JACKSON, Miss. — The Mississippi Supreme Court has upheld a lower court’s decision to deny a petition from a transgender minor seeking to legally change his name to align with his gender identity.
The case originates from a 16-year-old, embarking on a gender transition process, who alongside his consenting parents, filed a request for a name change. In November 2023, Hinds County Chancery Judge Tametrice Hodges rejected the petition due to concerns over the teenager’s maturity.
In a decision that saw the Mississippi Supreme Court voting 8-1, the ruling by Judge Hodges was upheld. According to the majority opinion, the court viewed the teen’s contention that the judge lacked discretion to deny an uncontested name-change request as unsupported by state law requirements. Both parents had agreed to the name change, but the majority opinion highlighted that Mississippi law does not automatically guarantee approval based on parental consent alone.
Dissenting, Presiding Justice Leslie King argued that the evidence and records available were insufficient for the Supreme Court to definitively confirm whether the lower court’s dismissal of the petition was appropriate. In his dissent, he advocated for the chancery court’s order to be vacated and the case to be sent back for reconsideration.
The initial filing for the name change was made by the teenager’s mother in July 2023. She proposed altering the child’s name to reflect male characteristics and intended to adjust their full name as follows: substituting the first name with one considered more traditionally masculine, the middle name to match hers, and the last name to use solely the father’s surname, thus removing its currently hyphenated format.