What a deed poll can do with a middle name#
GOV.UK's deed poll guidance is broad on purpose: you can change any part of your name, add or remove names or hyphens, or change the spelling. A middle name is simply one of your forenames, so a deed poll can add one, take one away, swap one for another, or move it, for example making a middle name your first name and your first name a middle name. The new name has to follow the same rules as any other: pronounceable, no symbols, numbers or punctuation beyond a hyphen or an established form like O'Hara, and nothing offensive.
The deed poll records the whole name, old and new, so a change to one middle name is written out as a change from your full old name to your full new name. That is what organisations expect to see: two complete names, and a document that links them.
Adding a middle name#
Adding a name is a change of name in the ordinary sense, and every organisation will want evidence of it. For a passport, GOV.UK's guidance on names that do not match your documents says to send a deed poll, statutory declaration or affidavit, with proof of any earlier changes and evidence that you are using the new name, such as a payslip or a letter from your council. A deed poll is the simplest of the three because it needs no solicitor, notary or commissioner for oaths.
Removing a middle name, or changing the order#
Here the passport office is more relaxed than most people expect. GOV.UK's page on changes to forenames says you can change the spelling of your name slightly, change the order of your forenames, or remove middle names, by sending two documents that show you are using the new form. It lists a letter from a local council or government department, a driving licence, a bank statement, or a baptism or confirmation certificate. No deed poll is needed for the passport in those three cases.
The catch is the two documents. They have to show the shorter name already in use, which means some other organisation has to have changed your record first, and banks and employers usually want a deed poll before they will do that. In practice most people find it easier to make the deed poll, use it everywhere, and let the passport follow. HM Passport Office's caseworker guidance adds a helpful detail for people who change a middle name: evidence that shows only the middle name's initial can still be accepted.
Which name goes where#
Once the deed is signed, use the new form of your name consistently. A person whose passport says "Anna Ruth Carter" while a bank card says "Anna Carter" has not changed anything; a middle name that is simply not printed is still part of the legal name. If you want the middle name gone, the deed poll is the document that removes it, and the organisations that hold your records then update in the usual order: something that produces a document in the new name first, then passport and driving licence, then everyone else.
