Can You Drop Your Middle Name from Your Social Security Card?
You don't use your middle name. You don't like it. It doesn't read well, write well, flow well. Useless. You want it gone. Can you get rid of it?
Yes, you can drop your middle name on your social security card, but only when changing your name for another legitimate reason with legal documentation.
Your "legal name" might surprise you
If I asked you, "What's your legal name?"
And you confessed, "Simone Bertha McIntosh."
I'd think two things:
- Yikes! Bertha!
- That's not your legal name.
Your actual legal name is Simone McIntosh. First name: legal. Last name: legal. Middle name: not legal.
That's official SSA policy:
We do not consider the middle name or suffix part of the legal name… Whether [they are] included, omitted, or incorrectly shown… does not matter.
SSA POMS RM 10212.001
Translation: Your middle name is optional. Keep it. Drop it. They don't care.
You can't drop your middle name in isolation
You can't just remove your middle name on Form SS-5 (Application for a Social Security Card) and call it a day. SSA needs a valid reason and paperwork to back it up.
You need to "piggyback" onto a "name change event":
- Marriage
- Divorce
- Court-ordered name change
Each requires a "name change event document":
- Marriage certificate
- Divorce decree
- Court order
No event? No document? SSA won't budge.
And I know what you're thinking:
But my name change document shows my middle name. Isn't that a problem?
No. It's not a problem. If you omit your middle name on the SS-5 form, SSA will omit it on your social security card.
How to actually drop your middle name
I won't get into the ins and outs of a social security name change. You can read our dedicated guide for that.
But there's one key edit to make on your SS-5 form:
- Go to page 5
- See line 1
- Name to be shown on card
- Leave the full middle name field blank
That's it. Middle name gone.
Bottom line
Yes, you can drop your middle name, but only with a qualifying name change event and documentation. Skip it on the SS-5, and SSA will skip it on your card.
If you'd rather not mess with the rules and forms yourself, our online name change kit fills them in automatically.
