<p>If everyone knows me by my nickname rather than my legal name, would it make sense to put: legal name<em>(nickname)</em>last name on my college diploma?</p>
<p>I wouldn’t do it. Are you registered at the school with your legal name?</p>
<p>Since your diploma can be considered a legal document, I think that the only name that they are going to put on your diploma is your legal name.</p>
<p>You can consider having your name legally changed to include your nick name.</p>
<p>I’d talk with the registrar. I suspect that you can get whatever name it is that you want to put on your diploma, within reason.</p>
<p>I’d put my full legal name on. I remember getting a notice that my grad school diploma wouldn’t have my middle name and I had it put in. They didn’t ask for proof, so I assume you can tell them what you like. But that diploma may end up hung on an office wall. It should be serious.</p>
<p>I go exclusively by the standard nickname of my full name. For the most part, I use my nickname on everything I can, but sometimes I’m stuck with my full name (Taxes, employment, buying houses, traveling on airplanes). My driver’s license has my printed full name and my signature nickname. So I know your issue. I’d still say to put your full name on your diploma. If in later life you decide to go back, it would be nice to have the legal name to match your new formality. If you never go to your legal name (I’m 48 and hate my legal name), it will still be understandable.</p>
<p>I dislike my formal. legal name. There’s actually a cute story about where it comes from – I was named for an alum of my children’s college and that alum was a relative of the founder – really cute story enjoyed by the alumni office, but I still don’t like the name. </p>
<p>I’m at the point where if someone calls me “formal name”, I tell them it is pronounced “nickname”. It is unusual enough that some people believe me!</p>
<p>@Awped you mean you wanna make your name look like this:
Firstname “nickname” Lastname ?</p>
<p>cool id say. but not advisable.</p>
<p>Every college I’m familiar with just more or less automatically puts the full legal name under which the student is registered. The students themselves don’t normally “put” anything on their diplomas. I’ve never heard of a school talking requests on the matter. But it’s worth it to ask. They may allow you to put your nickname if you request it.</p>
<p>I never go by my “legal” name, but that it what is on my diploma. when you apply for jobs, and they run your reference checks it’s a lot easier to have all your “official” things (social security #, tax info, educational credentials) listed under the same name.</p>
<p>Put your full legal name on your diploma, unless you plan to legally change your name.</p>
<p>We had a good friend who used (and continues to use) a nickname. I never even KNEW he had another real name until I saw his diploma. He used his whole given name…and you know…that’s what he used for his professional license, drivers license…everything.</p>
<p>I work at a university - we handle it by asking the student to give us the name in upper and lower case exactly as they want it to appear on the diploma. Middle name (or initial) is optional. We also have a place for the student to indicate the name on their permanent record, if it is different than the diploma name, along with some other identifying data.</p>
<p>Some students who are married want their diploma to have their former name (especially if they were just married recently); others who are about to marry want their future married name on the diploma.</p>
<p>I’m not sure how the Registrar handles it if the student puts down something strange or unusual for their diploma name!</p>
<p>S’s school asked each student what name they wanted on diploma. I’d go with full, legal name, esp. if there’s ever the chance it will be framed and hung on your office wall. I think it looks more professional.</p>
<p>Also keep in mind that probably the only people who’ll ever see your diploma are you and whichever friends and family members you decide to show it to.</p>
<p>From time to time, I have met people who went by a name that was totally unrelated to their actual name. (By coincidence, in several instances, the name they go by is “Pete.”)</p>
<p>In this situation, I think it might be reasonable to have that name placed on the diploma so that when it hangs in your office, people won’t be thinking, “Huh? Who is Gouverneur Thompson Smith? I thought this guy’s name was Pete Smith?”</p>
<p>I worked with someone whose legal name was [lastname 1] [lastname2] [lastname3], and he went by “Jack.”</p>
<p>He signed documents as follows: Initial1. Intial2. (Jack) Lastname3.</p>
<p>However, if you go by “Tom” I think people can figure out that the diploma on the wall that says “Thomas” belongs to you.</p>
<p>Put your full legal name on your diploma. In the US, no one will see it who you don’t want to show it to so whatever the printed name on it is, it would be OK. HOWEVER (and this is a REALLY BIG HOWEVER) in some other countries the diploma is the legal document that is required as proof that you did indeed graduate from an institution of higher learning, and the legal name on it had better match the legal name on your other identity documents (such as birth certificate, marriage license, passport, etc.) People in every culture do understand that the name you go by in every-day life and/or in professional life may be distinct from your legal name. However, that won’t suddenly make your diploma that reads “legal name<em>(nickname)</em>last name” valid in one of those other societies.</p>
<p>Some colleges and universities will issue more than one diploma if you ask them politely, for example: one for legal purposes and one with the name everyone knows you by. Pop by the registrar’s office and ask about this. That way you would have all bases covered.</p>
<p>^Happymom makes a good point - I’d forgotten when I was briefly jobless in Germany I had to pull out all my official college papers in order to get unemployment benefits.</p>
<p>This is why my mother named my sister and me names that aren’t nicknameable, and why I followed the same principle with naming my kids. Names that have nicknames just wind up causing problems, IMO. Especially those in which the initial changes (Robert - Bob, Margaret - Peggy, Virginia - Ginny, Elizabeth - Liz).</p>
<p>My undergrad diploma has ONE name (it was my maiden name). My grad diploma has a different last name…because I got married. My advanced diploma and all of my identifying information (passport, license, teaching credentials, dept of health licensure, EVERYTHING) has a different last name because I got divorced and remarried. </p>
<p>No one has ever questioned this…not once. I DO have copies of my divorce decree and marriage license if need be.</p>
<p>I would still suggest putting your given proper name on your diploma.</p>