UK Deed Poll Service in the media

We are frequently mentioned and appear in national and local press and media, usually commenting on name change issues and providing material and background information for TV and radio programmes. Our chief executive, Mike Barratt and senior deed poll officer Louise Bowers, have appeared on BBC1 Breakfast News, Sky News, Channel 4’s Big Breakfast, Channel 4 News, BBC’s Graham Norton Show and many national radio stations including BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 4 and BBC 5 Live as well as most local BBC and commercial radio stations.

Note: All clients mentioned in the media articles below have either given their consent or have gone public with their name change.

Surge in trans children changing their names
Sunday 13th Jan 2019

The Sunday Times reports on our recent Facebook post about changing the name and title of children with gender dysphoria. We have recently seen a significant increase in the number of deed poll documents we issue to change the name and title of children with gender dysphoria.

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Sir Michael Caine changes his name by Deed Poll
Not a lot of people know that!

Monday 1st October 2018

Well they do now! Michael Caine is now officially Michael Caine, reports the Sun and other newspapers, after we issued him with deed poll documentation to change his real name to match his stage name after one too many airport hold-ups.

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Buzz Lightyear caught speeding and fined £200
Thursday 10th November 2016

We don’t normally include on this page articles seen in provincial newspapers but we couldn’t overlook this one from Exeter’s Express & Echo. Last year, we issued a Deed Poll to Sam Stephens, 27, from Bideford, Devon to help him raise money for a cancer charity but he’s got himself into a bit of trouble with the law.

Click on this link to read more about this story.

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The tradition of women taking their husband’s name upon marriage is changing
Saturday 13th June 2015

Men taking their wife’s name, double-barrelled surnames and even meshed versions are all the rage as traditional marriages go out of the window reports The Daily Mail.

Click on this link to see the article.

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Gino D’Acampo changes his name by Deed Poll on ITV’s Celebrity Juice
Thursday 9th April 2015

Read why we were asked to provide Keith Lemon’s Celebrity Juice programme with a Deed Poll to change Gino D’Acampo’s name to Gennaro Sheffield D’Acampo.

Click on this link to find out more and see screen shots.

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BBC One’s The One Shows talks about changing your name by Deed Poll
Monday 22nd September 2014

Inspired by the Royal Family’s surname change in 1917 from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor, presenters Matt Baker and Alex Jones explained the Deed Poll process. We provided The One Show’s research team with information, sample Deed Poll documents and three clients with very unusual names.

Click on this link to see screen shots.

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The big match line-up that would grace any football pitch in the world
Wednesday 14th August 2013

In a £100,000 sponsorship deal with bookmaker Paddy Power, Farnborough FC have come up with a fantasy team sheet of past and present world beaters including Pele and Diego Maradona. We provided the team and management with the Deed Poll documentation to make it happen.

Click on this link to see the article.

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Play the name game with us
Friday 28th June 2013

Making a name for yourself isn’t easy. Has the name you were given had a good or bad effect on your life? The Metro’s Patrick McAleenan examines the big responsibility that all parents should take seriously.

Click on this link to see the article.

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Keeping up with the Smones
Friday 9th November 2012

The Daily Mail reports on name meshing becoming the new wedding trend as more married couples are fusing their surnames. The article includes the news that we changed the surname of TV presenter Dawn Porter to Dawn O’Porter following her marriage to actor Chris O’Dowd.

Click on this link to see the article.

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United: Mr & Mrs Puffin
Friday 9th November 2012

The Telegraph reports on the large increase in the number of Deed Polls we have issued this year to couples who have meshed (combined) their surnames upon marriage.

Click on this link to see the article.

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Emma’s 14 Bond names
Sunday 28th October 2012

We issued a Deed Poll to James Bond fanatic Emma Hodges so she could change her name to 14 of 007’s leading ladies.

Click on this link to see the article.

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Jai has a surprise for Charity
Friday 1st June 2012

We issued a Deed Poll to ITV’s Emmerdale programme so Jai Sharma could give Charity a Deed Poll to change step-son Noah’s surname from Tate to Sharma.

Click on this link to see screen shots.

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Let the names begin
Saturday 26th May 2012

The Daily Mirror and The Sun report on Olympics fanatic Thomas Manly who changed his middle name to the names of 12 Olympic gold medallists.

