The Social Security Administration is preventing one woman in California from putting her full name on her SS card — because it’s too long.
Genevieve Catlyn Williamson Heidenreich, a grad student in industrial organizational psychology at California State University Sacramento, is unable to put her full married name on her SS card, as the local ABC News affiliate reported.
“I never in a million years would’ve thought they’d say, ‘No you can’t — you can’t have your name,'” she told the station.
While trying to input Williamson Heidenreich’s name into a computer, a representative at the local Social Security office said the last name was too many characters. Upon calling the SSA, the grad student was told it was a “legal issue.” The agency also informed the ABC News affiliate that only 21 characters were allowed for a last name, as well as 16 each for first and middle names. Additionally, only the first and last name are considered the ‘legal name’ by the SSA.
Williamson Heidenreich believes her request is reasonable and says there’s no logical reason they agency can’t change its standards to comply with her chosen name.
“I’m not trying to make up some crazy name,” she said. “I don’t want to be Miss Princess Consuela Bananahammock. But if I did, even still, that should be ok.”
The SSA also said it is required “to follow standards determined by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).”
At the time of this article, the SSA had not returned request for additional comment. A spokeswoman for the NIST said the institute would be releasing a statement on the law in question, Public Law 100-235, in Williamson Heidenreich’s case.
Williamson Heidenreich said she is not planning on taking up her case with the Supreme Court, but hopes the administration will change its policy in the future.
