&gt;Legally, the State, who go so far as to issue official documents indicating one&#x27;s legal name.<p>This is a tautology, since a &quot;legal name&quot; essentially means the name the government has for you. They will generally (though not necessarily reliably) provide credentials that <i>a</i> name applies to you. This does not mean that they make the decision about <i>all</i> names that apply to you.