In re Taminosian

• Decision Date: 02 January 1915
• Docket Number: No. 18918.,18918.
• Citation: 97 Neb. 514,150 N.W. 824
• Parties: IN RE TAMINOSIAN.
• Court: Nebraska Supreme Court

97 Neb. 514

150 N.W. 824

IN RE TAMINOSIAN.

No. 18918.

Supreme Court of Nebraska.

Jan. 2, 1915.

Syllabus by the Court.

Under the statute requiring sufficient and reasonable cause for a change of name, a decree is not a matter of right, but of judicial discretion. Rev. St. 1913, c. 53.

Appeal from District Court, Douglas County; Sutton, Judge.

Application of John I. Taminosian to reclaim the name of Mohammed Nadir. From a judgment dismissing the proceedings, petitioner appeals. Affirmed.

Sedgwick, Barnes, and Hamer, JJ., dissenting.

John I. Taminosian, in pro. per.

ROSE, J.

Under a statute of this state petitioner demanded a judicial decree changing his name. Rev. St. 1913, §§ 5315-5318. From a dismissal of the proceedings, he has appealed to this court.

Such a petitioner is required, among other things, to state “the cause for which the change of petitioner's name is sought.” There is no statutory duty resting on the district court to make the order demanded except:

“Upon being duly satisfied, by proof in open court, of the truth of the allegations set forth in the petition, and that there exists proper and reasonable cause for changing the name of the petitioner.”

Proof of proper and reasonable cause sufficient to satisfy the district court is a condition of the statutory relief. At common law a man may change his name any time; but in this state, if he desires a judicial record thereof, he must adduce evidence to satisfy the court that there is sufficient and reasonable cause for the change. In exercising the power to change names the district court is not subject to the whims of every petitioner. According to his own statements, petitioner was baptized in a Congregational church at Antioch, Syria, by the name of Isaiah Taminosian; was admitted into the religion of Islam under the name of Mohammed Nadir, which he now desires to resume, his name having by the decree of an Egyptian court been changed thereto from Yusuf; was banished from Constantinople, escaped from banishment, and traveled under assumed names; was a “Howling Dervish” in the Barnum & Bailey circus; was baptized in the Catholic church at Carlstadt, N. J., by the name of John Isaiah Taminosian; was a Volunteer of America in Chicago, as “Captain Tommy, the Turk;” and was rebaptized in the Christian Church at Sterling, Ill., under the name of John I. Taminosian.

Petitioner has a wife, two daughters, and one son. The wife protests against the change of her husband's name. She and her children are citizens of this state. As such they are entitled to the protection of the laws and the customs governing society. By their present names they have acquired a standing in the family, in the schools, and in the community. Proper domestic relations are concerns of the state, and the district court is an arm of sovereignty. In that tribunal the rights of the mother and the children should be protected when known, though they are not parties to the proceeding. Injuries to the feelings and sensibilities of innocent women and children may result in greater suffering and damage than the fraudulent invasion of property rights. Under the statute, requiring sufficient and reasonable cause for a change of name, a decree is not a matter of right, but of judicial discretion. Sufficient and reasonable cause for changing the name of petitioner has not been shown.

The judgment of the district court is affirmed.

SEDGWICK, J. (dissenting).

Our statute (Rev. St. 1913, §§ 5315-5318) provides:

“The district court shall have authority to change the names of persons, towns, villages and cities within this state. Any person desiring to change his or her name may file a petition in the district court of the county in which such person may be a resident, setting forth: First--that the petitioner has been a bona fide citizen of such county for at least one year prior to the filing of the petition; second--the cause for which the change of petitioner's name is sought; third--the name asked for. And it shall be the duty of the district court at any term thereof after the filing of said petition upon being duly satisfied, by proof in open court, of the truth of the allegations set forth in the petition, and that there exists proper and reasonable cause for changing the name of the petitioner, and that thirty days' previous notice of the intended application had been duly given in some newspaper printed in such county, or in case no newspaper be printed in the county, then in some newspaper in general circulation therein, to order and direct a change of name of such petitioner, and that an order for the purpose be made in the journals of the court.”

The following sections provide for the change of names of towns and for the payment of costs of the proceedings, with a proviso that:

“Any change of names under the provisions of this chapter shall not in any manner affect or alter any right of action, legal process, or property.”

It will be noticed that the proceedings contemplated by the statute are simple. The only traversable allegation required in the petition is that the petitioner has been a bona fide citizen of the county for at least one year. The petition must also allege the name asked for and “the cause for which the change of petitioner's name is sought.” Of course, no issue can be tendered on these two allegations.

Formerly the given name, the name in which one is christened, sometimes in Christian countries called the Christian name, was regarded as the real name of the individual. Now custom gives one the family name of his father, and such prænomina as his...