dariuseng said:
Does that mean my last name, which is Engineer, is illegal. I need to go get a lawyer.
If it was your FIRST name, yes.
Clankenbeard said:
So, there seem to be a lot of people violating this "no titles as names" rule. I can name a couple off the top of my head:
Prince (or the artist formerly known as)
Duke Elligton
Earl Campbell
Dean Martin
Marshall Mathers (though he does go by Eminem instead of his law enforcement moniker)
Methinks this judge needs a pride obliterating ***** slap from Judge Rhinehold (who is not a judge but is named as one).
First of all, except for Eminem's, none of those are given names. They are stage names, taken as the person entered into entertainment. Secondly: Earl, Dean, and Marshal were names in English before they were titles, and each have alternate meanings.
Furthermore, you can name
yourself whatever you want, particularly as a pseudonym. It's only parents that can't give their child a distinct title as its legal name, for mostly the reasons Paul mentioned. Incidentally, any medical professional's title (such as "Doctor" or "Nurse"), any religious title (such as "Father" or "Rabbi"), and any military title (such as "Sergeant" or "Captain") are also illegal as first names.