Click on this link to see the articles.

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Our news of 60,000 name changes this year featured on BBC’s Have I Got News For You
Friday 21st October 2011

Following the Sunday Times articles about us (see below), our news that we expect to change 60,000 people’s names this year was featured on BBC’s Have I Got News For You.

Click on this link to see the video.

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Boom time for name swappers
Sunday 16th October 2011

The Sunday Times reports that divorce, debt and star worship are just three reasons why 60,000 people will change their name by Deed Poll with us this year.

Click on this link to see the article.

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A quick £33 and I’m Brad Pitt
Sunday 16th October 2011

Sunday Times journalist Bradley Pitt (formerly Matthew Rudd) reports on his experience of changing his name with us.

Click on this link to see the article.

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Jasmine receives a special birthday present
Thursday 24th February 2011

We issued a Deed Poll to Channel 4’s hugely popular Hollyoaks programme so that Bart could give it to Jasmine at her 16th birthday party. The Deed Poll changes Jasmine’s name and title from Miss Jasmine Costello to Mr Jason Costello.

Click on this link to see screen shots.

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Steve Hargrave changes his name to Paul to attend special screening of new sci-fi film
Wednesday 9th February 2011

ITV Daybreak’s entertainment correspondent Steve Hargrave wanted to attend a special screening of the new sci-fi comedy film Paul (written and starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost). The problem was, you had to be called Paul to get in! So, ITV Daybreak asked us to prepare a Deed Poll for Steve changing his name to Paul.

Click on this link to see screen shots.

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Record number of name changes in 2010
Friday 31st December 2010

5 Live Breakfast presenter Shelagh Fogarty interviewed our chief executive Mike Barratt about the 10th consecutive annual increase in the number of Deed Polls we have issued (54,000 for 2010). This interview was followed by 18 further interviews for BBC radio stations around the country.

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10 per cent surge in name changes in 2010
Tuesday 28th December 2010

The Daily Mirror, The Sun and the Daily Express report on the record number of Deed Polls we issued in 2010 (up 10 per cent on 2009) and mention some of the more unusual and bizarre name changes during the year.

Click on this link to see the articles.

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Simon Cowell changes his name to Lightning
Saturday 9th October 2010

We issued a deed poll to Cheryl Cole so she could present it to Simon Cowell on the Xtra Factor show to change his name to Lightning. Why? At Storm Lee’s audition, Simon refused to call Storm by his name because it was changed by deed poll and wasn’t, in Simon’s opinion, his real name. Cheryl thought Simon was being extremely rude and wanted to make a point.

Click on this link to see the video.

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Daft names are not clever, they’re cruel
Sunday 19th September 2010

When Jamie Oliver’s wife gave birth to a son, they named him Buddy Bear. The Independent on Sunday’s article suggests why celebrities are giving their children bizarre names and suggests we can help.

Click on this link to see the article.

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160 bar staff in Rooney name change
Tuesday 1st June 2010

Andy Wilkinson, football-mad boss of Clover Taverns, persuaded his 160 bar staff at his 10 pubs to change their names to Wayne Rooney. We duly despatched deed poll documentation for his staff. The pubs’ 17 managers also changed their names to Fabio Capello. And what about Andy? He has changed his name to Sepp Blatter!

Click on this link to see the BBC News article.
Click on this link to see the Sky News article.

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What’s in a name
Friday 28th May 2010

BBC Radio 5 Live presenter Gabby Logan invited us to join her on her lunchtime program to discuss name change upon marriage and divorce and the growing number of men who are taking their wives’ surnames names upon marriage.

Click on this link to find out more.

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Chris Kamara to unite England team at World Cup
Thursday 27th May 2010

We issued a Deed Poll to ex-professional footballer and TV football pundit Chris Kamara to change his name to Chris Cabanga. More than 22,000 people joined an internet campaign to get Chris to change his name after scientists said the word cabanga, derived from the Zulu word for imagine, will unite the team when it is chanted by fans at the World Cup.

Click on this link to see the ITN news article.

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It’s a mystery to Chris Evans
Thursday 4th February 2010

Following on-air studio chat about exotic names, our chief executive Mike Barratt was invited to be the mystery guest on BBC Radio 2’s Chris Evans breakfast show.

