Rant: Found out my old high school buddy changed his name and I didn't even recognize him

I was scrolling through Facebook the other night and a name popped up that I didn't recognize at all. Turns out it was my best friend from 10th grade, Jake Morrison. He legally changed his full name to something totally different like 4 years ago and I had no clue. I found this out from a random post where someone tagged him and asked 'hey is that you Mark?' I spent like 2 hours digging through old yearbook photos and court records online just to be sure. We lost touch after he moved to Phoenix for a job right after graduation and I never thought to look him up again. Now I feel weird about reaching out because what do you even say to someone who basically vanished and started over? Has anyone else managed to reconnect with someone after they changed their name like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

fox.skyler7h ago

@janaw11 yeah some states do let you look up name changes as public records, I've had to do it before.

janaw117h ago

Wait, did you actually find court records for a name change? Cause those are usually sealed or super hard to access without paying for them (at least in most states I've looked into). Might've just been someone with the same face as your old friend, you know?