Chosen Name

Carleton’s updated Chosen Name process is now available to all staff, faculty and students via Carleton Central. Using a Chosen Name enables you to specify a first name other than your legal name that best reflects your personal identity. This new application improves how chosen first names are managed and displayed, providing a streamlined mechanism for individuals to use their chosen first name in university systems and communications.

The Department of Equity and Inclusive Communities (EIC), in collaboration with Information Technology Services (ITS) and the Office of the Vice-President Students and Enrolment (OVPSE), developed a new, proactive and automated process to implementing chosen first names across university systems. This means your chosen first name will automatically appear in communications and platforms across the university. Legal names will only appear where legally required—such as on tax documents, official transcripts and other binding legal documents.

The enhanced Chosen Name process offers a number of important benefits:

• Inclusiveness and Respect: Help to create a more inclusive and respectful university environment by allowing individuals to use a first name they prefer and accurately reflects their identity.
• Improve Student Experience: For many students, the ability to use a chosen first name can improve their university experience by reducing anxiety, stress and other negative feelings associated with having to use a name that does not accurately reflect their identity.
• Improve Data Management: By allowing individuals to use a chosen first name, the university can improve its data management processes by reducing the need for manual updates and corrections, and by ensuring that data is accurate and consistent across all systems and applications.
• Increase Productivity: By reducing the negative impacts of misgendering and other forms of misidentification, a chosen name policy can help to increase productivity and morale by creating a more inclusive and respectful work environment.
• Legal Compliance: In some cases, using a chosen first name is required by law.

Note: If you have previously submitted a chosen first name through the former Carleton Central application, no action is required.

We invite all community members to take advantage of the updated process.

For more information please read the new Change of Name Policy.