Name: Name change for ethnic German immigrants and naturalized citizens

Names do not change as a result of admission to the federal territory and the acquisition of German citizenship. Each person continues to use their name in the form in which they received it under their original home country law.

However, the spelling of names acquired under foreign law can be adapted to German naming law. Parts of names that are not recognized by German law can be deleted, e.g. patronymics.

Which names can be changed?

• Elements of names that are not recognized by German law
  Elements of names that are not recognized by German law can be dropped.
  Example: Russian patronymics, Filipino middle names, Indian name affixes
• Original form of a name
  A family name is often modified according to gender or family relationship. In this case, the original form of the name can be assumed.
  Example: Bergerova in Berger
• German-language form of the first name
  The German-language form of the first name can be assumed. If there is no such form of the first name, new (other) first names can be chosen.
  Examples: Piotr to Peter, Stjepan to Stefan
• German-language form of the surname
  The German-language form of the surname can be adopted. It is not possible to choose a new surname.
  Example: Miller in Müller, German in Hermann
• Choice of a new married name
  If the spouses have chosen the name of one spouse as their married name in the country of origin, they can choose the name of the other spouse as their married name by means of a joint declaration.
• Proper names/chains of names
  If a person has several proper names that are not differentiated by first name and surname, these must be used to determine first names and surnames. The surname may only consist of a maximum of two names. If only one proper name is used, this can be declared as a first name or surname, in which case the missing name must be determined.
  Example: Omar Yussuf Mohammed (proper name) in Omar Yussuf (first name) and Mohammed (family name)

If you aligned your names before 01.05.2025 and the shortening of the multi-part surname or the choice of a multi-part name from a name chain was rejected, you can still change this now. You can find information on this in the "Name change for adult children" service.

Requirements

• late repatriate or expellee status or German citizenship through naturalization
• no name change may have been made yet
• Each person is entitled to declare their own name
• in the case of a declaration of a married name during an existing marriage, only a joint declaration is possible.

What documents do I need?

• Proof of admission as a displaced person or ethnic German resettler or the naturalization certificate
• Birth certificate and, if applicable, marriage certificate
• Translation of foreign-language documents
  
  • Certificates in Russian must be translated in accordance with ISO standard R 9
• Identity card or passport or proof of identity from the migration office