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I am but not for the same reason.
My legal name is a butchered up English version of my Chinese name. When I was naturalized I chose to keep the Chinese name. And I've always kinda regretted it so when I take FI's last name I'm going to legally change my first name to my English first name that every knows me by anyway.
For Example if my Chinese name was "San Yee Chan" the English name I'm known as to everyone (family, friends, work) is Sandy Chan. So I'm going to legally change my name to Sandy Smith. Hehe obviously none of which are my real names!
Should be interesting to introduce my self with a very much German last name. Me being a tiny petite Asian and all! :)
I am. I'm changing my first name to the nickname I've been known as my entire life and my birthname to my middle name!
I'm not but my MOH plans to legally change her first name when she gets married. Her first name is a combination of her mother and father's names... very unusual (they made it up) and she has always hated it. She goes by a very common nickname, so she is just going to make that her legal name.
I would just put "Mark and Kate" on your thank-yous and let people figure it out.
Be prepared that some people won't be able to stop calling you Katie. Not because they don't respect your wishes, but because that's how they know you! I think if you make an announcement of sorts, you run the risk of 1) making people uncomfortable who find it difficult to call you by a new name, and 2) being in a weird situation if you find you'd like to stick to Katie or some other variation instead of Kate.
Kate really isn't a huge change from Katie...I had a friend who pretty easily shifted from being called Anne to being called Annie. I think if that's how you begin to refer to yourself, the change will take place gradually and naturally.
I wish I had a name I could do that to! :)
Its going to be really hard for people to make this change at this point, but if you really want to, go for it! BTW I have a good friend named Katie in her early 30s, a professional who works in finance and it never occurred to me that Katie was a young sounding name :)
i am also a katie and am in the same boat. i am 30 and a doctor. i am just embracing my name. i like it and even though it's unprofessional, it says katherine on my nametag. there is no way my family and friends would change what they call me at this point and i don't think it's worth the battle. i will be a middle aged katie and proud of it :)
Yeah, I think ya'll are right. I don't care so much if people call me Katie if they're used to it. I'll answer to Katie or Kate. I've even told people to call me whichever they prefer. So I guess it's mostly professionally that I want to be called Kate and even at that, the people that I already have a professional realtionship with can keep calling me Katie.
I think it doesn't help that I look younger than my age (I'm 28) and sometimes I feel like I have to prove myself more than others to be taken seriously. I'd like an older sounding name for my professional life. And I'll probably change it on facebook, too, and see if anyone notices. :)
HAHA I'm also a Katie.. A Katherine Katie, I haven't thought about it too much other than the fact that I hate naming your kid one thing and calling them something else. DUMB. anyhoo, I answer to anything really I guess we will see where things go, but I'm pretty sure I'll end up Katherine with everyone other than close family who will stick with Katie. I kinda like the idea of being old, and my huband still calling me Katie- the informality of it is sweet I guess?
I'm going to change the spelling of my first name, but it'll be pronounced the same. I go by the new spelling to everyone & some people don't know that legally I spell it a different way. So it'll be nice that it can be on my driver's license :).
My FH has a name which has like 40 thuosand different possible nicknames and at certain points in his life he's gone by all of them, (including his full name). the people who met him with a certain name still call him by that name even though now he might be going by another variation. It doesn't bother him but he always refers to himself with the current variation.
My name is Tam and I hate it so I've always been called Tammy by request from myself, so I will be changing it to Tammy legally, Tam is a boy's name in my language and im not a boy, haha. I think you would need to go to city hall to change it
I have a friend who went by his first name up until college then decided to go by his middle name. The weird thing is that if you call him by his first he responds but his wife is very fast to correct you.
