New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-06-04
CHANGING OWES NAME IN ENGLAND.
APPLICATIONS GRANTED BY THE CROWN ONLY
FOR GOOD REASONS.

APPLICATIONS GRANTED BY THE CROWN ONLY
FOR GOOD REASONS.
From The Genealogical Magazine
Now. the Crown has the absolute right to
grant or withhold at its pleasure It's license
and authority for change Gf name, ana IL al
one hears be correct almost as many appncA-
tons are refused are granted. Needless 10
say the refusals not the personal refusa4s
OF Her Majesty, but emanate from the HouHe
Office. through which all petitions pass ana tne
Home Office has assumed to itself the decision
as TO whether or not case shall be put for"Oo
for the personal consideration OF Her Majesty
In circumstance can any one compel e'IueL
the Home Office to put forward a petition or
Her Majesty to grant her license But, judging
from past experience, one is able to indicate
generally the cases in which an application y
likely to be successful To begin with, no case
has ever been known in which the Crown mas
refused its license for any change or assutnp
ton which is in conformity with either VIII
OF settlement, that ii may be taken TOT
granted that any application for a royal license
in pursuance Of either will or settlement VIII
be granted without the least diftcuity peihs
raised -,
AppIicants desiring 10 assume name under
other circumstances must show what the Crown
can consider 10 be good and suflcient reason
why the change should be eHecteu: Inc r.,
Fueale os TO which one hears occasionally DO
not all seem to be dictated from ldentica rea-
sons but il is difficult to get exact particulars
Of such cases. and though one would hesitate
to say that the granting OF a royal license upoh
a voluntary application was a mater Oh the
corrice of the Crown or its officers. one can
moi however definitely say that such-and-such
a case would be invariably permitted, or tha'
ch-and-such a case would be lnvarlaDy re-
fused Consequently. one can only indicate III
probabilities of consent or refusal Ihese WIN
nsraIIv no found to be somewhat as follows
though as each case has it's SPECIAL circutn-
stances il is naturally difficult to speak with
any certainty: x,o ,horo no
An application to assume a name Where TO
descent can be shown from any family OF sucn
nane and where il is q mere matter OF PERSONA
oaprce is almost invariably refused An apPh-
cation 70 assume the name of family from
whom descent in the female line exists u s,h-
orally granted il il can be shown that the ie-
male ancestor Of that name through whom de
scent Is proved was an heraldic heiress IN blood'
or where the applicant can show that ne Is an
heir Of line of any male OF that family. An dp-
nlicatiOn nut forward in a case OF adoption 10
assume the name Of the guardian is usually
granted II the application is made by the guar
dian and in his lifetime: but the matter IS on
an entirely different footing II the Application
is made merely at the caprice OF the ward ana
after the death OF the guardian, when the latter
has left behind him no indication OF his wisn
that his ward should adopt his name. An appi-
name is usually granted where unquestonable
evidence can be produced of descent from some
ancestor who wrote his name
The application OF husband to assume ms
wlfe's name is usually governed 10y the iact OF
the heirship otherwise of the wife. II she be
an heiress in blood the application is usually
granted but II is not nfrequently refused IN
cases TO the contrary. But the Crown does nor
sanction the assumption of a name by the wie
while her husband is alive. unless the HUSBAND
joins in the petition to assume the same name