[AbyD]

I recently moved back to the U.S. I moved away when I was a kid. I am now 23 years old. The first thing I did was go to the DMV for my I.D. Here's the problem: When filling out the form, it asked me for my LEGAL name and that's when I noticed. My SS card Says Abigail Davalos but my birth certificate says Abigail Davalos Bernal (Davalos Bernal being my whole last name). I wrote down the one from my birth certificate, but now that I'm applying for jobs and stuff, I keep wondering why they don't match and whether I'll get into trouble because of that. I rememebr that when I was in school here, I was Abigail Davalos, but during the 13 years I was in Mexico, I was Abigail Davalos Bernal. SO now I'm just really confused and don't know what I'm supposed to do. Which is my real LEGAL name and am I supposed to get one of these documents "fixed"? All I have is my I.D. but I want to get my passport soon and don't know if this will be a problem. Also when I start any financial activity, what issues might surface due to this problem.

[tickle]

Your legal name is the one on your birth certificate. Or at least, that is the one you should be going by, because you will have to use your birth certificate for your passport. You won't get into trouble, so I suggest you use the one on your birth certificate.

Davalos, I assume, is your father's name? But where does Bernal come from? Some people use a hyphenated name, i.e. Davalos-Bernal, or leave out the hyphen. That never creates a problem, but you definitely have to settle on one if you want a passport.

[AK lawyer]

I suggest you change you Social Security registration to match you "legal" name shown on your birth certificate. On the other hand, should you marry, and want to assume your husband's surname, you would change everything at that time anyway.

[Fr_Chuck]

Your legal name is the one on the birth certificate, you merely need to have the one on the social security card fixed, A social security card name is not a legal name, they assume they were given the correct name when filed. ( they must have missed it, since they needed your birth certificate at that time)