Click on this link to find out more.

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Record number of name changes in 2009
Saturday 26th December 2009

The Daily Mirror and Daily Express report on the record number of Deed Polls we issued in 2009 (nearly 50,000) and mention some of the more unusual and bizarre name changes during the year.

Click on this link to find out more.

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Joe’s McElderry’s mum and gran change their names to Vote Joe
Thursday 10th December 2009

To help spread the word to vote for Joe during the weekend’s X Factor finals, we have issued Deed Polls to Joe McElderry’s mum and gran changing their names to Vote Joe. Over 70 other fanatical Joe McElderry supporters will also be changing their names to Vote Joe at the same time today at Real Radio’s offices in Gateshead. It will be the largest mass signing of Deed Polls in the world.

Click on this link to find out more.

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Mr and Mrs Jonesmith: modern couples mesh surnames
Sunday 6th December 2009

The Sunday Times newspaper reports on the trend for couples to merge their surnames (known as meshing) upon marriage.

Click on this link to see the article.

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Identity clash woman changes name
Friday 16th October 2009

We issued a Deed Poll to Susan Brown from Berkshire to bring an end to two-and-a-half years’ misery of being pursued by bailiffs, banks and debt collectors trying to recover money owed by another woman of the same name.

Click on this link to see the article.

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Well named
Friday 2nd October 2009

Diehard football fan Frazer Boyle loves his local club so much, he asked us to change his name to Motherwell Football Club. As you can imagine, Frazer is now ‘Well’ happy!

Click on this link to see the article.

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Congratulations Mr & Mrs RocknRoll
Monday 28th September 2009

Top celebrity news magazine Hello published the wedding of Sir Richard Branson’s nephew Ned RocknRoll to the Hon. Eliza Cowdray, daughter of Vicount and Lady Cowdray. We changed Ned’s surname by Deed Poll to RocknRoll ahead of his stylish marriage and celebrations on Necker Island in the British Virgin Islands.

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Record numbers of people to change name by Deed Poll
Thursday 27th August 2009

Despite the recession affecting millions of people, the Telegraph reports how we are expecting to issue a record number of Deed Polls this year.

Click on this link to see the article.

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Pudsey Bear in passport fight
Friday 30th April 2009

We donated £4,000 to BBC’s Children In Need appeal when Eileen De Bont from St. Asaph, Denbighshire changed her name to Pudsey Bear. Despite getting all her documents and records changed to Pudsey Bear, the passport office are refusing to issue Pudsey with a passport.

Click on this link to find out more.

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By any other name
Friday 20th March 2009

From Moon Unit to Diva Muffin, top weekly magazine My Weekly takes a look at some of the more memorable showbiz name choices and tells its readers how to change their name by Deed Poll to something more exciting.

Click on this link to see the article.

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Record number of daft names
Saturday 27th December 2008

Most national newspapers published articles about the record number of deed polls we issued during 2008 and featured our most unusual name changes during the year. The most unusual was probably Daniel Westfallen, 27, from Hornchurch, Essex who changed his name to Happy Adjustable Spanners!

Click on this link to find out more.

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Welcome to the family
Friday 17th October 2008

As part of Warburtons Bakery’s £22 million advertising campaign, we issued Deed Polls to change the surnames of 20 London taxi drivers to Warburton.

Click on this link to find out more.

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No one understood why I took my wife’s surname
Sunday 17th August 2008

We issued a Deed Poll to Kris Dyer, who was the subject of The Independent on Sunday’s article, together with research material about the increasing number of married men taking their wives’ surnames.

Click on this link to see the article.

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Should there be controls on what names we have?
Friday 25th July 2008

BBC1’s Breakfast programme invited us to take part in a discussion on whether there should be controls on what names we are allowed to have.

Click on this link to find out more.

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How do you change your name?
Tuesday 15th April 2008

With record numbers of people changing their name with us, Kay Burley of Sky News invited us onto her Afternoon Live programme to explain the Deed Poll process.

Click on this link to find out more.

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Proud2bPat
Sunday 16th March 2008

For the official London’s St. Patrick’s Day celebrations at Trafalgar Square, we teamed up with Irwin’s Bakery and changed the name of several celebrities and hundreds of wannabe Patricks to break the Guinness world record for the largest number of people with the same name in one place. We also raised some useful dough for Great Ormond Street Hospital.

