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I can't imagine changing my birth name, I mean it was given to me by my parents and I've had it my whole life.
It's your choice what you do with your name but have you thought about the questions and confusion it might cause you when you have to explain to them that your name is XXXXXX and not XXXXXXX?
Good Luck! I'd vote not to change it at all
If you want to go by Brooke, I would start calling yourself Brooke to see how it fits. Adopt the new name socially first and then if you like it enough to keep it, go through the legal process. I would not legally change my first name to something totally untried, especially if I knew someone in my family disliked it. Give yourself and your family a chance to get used to it first, so that if it turns out to be not as great as you'd thought, you will be able to revert to Amanda/Mandie without any legal fuss.
My reasoning being, if Brooke is not part of your legal name, you are going to have to get a court order to change it regardless of the fact that you are getting married. Yes, you can change your name upon marriage, but I am not aware of any state that lets you change your name to something that isn't already a part of your own name or your husband's name. Try before you buy!
My sister decided to change her whole name - first, middle and last - while we were in high school. Not because of a marriage, divorced parents or anything else. She just picked one she liked and changed it. It was incredibly confusing for everyone in our lives. Some of our relatives still call her by her birth name. That said, within about a year of her changing it I was totally used to it, and now I can't imagine calling her by her old name.
As chelsea suggested above, she changed her name socially first (because she couldn't do the legal stuff until she turned 18). I think this is a really good idea, because you want to make sure that you love it before you make it permanent.
I legally changed my last name five years ago (my middle name became my last name), but about a year before I began to "transition" by using my full name [First Middle Last, previously had only used last], then when I went into new situations, I began to drop my OldLast for my Middle and NewLast. It helped those around me to figure it out, and understand what was going on.
Your first name is trickier. First, does anyone call you Brooke? How would you begin transitioning to the new name? The new last name worked well for me because it was the year I graduated from college, so I had a lot of new beginnings with my last name, but if everyone already calls you Mandie or Amanda, it may be harder to get them to change that.
If you really, really want to have Brooke as part of your name, I think you should adapt it as an unofficial middle name for now, and, when you begin to go into new situations, maybe introduce yourself as Brooke and see how it goes? You can really go by any first name that you'd like, it has much easier legal implications than the last name - and a huge portion of changing your name is simply USAGE. Try a new first name out, figure out how to make it work, and then take the legal step to make it so, if you decide what you want.
To simply answer your question, Amanda Brooke. I think at some point, you may decide you don't want to be called Mandie any more. (Maybe not, I just had a childhood friend who felt she "outgrew" the name Mandie and went back to Amanda).
I'm all for doing whatever YOU want in life! If you feel like more of a Brooke, go for Brooke. Just know that you'll confuse a lot of people and probably have to put up with bunches of criticism from people who are already in your life (and those people will probably never, ever, call you anything but your original name)
Amanda Brooke - your friends can still call you Mandie and since you love Brooke so much, it will still be part of your name. I'd stick with Amanda for offical documents - maybe by the time you're 80 you don't want to be called Mandie anymore!
If you want to change your name legally, then do that and don't let anyone stop you. You are a legal adult after all and can make your own decisions. Be aware though that your family and some friends may never accept it no matter what you do and insist until the day they die that you are Amanda to them and nothing else.
Of course you can request to be called anything you want...it is your name after all. However, you can't really control what people call you.
A couple of examples...
My mom's birth name is Mary Jane but she changed it to Deven forever ago when she turned 18 (she is 62 now). Her parents still call her Mary Jane.
I have a friend from elementary school named Elizabeth. She used to go by Liz (what I know her by) and then in college she decided to go by Elizabeth and now in grad school she is going by Ellie. So confusing! You can pretty much identify how people know her by what they call her.
It can be very difficult to get people to use the new name but if you're up to the challenge, go for it!
Lovebug gave herself a new identity, so it's certainly been done by others (inc'l on the bee!) I think she went from being called Debbie or Deborah to Ellie? I'm not sure, but either way it was something pretty different. Why not, it's your name, do what you want with it :)
My sister was born Melissa Regan, and in high school started going by "Regan" and dropped Melissa all together - it's taken me ages to get used to calling her Regan. I used to go by a Nickname till after I graduated college, and now I use my full name. It takes awhile for people to get the switch, but most people have it down now. :)
I voted Amanda Brooke, you can add in the name you love (which, I think Brooke is beautiful - I love the name too!), but you keep your real name as well which has the versatility of going by Mandie, or Amanda.
I voted Amanda Brooke (my name is Amanda) Like other Bees if you picked Amanda Brooke, you can still use the nickname Mandie without confusing a lot of people by switching to Brooke for a FN.
I legally changed my first name. My birth name is Drisana, but everyone has called me Dee since I was little, so when I changed my name it was no big deal. Try adopting the name unofficially and see how it goes.
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Ok guys,
I was reading another Bee's post (in names) about changing her first name and I couldn't help but want to do my own post and hopefully get some ideas on changing my first name. My name is Amanda. My nickname is Mandie. Family, friends and co-workers call me by both. I have always loved the name Broooke. I even wanted to name my daughter Brooke, but my mother was so against it. Well, after reading the other post, it really got me thinking.... I really want the name Brooke! What sounds best to you guys, Amanda Brooke or Mandie Brooke?