to avoid a long wait but still..

A few months ago, two months before the expiration date, I got a letter from DMV inviting me to renew my DL online. I couldn't convince myself that it was worthwhile to go through the process for RealID. Bringing a passport for plane flights is no problem. I did it online and the new one with a new 5 year term came in the mail about a week later.

Jumping in to suggest you remove your personal information from the original post. If I were an ID theif, now I know how all ypur personal documentation reads.