{"id":4445,"date":"2017-11-27T15:51:54","date_gmt":"2017-11-27T20:51:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bu.edu\/reg\/?page_id=4445"},"modified":"2026-02-11T12:00:38","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T17:00:38","slug":"name-changes","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/reg\/students\/name-changes\/","title":{"rendered":"Name Changes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Student Name on University Documents<\/span><\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Legal Name on Boston University Records<\/strong> <\/span><\/u><\/p>\n

At this time, official documents generated from Boston University\u2019s student information system including, but not limited to, transcript, diploma, and degree verifications reflect an individual\u2019s legal name. An individual\u2019s legal name is defined as the name that identifies an individual for legal and official purposes. Legal name identifies an individual on official government records such as U.S. social security cards, state licenses, passports, and marriage or divorce decrees. You can find an additional list of places where legal name is used on the Bio-demographic Information Resources page<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A Boston University student who has completed a legal name change in Massachusetts or another state may update the name on their Boston University student record via the Personal Data Update form<\/a>. Documentation of the legal name change must be submitted to the University. Upon receipt of this form and documentation, the legal name will be updated on official student records.<\/span><\/p>\n

For information on the court process to change a name legally in Massachusetts please visit the website of the Massachusetts Court System<\/a>. Students who may be non-US citizens should consult with the International Students and Scholars Office<\/a>.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Display Name at Boston University<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

There are also opportunities where a Boston University student may use a display name. Your display name is the name that defines how you identify yourself and how you wish for others to identify you. Display name is a distinct field from legal name, and therefore the information you enter may be different from your legal name. While changing your display name will not change your legal name within BU\u2019s source of records, we have implemented it across University systems<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

BU Directory & Personal Information<\/h3>
<\/p>\n

Students may update their BU Directory listing<\/a> and personal information to reflect their Display Name, Pronouns (displayed in directory listing), and gender identity (not displayed in directory listing).\u00a0 The BU Directory (also known as the Online Directory) is available at www.bu.edu\/directory<\/a>.\u00a0The BU Directory combines typical directory information about people from the University Registrar and Human Resources. You can search by first name, last name, or BU Email Address\/login name.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

Terrier Card<\/h3>
<\/p>\n

Students<\/span> who updated their display name in the BU Directory listing<\/a> after already receiving a Terrier Card can follow the Terrier Card display name change process<\/a> to obtain a new Terrier Card with their updated display name.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

Additional Resources<\/h3>

\n<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Bio-demographic Information Resources:<\/a> \u00a0Information on the personal data BU would like to collect, how it is used by the university, and how you can update your official record.<\/p>\n

Techweb \u2013 Changing your Display Name<\/a>: Information for members of the BU Community on display name.<\/p>\n

Identity Access Management<\/a>: Overview of BU\u2019s Identity Access Management activities.<\/p>\n

BU Data Protection Standards<\/a>: Links to policies and standards used at BU to ensure data safety and privacy.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Student Name on University Documents Legal Name on Boston University Records At this time, official documents generated from Boston University\u2019s student information system including, but not limited to, transcript, diploma, and degree verifications reflect an individual\u2019s legal name. An individual\u2019s legal name is defined as the name that identifies an individual for legal and official […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12900,"featured_media":0,"parent":910,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/reg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4445"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/reg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/reg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/reg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12900"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/reg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4445"}],"version-history":[{"count":50,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/reg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4445\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9553,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/reg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4445\/revisions\/9553"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/reg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/910"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/reg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}