@bohemian - it's probably because his wife doesn't like his first name. I'm sort of guilty of the same thing. My FH used to go by a variation of his name that I hate. He doesn't anymore and hasn't in a long time but when someone from his past calls him by that name it's like nails on a chalk board to me.
i'm another katie! i been recently wishing that my parents called me by my formal name Catherine. -its pretty to me and more unique. - ya and dont even ask me why my parents spelled Catherine with a C but nicknamed me Katie with a K ;) but a switch to katie to kate shouldnt be hard. when i started dated finace's family called me kate- thats what they still call me to this day. so technically i am known as katie, kate and katie carlene (my middle name that my mom's family calls me) lol. too many names!!!
Wow, I can't believe there are so many bees who change their first name, too.
I thought there were only a few of us.
Well, I changed my name to officially, Terry. I'm veitnamese and I have a veitnamese first name that I hardly go by. Throughout school, I have always gone by the nickname of Terry. So since I was changing my last name, I figure it would be easy to change my first name too. In order to not piss off my parents, I got my real name to be hyphanated with my asian middle name.
Also, just to be warned that it did cost me extra to change my first name to a nick name. About $150 and plus I had to go to court and stand before a judge and tell him I wasn't doing it to get out of debt. It was weird for me because I have never been in a court room before. Also, it was weird to be in the same room as some felons, like someone in hand cuffs. Whoa!
@Gerbera... I'm asian too and I now have an German last name!
My friend Katie tried to change herself to Kate when she got married, but I just can't call her that. She'll always be Katie to me.
I do have a male friend that completely changed his name. His last name is now is first name, his first name is now his middle name, and he took his wife's last name. It's not confusing because everyone called him by his last name (Clark) anyway.
I know someone who changed his name in college - something about wanting a new identity and all that... & his change was pretty drastic - Adam to Dante! It was a little hard to get used to for awhile, but everyone is used to it now.
I didn't realize there would be so many first name changes. :)
Just to clarify, I'm not legally changing my first name. It will always be Kathleen. Just changing what I call myself and what I ask people to call me!
I'm a Katie too...Short for Kathryn.
When I was sixteen, I decided that Katie sounded too babyish and I wanted to go by Kate. My mom wouldn't call me by it. New people I met did. And some of the people I already knew were willing to make the switch.
I eventually went back to just Katie. Now mainly the people who call me Kate are my fiance, sister, and a few others. It's easy enough to go back and forth between the two.
I was always Katie growing up but made the switch to Kate when I went to college. I also have a one syllable last name (as does the BF) but I like my short and sweet name. I've just kind of resigned myself to the fact that most of my family will always call me Katie whereas most of my friends (except the few I still have from high school) know me as Kate. It's not THAT drastic of a change that anyone will make a big deal, I don't think. Good luck!
I'm toying with the idea of changing my first name legally, making it FirstMiddle Maiden Married.
I tried to get people to call me Kat (I'm Kelly, but I love cats, LOL) in elementary school... it didn't catch on. LOL
I went by Kel most of my life as my nickname but in college a few people called me KJ (after my first and middle initial). My husband doesn't like the nickname Kel so I RARELY get it now, which is weird! I LOVE KJ though and wish more people called me it.
I think you can float the idea to friends and colleagues, but don't be surprised if some family members or close friends insist on calling you Katie! Old habits die hard. You can also sign yourself as Kate as a way of reinforcing it.
My sister has a long first name with many nickname possibilities. During our childhood she was known by one nickname, but then when she went to college she chose another entirely and forbade the use of her childhood nickname! But as her family we still call her by her childhood nickname. When she meets new people she just introduces herself by the nickname she wants to be known as. As you meet new people, just introduce yourself as Kate.
@gerbera i'm in the same boat! ;P
i have a full korean name. pretty simple, but still korean.
