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In a hearing the plaintiff has reason to believe that the defendant may have some type of pseudonym or sometimes use a variations of his name (like going by his middle name and leaving out the first).

What questions can the plaintiff put to the defendant to find the full enumeration of all of his names? I don't even know what some types of names are called, like "Catholic Confirmation Name".

Must the defendant answer, or could a judge decide if this is relevant? It could make a difference to evidence, for example if a letter was directed to "Joe Blow" but the defendants legal name is "Jim Joe" but they are one in the same person.

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    Any particular jurisdiction?
    – Comic Sans Seraphim
    Commented Feb 19, 2021 at 12:00
  • Keep it simple and just ask the question. "What are all the names you are known by?" Then follow up with "Is that all, or are there any more?" If it's relevant to the case then the judge should allow it. Failure (or compulsion) to answer depends on the jurisdiction
    – user35069
    Commented Feb 19, 2021 at 13:08
  • @Studoku Canada, British Columbia
    – Clockatok
    Commented Feb 22, 2021 at 9:45

1 Answer 1

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This is a perfectly common question. "What is your full name?" "Do you have any aliases?" "What other names do you go by?"

Like any other question, though, it must be relevant, and you should be prepared to explain why it is relevant. If the court allows the question, the defendant must answer.

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  • Also: have you ever used the name XY? Or: What is your relation to XY?
    – Trish
    Commented Feb 20, 2021 at 10:55
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    Just to be clear, should I ask if he has any "pseudonyms"?
    – Clockatok
    Commented Feb 24, 2021 at 1:10
  • That's another good way to ask.
    – bdb484
    Commented Feb 24, 2021 at 16:45

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