Are you using the name on your real estate license?

Yes, I go by the name on my real estate license. When I first entered the business I told my director that my mom's maiden name was identical to the neighborhood I wanted to sell in and he suggested changing my name- making for a difficult to forget tag line ("Adam Harlem sells Harlem")...but that wasn't my style. The family name was originally Hailem- but was misspelled at Ellis Island with the i becoming an r. and it just stuck.

Ironically, my first job as a teenager was as a busboy and when my maternal grandmother came to visit- she took my parents out to eat at the restaurant I worked at. My grandmother paid by Travelers check. The owner comes over after looking at the Travelers check and asks- who here is Harlem? It turned out that the co-owner's maiden name was Hailem, and I didn't know it until that moment that I was working for distant relatives. Small world.

Roy Kelley Hannah is my name but I do also throw in a nickname but not as my primary name 

Great reminder, Roy. Compliance is one of those things that can easily get overlooked, especially when agents have used a nickname for years. It's always worth checking state regulations to make sure our branding matches what's permitted on our license.

Interesting Calvin or should I say "Roy". Had not thought about that, will have to look into it in Arison regarding Jeff. Jeffrey "Jeff" Masich

On our business cards and most online sites Larry's birth name is listed. Lawrence is in compliance with his NYS License, but no one calls him that.

Transparency is the key for me, and I like to know the truth about all things.  If someone is hiding something, I don't trust them, haha.  My name on here is the exact same name that is on my real estate license!

More good information, Roy. Great points for all to consider.

I did a blog on Nickname - Trade name and the Maryland law years ago. It also explains my nickname.

Sam is the only name I have been called. My legal name is used a few times when get yelled at.

Gwendolyn has been shortened to Gwen for over 30 years.  The commission requires it, but unless I am working on something legal, I am Gwen

Wow! Who would have thought about a name changing the licensing world! Thanks for bringing the topic up.

Hi Roy Kelley 

The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation / Division of Real Estate allows  "obvious" nicknames to be used on business cards, signs, and advertisements. 

Obvious would include my name of Frederick being shortened to Fred, a lady named Suzanne calling herself "Suzy", or someone named Thomas going by "Tommy", and so forth.

The challenge comes if your nickname is completely different or totally unrecognizable to your legally licensed name.  I know a Broker whose legal name is Lawrence, but he has gone by "Chip" since I met him in the 1980's.   So all of his advertisements, b-cards, web pages, etc. list his entire legal name with "Chip" placed in the parentheses.  That keeps him in compliance with the DBPR

When in doubt, talk to your State Real Estate Commission or Licensing Board, or see an attorney!

I'm somewhat out of compliance.  I was born a Presley, new married as a Rebecca Kay Van Kampen, but I go by Kay VanKampen.  Can't get any harder, when your name is so long and last name is two words.  But my states accepts what the MLS has, so I'm ok.

I believe AZ also allows something beyond one's legal name. I used Leanne M Smith. 

Wow, what a great extra revenue source for Maryland. Other states will likely follow suit if they aren't already. MA is similar.

I go by Candy, because being called Candace is reserved for my parents letting me know I am in trouble (yes, still at 58). Anything that isn't formal, I sign Candy.    I sign tax returns and legal documents, Candace N Stevens. When I talk to the IRS I am Candace.  There are places I am Candy, and there are places I am Candace.  

Such regulations seem to make sense at first glance...and at the same time, they appear to be government overreach