Company. Name change requests have tripled since the law made it easier

The possibility of changing one’s last name, made easier in law for almost two years, has been popular, with nearly 150,000 people having taken this step since July 2022, according to a study published Thursday by INSEE.

The Vignal law simplifies the procedure for changing a family name by allowing you to substitute the name of your other parent or to add the name of the second parent to the first by a simple procedure at the town hall. A lighter procedure compared to that going through the courts and which must be motivated (discredited or derogatory-sounding surname, desire to make one’s name French, etc.).

Three times more name changes

Between 1^er August 2022 and December 31, 2023, 144,100 people thus “changed their name substantially”, by adding or removing a name or substituting one name with another, reveals the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies.

This is three times more than the 44,000 recorded over a period of the same duration before the law (March 2021-July 2022), even if this remains a low number out of a population of 68 million inhabitants, explains to AFP the author of the study Lionel Espinasse. “The tripling shows that the law responded to a demand. People were waiting and were able to satisfy their wishes,” according to him.

6,500 changes per month

Requests increased sharply from August to October 2022 to reach a peak of 13,700. Since then, the number has fallen again to settle at a “cruising rate of 6,500 monthly changes at the end of 2023”, notes INSEE.

INSEE analyzed data from the national directory for the identification of natural persons (RNIPP), without being able to question people about their motivations.

The approach was undertaken by relatively young people: half are between 18 and 29 years old, a quarter between 30 and 39 years old. More women (57%) than men have taken the step.

In two thirds of cases (97,500), the person replaced the name of one parent with the name of the other. Some 30,700 people added a second name to the initial name.

A parent’s change of name automatically applies to their children under 13 who already bear their name. This affected 35,300 children, or a quarter of the name changes recorded.