Name Related Procedures

Estonian citizens and foreigners who are staying in Estonia on the basis of a residence permit and are not citizens of any country may apply for a new given name and surname.

Name Related Procedures

Applications to change a name can be submitted to the Jõhvi Rural Municipality Government, the Pärnu City Government, the Tallinn Vital Statistics Department and the Tartu City Government (hereinafter the Institution).

Applications can be submitted:

  • On the spot at an Institution; in such case, a personal identity document has to be presented to identify the person, and the application can be completed beforehand;
  • At an Institution, using the application form, or electronically and digitally signed to the e-mail address of an Institution, an electronically completed form can also be used:

The person submitting the application shall state in the application how he/she would like to receive the decision – either electronically, certified with a digital signature to his/her e-mail address or on paper on the spot at an Institution.

The postal addresses of the Institutions are:
Jõhvi Rural Municipality Government [email protected]
Pärnu City Government [email protected]
Tallinn Vital Statistics Department [email protected]
Tartu City Government [email protected]

A person staying in a foreign country can submit an application at an Estonian foreign mission which will forward the application to the Institution chosen by the person.

An application for assigning a new name to a minor shall be submitted by the parent who holds the right of custody. If the child’s parents hold a joint right of custody, the consent of the other parent is required. An application of an adult with restricted active legal capacity shall be submitted by a guardian on behalf of the person.

Names Act

Regulation No 45 of the Minister of the Interior of 12 December 2017, “Procedure and format of applications for assigning a new given name, surname or personal name to a person

A state fee of 100 euros shall be paid for the review of an application for a name change. The state fee shall be paid before the submission of the application.

The recipient of the payment is the Ministry of Finance and the payment can be made to the following accounts:

SEB Pank                             EE891010220034796011                          (SWIFT: EEUHEE2X)
Swedbank                            EE932200221023778606                          (SWIFT: HABAEE2X)
Luminor Bank                      EE701700017001577198                          (SWIFT: NDEAEE2X)

The reference number of the Institution to which the application is submitted shall be stated on the payment order. The reference numbers of the Institutions are:

Jõhvi Rural Municipality Government    Jõhvi rural municipality  10294002000024
Pärnu City Government                                Pärnu city                          10294002000105
Tallinn Vital Statistics Department                Tallinn                                10294002000011
Tartu City Government                                    Tartu city                           10294002000134

No state fee has to be paid, if the person wishes to:

  • bear a given name or surname firmly established in actual usage, which is different from the personal name entered in a document or the Population Register due to writing of the name as one or several words or due to a mark which is not a letter (apostrophe, hyphen), or due to single characters, and which complies with the requirements of the Names Act (a given name or surname firmly established in actual usage must be proven by vital statistics documents or personal identity documents);
  • use, in the case of a surname consisting of two names in brackets, one of these names without brackets;
  • bear the surname in the form which is entered in the Population Register but which differs from the name form entered in the document serving as the basis for assignment of the name to the person due to application of the transcription rules;
  • give his or her minor child the surname which the person took after marrying the other parent of the child after registration of the birth of the child and which is the joint surname of the parents.

State Fees Act »

State fees for issuing documents » 

A person may wish to apply for a new given name in order to:

  • abandon an unconventional given name which is not suitable to be used as a given name due to its complex spelling or pronunciation, or spelling or pronunciation which does not comply with the Estonian language use, or due to its general linguistic meaning;
  • protect the personal name of a person if it coincides with the personal name of another person;
  • avoid harmful economic or social consequences arising from the name;
  • change the number or order of names in the given name;
  • bear a given name firmly established in actual usage, which is different from the given name entered in a document or the Population Register due to writing of the name as one or several words or due to a mark which is not a letter (apostrophe, hyphen), or due to single characters, and which complies with the requirements of the Names Act (a given name firmly established in actual usage must be proven by vital statistics documents or personal identity documents);
  • use, in the case of a given name consisting of two names in brackets, one of these names without brackets;
  • bear the given name in the form which is entered in the Population Register but which differs from the name form entered in the document serving as the basis for assignment of the name to the person due to application of the transcription rules.
  • change the given name for any other good reason.

