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Manhattan court prescribes: You can't change your name to 'Dr.'
By
Giulia Heyward
Published Dec 6, 2025
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By
Giulia Heyward
Published Dec 6, 2025
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A New York City judge had no problem with a woman’s request to change her name, as well as her sex designation from male to female in official documents — both are clear matters of state law.
But the Manhattan resident’s specific request to have her first name changed to “Dr” won’t be happening, according to the ruling, made late last month.
Even amid a recent directive from the Trump administration barring people from updating their gender on passports, New York remains one of several U.S. states allowing residents to make similar changes on other forms of identification, like driver's licenses.
And New York City, which has some of the strongest laws supporting name changes in legal documents, took steps to make the process even more accessible after a teen last year said a court clerk refused to sign off on the paperwork.
The woman said in court papers she sought the changes “to be consistent with her identity and appearance.” She said she was born in Afghanistan but not in a hospital, so she provided naturalization papers and an American passport in lieu of a birth certificate as part of her request.
The woman argued that “[m]y use of ‘Dr’ in my legal name is not intended to confuse or deceive anyone by indicating that I have earned a degree or hold a professional title” and that the proposed name change serves as a “personal expression of how I wish to be referred to by others.”
But a New York City civil court rejected the specific request, ruling that despite the “petitioner’s apparent well- meaning intent,” the request “may reasonably lead to fraud, deception or confusion.”
In the motion, Judge Jeffrey S. Zellan noted that while some individuals who are not accredited doctors go by “Dr” — and specifically listed rapper and producer “Dr. Dre” as an example in the court document — a stage name is different from a legal name.
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new york city
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Giulia Heyward
Giulia Heyward is a breaking news reporter on the Day-Of desk. She previously worked at NPR, as a breaking news reporter, and the New York Times, as a reporting fellow on the national desk. Her work has also appeared in CNN, The Atlantic and Politico. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or more securely on signal at 917-715-1458.
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