Does the law allow a single name?#
Yes. The National Archives states the general rule plainly: anyone over 16 may start using a new name at any time, provided they are not doing so for a fraudulent or illegal reason. GOV.UK's rules for a deed poll let you change any part of your name and add or remove names, and the limits they set concern the name itself: it must be pronounceable, free of numbers and symbols, and not offensive (the rules for a new name). None of them asks for a second name, though our own deed polls do (check a name against every rule). HM Passport Office's guidance on names starts from the same place, saying that the name a customer uses is up to them, and it has a set procedure for people who have only one.
A change to a single name is made like any other. The deed poll records your full old name and the one name you are adopting, just as it records both names in full for a smaller change (changing only part of your name), and you then use the new name for everything.
The deed polls we draft record a forename and a surname, so if one name is what you want, ours is not the document for it. GOV.UK publishes wording you can use to make your own (can I get a deed poll for free?), or a solicitor can draft one for you.
How a passport shows one name#
HM Passport Office's guidance on uncommon names has a section for customers who have only one name. The examiner:
- puts your name in the surname field;
- enters XXX in the forename field;
- adds an observation to the passport saying that you have one name and that XXX does not form part of it;
- sends you a letter explaining that this is what has been done.
So the name is printed where a surname would be, and the XXX is a placeholder, not a name. The observation is there so that anyone reading the passport can see that.
Applying for the passport#
One detail matters before you start. HM Passport Office's guidance says its online application makes you enter both a forename and a surname before you can continue, and it deals with one-name applicants who use the paper form and leave the forename blank. A paper application costs £115.50, against £102 online, and the paper form comes from a Post Office with a Check and Send service or from the Passport Adviceline.
When the forename box is empty, the examiner first looks for the reason: whether you have a forename after all, whether your documents show only one name, and whether you have included a letter explaining that you have one name. The documents it has in mind are a birth certificate, a nationality certificate or a change of name document. If you changed to a single name, the evidence is the same as for any change: the deed poll or other change of name document, and one document showing you use the new name, such as a payslip or a letter from your council.
Driving licence and other records#
DVLA's published guidance on names and identity documents does not mention single names. It asks for the same evidence of a change of name as for any other change, a deed poll or statutory declaration with one document showing the new name, so ask DVLA how a single name will appear before you send your licence (changing the name on a driving licence).
For banks, employers and everyone else the practical step is the same: where a form has one box for a first name and another for a last name, ask how the organisation wants a single name entered, and keep its answer, so that every record shows your name the same way. Consistency is what HM Passport Office looks for when it compares an application with its supporting documents.
Travelling with one name#
GOV.UK's passport guidance says you must book travel in the same name that your passport shows. With a one-name passport that means your name as the surname and XXX in the forename field, so ask the airline how it wants the booking made before you pay.
Other countries set their own rules. The United States is one that publishes its rule: the help text on its official ESTA application says a first name is required, and that anyone with no first name should enter FNU, for "first name unknown". The same help text tells you to enter your first name as it appears on the passport, which on a UK one-name passport reads XXX, so check which the US authorities expect before you apply. For any other country, ask its embassy or consulate.
Two more points from GOV.UK. It warns that changing your name can invalidate unexpired visas in your old passport, and the embassy or consulate that issued each visa can tell you where you stand. And if you hold another nationality, the name on your non-British passport must match the name you want on your British one, so change the foreign passport first.
Questions people ask
How long can a single name be?
On a passport it goes in the surname field, which takes up to 30 characters including spaces. If a name is longer, HM Passport Office's guidance says it prints as many characters as it can and adds an observation giving the full name.
Can I be known by one name without changing my legal name?
For a passport, yes. HM Passport Office's guidance lets it add an observation that the holder is also known by a stage, professional or religious name, if you send evidence such as an employment contract. The passport stays in your legal name, and the guidance's own example is a one-word stage name.
Can I go back to a first name and a surname later?
Yes. GOV.UK's rules let a deed poll add names as well as remove them, so a later deed can restore a forename and a surname, and the authorities may check the history of each name. Changing your name back covers the steps.
I have only ever had one name. Do I need a deed poll?
No, because nothing has changed. HM Passport Office's guidance expects some applicants to have one name on their birth or nationality certificate, sometimes with a letter explaining it, and deals with them as described above.
Something else? Ask us, and a person replies by email, normally the same working day.