Given names that can be assigned:

  • consist of up to three names written as separate words or two names linked by a hyphen; 
  • comply with the Estonian language use, are not complex or spelt or pronounced in contradiction with the general use of the language or are unsuitable as a given name due to its general linguistic meaning;
  • are used as a non-Estonian name in Estonia or other countries;
  • do not contain numbers or non-alphabetical signs;
  • are separately or together with the surname in compliance with good morals;
  • correspond to the gender of the person;
  • are not the person’s surname, so as to ensure that the given name and the surname are not the same.

The assigning of a new given name shall be decided by the Institution to which the application was submitted, by assessing the compliance of the desired name with the requirements of the Names Act and the justification of the reasons submitted.

If a person repeatedly requests a new given name, the assignment or refusal to assign a name shall be decided by the Ministry of the Interior by assessing the compliance with the desired name with the requirements of the Names Act and the justification of the reasons for the repeated change of name.

A new surname is assigned, if the person:

  • wishes to use the surname of his or her parents, grandparents or great-grandparents;
  • wishes to use, in the case of a surname consisting of several names, only one name;
  • wishes to bear the same surname as the spouse or add the surname of the spouse after his or her surname;
  • is widowed and wishes to bear the surname last borne before the marriage;
  • wishes to bear a surname firmly established in actual usage, which is different from the personal name entered in a document or the Population Register due to writing of the name as one or several words or due to a mark which is not a letter (apostrophe, hyphen), or due to single characters, and which complies with the requirements of the Names Act;
  • wishes to use, in the case of a surname consisting of two names in brackets, one of these names without brackets;
  • wishes to bear the surname in the form which is entered in the Population Register but which differs from the name form entered in the document serving as the basis for assignment of the name to the person due to application of the transcription rules;
  • wishes to give his or her minor child the surname which the person took after marrying the other parent of the child after registration of the birth of the child and which is the joint surname of the parents.

The data entered in the Population Register shall be used as the basis upon assigning a desired surname. The decision on the assignment of the name shall be made by the Institution to which the application was submitted.

If a person repeatedly requests a new surname for the above reasons, the assignment of the name shall be decided by the Ministry of the Interior by assessing the justification of the reasons for the repeated change of name.
 

A new surname may be assigned upon a person’s wish, if the person:

  • wishes to abandon an unconventional surname which is not suitable to be used as a surname due to its complex spelling or pronunciation, or spelling or pronunciation which does not comply with the Estonian language use, or due to its general linguistic meaning;
  • wishes to abandon the current surname if his or her personal name coincides with the personal name of another person;
  • wishes to avoid harmful economic or social consequences arising from the personal name;
  • wishes to bear an Estonian surname;
  • wishes to change the surname for any other good reason.

A freely chosen surname may be assigned upon a person’s justified wish. A freely chosen surname cannot be a name:

  • which contains numbers or non-alphabetical signs or is separately or together with the surname contrary to good morals;
  • which is not suitable for use as a surname due to its complex spelling or pronunciation, or spelling or pronunciation which does not comply with the general language use, or due to its general linguistic meaning;
  • which is according to the Population Register borne by 1–20 living persons;
  • in the case of which the new personal name and year of birth of the person would coincide with the personal name and year of birth of another living person;
  • which is too widespread, i.e. which is according to the Population Register borne by 500 or more people;
  • which is used as a given name;
  • which is the name of a well-known historical figure or a famous family;
  • which is a name referring to a legal person or the protected part of a well-known registered trade mark consisting of words, and the names of state and local governments and bodies and authorities thereof;
  • in the case of which the given name and the surname of the person would be the same;
  • a surname consisting of the two names of the parents.

The assignment of a new name shall be decided by the Ministry of the Interior, using the right of discretion and assessing the justification of the reasons and the compliance of the desired name with the Names Act.

Related

Regulation No 31 of the Minister of Population of 11 October 2019, “List of too widespread surnames” 

Name statistic enquiry

An entry shall be made in the Population Register on the basis of the decision to assign a new name made by an Institution or the Ministry of the Interior and the person shall bear the new name from the moment the entry is made. After the entry has been made, the Institution to which the application was submitted shall inform the applicant of the decision and issue the decision or an extract thereof.

A certificate concerning the change of name can be obtained from the e-Population Register or by submitting an application to the country center local government or to an Estonian foreign mission. State fee shall be paid for the issue of a certificate: 5 euros for an electronic certificate issued by the county town local government and 10 euros for a paper certificate, and 20 euros for a certificate issued by an Estonian foreign mission.

Last updated: 17.01.2024