I have an accurate date range for when he changed his name and he only lived in one place so I queried the court in that location who did a search and they had no records of a legal name change (okay, I know, I know, I am being a little sneaky and nosy but those records are public records after all!). I have both of his marriage licenses (one in his birth surname and one in is assumed surname) as well as the birth certificates of his two children (the first with his birth surname and the second with the assumed surname). As a general rule he keeps pretty much to himself not having a lot of contact with his family other than his oldest brother (my dad and he couldn't stand each other so they had virtually no contact before my dad died.). He does come to the every other year reunion in Mississippi and when he shows up he is his normal happy-go-lucky self that he has always been. He interacts with everyone. Of course there is no reason whatsoever to discuss who is using what last name so how would anyone have known? I grew up with his son from his first marriage. We are only 1 year apart in age. Michele -----Original Message----- From: Kith-n-Kin [mailto:Kith-n-Kin@cox.net] Sent: Saturday, December 29, 2012 2:00 PM To: 'Michele Lewis'; 'TGF Mailing List' Subject: RE: [TGF] A weird name scenario Michele Do you have reason to believe that at no time he legally changed his name? I don't know the state where this happened, but the "rule of thumb" *used to be* that you could use any name you wanted, as long as you weren't out to defraud someone. Not anymore. In recent times, I have found that if you want a drivers license, passport, or now, just about any old thing, you have to have some "proof" that you are who you say you are. I would be somewhat surprised that after all these years, that did not happen. Social Security comes to mind. I do have to chuckle, though. What did he talk about at those reunions? Or, was he the best listener there? Pat Dunford -----Original Message----- From: transitional-genealogists-forum-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:transitional-genealogists-forum-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Michele Lewis Sent: Saturday, December 29, 2012 11:14 AM To: TGF Mailing List Subject: [TGF] A weird name scenario One of my uncles was quite a rogue in his youth. He got mad at my grandparents back in the late 70s so he changed his surname to one he made up. It isn't a real surname. It sounds like an American Indian name and very romantic sounding but is isn't a legitimate surname :) . . . . Believe it or not, there is a question in all of this. When my uncle got married, he gave a false name. His wife took that false name as her own (I assume she knew it was false considering all of his siblings had a different last name and his parents had only been married to each other). Their child is also named this false name. LEGALLY, what does it all mean? Is the wife's legal name really the false name or is it my uncle's real last name? What about the child? Michele