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Question:Is there any way of tracking down the original name of someone who has changed their name by deed poll?? UK, thanks


Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Is there any way of tracking down the original name of someone who has changed their name by deed poll?? UK, thanks

I found this from the UK Deed Poll website http://www.ukdps.co.uk/

"Searching for someone's Deed Poll is like looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack. This is because there is no central register of all name changes by Deed Poll. Furthermore, in addition to ourselves, a Deed Poll can be prepared by any of the many thousands of solicitors throughout England and Wales. Even if you discovered who prepared your relative's Deed Poll, client confidentiality prevents the disclosing of any information about the Deed Poll.

The only chance you have of locating a Deed Poll is if it was an 'enrolled' Deed Poll. This is a type of Deed Poll that can be enrolled (registered) with the government through the Court Service. Upon enrolment, a Deed Poll becomes a public record and becomes available for public inspection - in the same way the public can inspect past birth, marriage and death records. However, very few Deed Polls are enrolled (only about 1 in every 200) because it is a voluntary process and enrolling significantly adds to the time taken and the cost of changing your name - hence 99.5 per cent of people change their name by using an 'unenrolled' Deed Poll (the type we and most solicitors issue).

Deed Polls that have been enrolled during the past five years are held at the Royal Courts of Justice (Strand, London, WC2A 2LL. Tel: 020 7947 6221). Before then, and going back to 1851, they can be found at the National Archives (Kew, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 4DU. Tel: 020 8876 3444). However, you need to personally visit the National Archives to search the records (except for Deed Polls enrolled between 1965 and 1983, which are electronically stored and can be searched by telephoning the National Archives.

For further information and advice about searching for evidence of a change of name, please visit the National Archives website. You may also wish to visit the Family Records website, which aims to help you research your family's history by locating UK government records."

Yes - but I forget just where! I was doing research in London and went to the proper place - Somerset House? Great Catherine Street? Public Records Office? Sorry, but I'm not sure. Anyway, once in, I was directed where to look, and right away I found where my grandfather had changed his surname, in 1876. Good luck!