I'm Legally Changing my Name

I just downloaded the forms I need to legally change my name . . . any suggestions as to what my new name should be?

Nah, I'm not doing this on a whim and I already know what my new name is gonna be . . . exactly what it is now.

So why do I need to change it?

Well, being a child of first-generation immigrant parents there are a lot of little quirks that I've had to deal with. As some of you may know in Chinese names are read "backward" i.e. Last-middle-first. Unfortunately, this little factoid was missed by whomever was registering my name at birth so on my birth certificate my name is technically wrong, it came out middle-first-last so my middle name is legally my first name.

The same deal happened with my brother and when he registered for his teaching certificate they had to use his "legal" name on his birth certificate so he decided to legally change his name to what it was always intended to be so he could get the right name on his teaching certificate.

I originally wasn't going to bother since this hasn't been an issue for me in the past, I've been able to use my de-facto first name "Wayne" without any problems. Somehow I was able to get my Social Insurance Number and Passport under the correct name. But my mom was pretty adamant that I correct it too, to avoid any legal complications that may arise down the line for stuff like marriage certificates (not gonna happen anytime soon) or wills.

Changing your name is a hassle; there's this massive form you have to fill out (it's more complicated if you're under 18 or married which I am neither), they have to do a criminal background check and credit check to make sure you're not on the lam; you have to get a non-family member "guarantor" to sign that you've lived in the jurisdiction for at least five years, then you have to sign the form in front of a commissioner (a lawyer or civic official).

Then you send in the signed and commissioned forms along with your old birth certificate, wait 6 to 8 weeks and if everything goes smoothly they send you a change of name certificate and a new birth certificate.

Blah, it's such a hassle and it's expensive too: the cost is $137 plus the $34 I have to pay the commissioner to stamp my document. I'd be more motivated if I were at least changing my name to Max Power or something cool. It's especially pointless for me since I've already been using my intended name but I understand why my mom wants me to clear up the mistake to avoid legal problems down the line.

Damn, I was hoping to keep the old birth certificate so if I ever have to declare bankruptcy or fake my own death I can get a new identity :P