In civil law

Civil law (common law)

Civil law, as opposed to criminal law, is the branch of law dealing with disputes between individuals or organizations, in which compensation may be awarded to the victim...

, a person's true name is generally considered to be the name given at birth or changed by a statutorily prescribed process (such as petitioning a court (available in all States) or specifying a new name on the marriage certificate (in those with such a statute)). A name assumed under the common law

Common law

Common law is law developed by judges through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive branch action...

 method (i.e. through use for a non-fraudulent purpose in those States which have not specifically abrogated common law names) may be used as one's true name. See, for example, ; US v Cox, 593 F2d 46; Natale, 527 SW2d 402. The most ubiquitous example of the latter are women who marry in most States and simply assume their husband's name (a custom derived from the days of the Theory of Coverture

Coverture

Coverture was a legal doctrine whereby, upon marriage, a woman's legal rights were subsumed by those of her husband. Coverture was enshrined in the common law of England and the United States throughout most of the 19th century...

).

See also

• given name
  Given name
  A given name, in Western contexts often referred to as a first name, is a personal name that specifies and differentiates between members of a group of individuals, especially in a family, all of whose members usually share the same family name...
  
  
• true name
  True name
  A true name is a name of a thing or being that expresses, or is somehow identical with, its true nature. The notion that language, or some specific sacred language, refers to things by their true names has been central to philosophical and grammatical study as well as various traditions of magic,...
  
  
• name
  Name
  A name is a word or term used for identification. Names can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. A personal name identifies a specific unique and identifiable individual person, and may or may not include a middle name...
  
  
• deed of change of name
  Deed of Change of Name
  A deed of change of name is a legal document in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, which enables a single person or a family to officially change his or her name...