I have a one letter first name. Is it worth it to change my name legally?
My first name is just one letter. I have always thought since I was a kid that if I had a “real” name, I would like it to be a particular name (that I already have in mind) that starts with the same letter. Which I think would work because those that know me already could continue calling me by the initial, which is just my current name now
I have always had the thought of changing my name, but recently I’ve been thinking about it more seriously because as an adult I’m met with a constant stream of problems because of my name
But I’m just wondering if it would really be worth it to change my first name, or would it just cause more problems in the long run?
For example, I always have problems entering my first name on websites because it will give the error “name must include more than one character” and I have actually not been able to make bank accounts and other important things because of this. Plus, I remember even having issues with the Social Security website at one point!
I also feel like I don’t get taken seriously in professional environments when I’m applying to jobs, but I don’t know that for sure. But I did recently start to put the name I prefer to change it to legally on my resume, because maybe I can just start going by that and not have to change my name legally?
The only thing is I don’t know if changing my name would solve the problem because a lot of time they will ask for any previous names that you’ve had, so then I wouldn’t be able to enter it correctly there either? I just don’t know if there are consequences or effects that I’m not considering, because to me it seems like a good idea, especially because people can continue calling me by my current name if they want to
It’s just so frustrating and I don’t even like my name anyway, and I also feel like it was chosen with no real good reason behind it. I get asked about it literally almost every day and I don’t have an explanation except that “my dad thought it was cool”
I just feel like I want to take control of my life after all this time
EDIT: I guess I should mention that my middle name is “unique” as well, so I don’t really want to go by that and I’m honestly considering changing that name as well