Click on this link to find out more.

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My new name’s crazy in deed!
Friday 28th December 2007

The Daily Mirror publish our most unusual and bizarre name changes during 2007, including Daddy Fantastic, Big Crazy Lester and Ima Stapler!

Click on this link to see the feature.

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Name that loon
Friday 21st December 2007

The Daily Mirror reports the record number of people who changed their name with us during 2007. They also give a taste of the full page feature to follow one week later (see above article).

Click on this link to see the feature.

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A year ago I was Ian, a Captain in the Paras. Today I am Jan
Saturday 20th October 2007

We changed Ian Hamilton’s name and title to complete his transformation from male to female. Read about his amazing sex change from a butch 16 stone Para to an 11 stone beauty.

Click on this link to view the article.

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Soccer flops change names by Deed Poll to superstars
Monday 24th September 2007

It was a first for us when we issued 17 Deed Polls to an entire Sunday league football team. Lynam Athletic are hoping they can start playing like their namesakes.

Click on this link to view the article.

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Sky News uncovers passport fraud
Friday 1st June 2007

We allowed Sky News cameras into our offices to film their reporter applying for and receiving his Deed Poll at our public counter. Sky News wanted to show how easy it was to obtain a British passport in a new name using our Deed Polls.

Click on this link to find out more.

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The Chris Evans Show
Tuesday 6th March 2007

We tell listeners of the Chris Evans Show how to change their name by Deed Poll.

Click on this link to find out more.

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The easiest way to apply for a name change
Friday 9th February 2007

BBC 1’s Inside Out program featured our website and demonstrated how easy it was to change your name by Deed Poll using our website.

Click on this link to find out more.

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Unusual name changes during 2006
Friday 22nd December 2006

The Sun published some of the more unusual name changes we issued Deed Polls for during 2006.

Click on this link to see the feature.

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Names Bond
Friday 17th November 2006

We changed a James Bond fan’s name to James Bond with the names of all 21 Bond movies as his middle names.

Click on this link to see the article.

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The Bigger Picture
Monday 9th October 2006

Our chief executive Mike Barratt and some of our clients, with unusual monikers, appeared on BBC TV’s Graham Norton’s Bigger Picture, which was broadcast on BBC1 on Monday 9th October 2006.

Click on this link to view a screen shot.

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Stroke of Midnight
Thursday 29th June 2006

A Scottish gent has revolutionised his love life by changing his name with us.

Click on this link to view the article.

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Wackiest names for 2005
Thursday 22nd December 2005

The Sun gives over a full page to feature our more unusual name changes during 2005, including Jellyfish McSaveloy!

Click on this link to view the article.

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“Muslim? Change your name like me!”
Friday 10th June 2005

A British Muslim who changed his name with us to beat prejudice, tells his story.

Click on this link to view the article.

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On the Case
Saturday 7th May 2005

The Telegraph offers a solution to readers where flight tickets have been booked in a different name to their passport name.

Click on this link to view the article.

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Brown is the new White in saucy promotion
Wednesday 9th February 2005

We changed the snooker player Jimmy White’s name for this year’s Masters tournament at Wembley.

Click on this link to read the article.

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U can call me Bond, Jms Bnd
Sunday 23rd January 2005

We announce our forthcoming service of applying for a Deed Poll by mobile text message.

Click on this link to view the article.

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If Cliff Richard, Cilla Black and Elton John can do it…
Sunday 7th November 2004

The Mail on Sunday tells its readers that changing your name by Deed Poll is not just for celebrities – anyone can do it.

Click on this link to view the article.

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Gazza’s red card over G8
Friday 22nd October 2004

We had to show Paul Gascoigne the red card when we were consulted about his proposed name change to G8.

Click on this link to view the article.

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Any questions?
Wednesday 19th November 2003

A reader’s daughter is upset because her daughter’s teachers insist on calling her daughter by her birth name instead of the name she is known by.

Click on this link to view the article.

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Something fishy is going on at the Houses of Parliament
Tuesday 1st October 2002

We changed the Labour MP Austin Mitchell’s name to Austin Haddock in honour of National Seafood Week.

Click on this link to read the article.

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