FI has a very very LOOOONG polish last name (it's my own fault for wishing i had a long last name when i was a wee lil elementary schooler filling out those scantron standardized tests!)
i'm considering changing my first name legally to an english name. of course starting with the same initial as my korean name to keep the flow going... LOL
I might move my middle name in with my first name. Right now it's kinda like (this isn't my real name though) my first name is Mary and my middle name is Anne so then I'd just become Maryanne Mylastname Hislast name
I think that I'm also moving my first name and middle name together as just my first name. A lot of people call me by my first and middle names already, and those who don't can still just call me what they've always called me.
I just don't want to lose my middle name because it's also my Dad's middle name and it's important to me to keep it.
Wow, didnt know that other people did this haha. YES, i am. My name is Kristi. I cant stand it. To me it just sounds and looks so sharp, so rough. Im changing it to Kristina. Not too much of a difference, but Kristina is just so much more ...flowing. Im a believer that if you change your name, you change your destiny. My life was rough, jagged...just like my name. Now it will be nothing but easy, smoooth and flowing. Plus, my FI is russian so with his crazy last name, Kristina just sounds better. :)
I have a long, formal first name but went by a nickname since birth (think something like Meg vs. Margaret). It's been a looong process to transition from "Meg" back to "Margaret." I started going by my formal name in college, and to this day I still have friends who call me "Meg." So, don't expect that this will be a sudden, abrupt, absolute change. Think of it more as phasing in the new name. And don't be surprised if some people can't shake Katie, just like some people still use Katie Jo. Isn't it kind of neat to think that your whole name will be different than your childhood one? I get kind of a kick thinking that "Meg Smith" will now be "Margaret Samuelson" (not real names, but you get the picture).
Going to stick my nose in and remind everyone to change their name with Social Security... can't help but issue the reminder as I work for the agency 
Odd thing is, I'm actually changing my name BEFORE the wedding. I'm re-marrying my ex, so I still have the old certificate. My drivers license expires less than a month before the wedding, so I figured instead of getting it renewed, then going in a month later to change the name, I'll just change my name and get the new license with that name.
Is that too weird?
My name is Amanda. My nickname is Mandie. Friends, co-workers and family members call me by both. I've always wanted the name Brooke. I really don't want a middle name, but to keep the sanity, I was thinking to do something like Mandie Brooke and then my new married name. Then I thought to make it less dramatic, change it to Amanda Brooke. I would definitely ask people to call me Brooke. Wow! I am getting excited about this! I am going to do my own post on this topic.
* Just to give my opinion, I love the name Katie. Kate is just as nice though:)
You dont even know how much i want to change my name! im in the process to finalize some paper work and they asked me if i wanted to change my name.. I want to so bad but im a chicken..lol.. my name is so hard to pronounce.. the first three letters SVE.. i mean.. could it be any worse than that.. i guess it could me..QBL..lol.. Anyways, everyone always tries to avoid my name and they call me only when i look at them.. its annoying.. but im scared and i cannot imagine having one name for 21 years and BOOM call me something else now.. agh... so irritated with myself..lol..
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I am....kinda.
I've always been Katie. After I got my masters and got a real professional job, I've wanted a more professional sounding name. Plus, I can't imagine being middle aged and still being "Katie". However, to me, Kate sounds like nails on a chalkboard with my current last name. (Dull, one-syllable.) I tried going by my full name, Kathleen, but it feels waaay too formal with me and I'm in the mental health field, where I try to get a comfortable rapport with clients - it doesn't work when I stiffen every time I hear my name. I'm just not a Kathleen.
Kathy...not me at all. Nothing against the name, just doesn't fit ME.
So Katie it is. However, Kate sounds awesome with FI's last name. I think I want to try it out.
Is anyone else doing something similar? How do/did you go about it? I'm thinking of just letting people continue calling me what they want (most people call me Katie; a few friends and family have decided on their own to call me Kate; a few people who have known me since I was a baby still call me by my cute-but-unfortunate childhood nickname of Katie Jo) and introducing myself to new people as Kate. I mean, do you announce something like this to people or just put "Mark and Kate Lastname" on the thank-you cards and let people figure it out? LOL.