Such pseudonyms often become better known than the real name, as in the case of Mark Twain. In the U.S., with the exception of the state of Pennsylvania, people may change their names freely as long as the request is reasonable and does not impinge on the rights of others. To be legally safe, name changers should file an application with a court of record. Some reasons for changing names are to resume a maiden name after divorce, to avoid spelling or pronunciation difficulties, to break with the past, or for business or stage purposes. A rough estimate is that 3.5 million place-names exist in the U.S. alone, one for each square mile.
All nations have regulatory agencies that supervise and recommend geographical name changes.
In the U.S., the agency is the Board on Geographic Names of the Department of the Interior. A United Nations committee actively attempts to standardize the forms of place-names throughout the world. See an outline for this article. All rights reserved. Learn about Encarta's editorial process.