The Great Name Game: Meet the Woman Whose Legal Identity Breaks the System
Having a unique name can be a conversation starter – or a bureaucratic nightmare. Just ask L.A. Cartier, a 36-year-old Londoner whose punctuation-packed first name has been causing chaos for over three decades.
And no, that’s not “Ellay” or “La” – it’s L.A., complete with those all-important dots. If you’re skeptical, don’t worry – she’s used to whipping out her driver’s license to prove it.
“Every time someone hears my name, they think I’m a famous person or an R&B singer,” she chuckles. The cosmic joke? She actually is a singer-songwriter and social media content creator. Sometimes life writes its own punchlines.
Back in 1989, her mother had a brilliant idea: combine family surnames into something unique. What she couldn’t have predicted was that mere months later, the UK would drop a legal bombshell – no more punctuation marks in names. Talk about cutting it close.
Welcome to the digital age, where L.A.’s name has become a modern-day comedy of errors. Online forms reject her dots like they’re computer viruses. Customer service representatives treat her name like a typo. Even the mighty General Register Office (GRO) threw up its hands in defeat, sending her a birth certificate with “La” instead of “L.A.”
Here’s where it gets truly absurd: When she tried to fix the error, the GRO suggested she change her name by deed poll. The catch-22? She can’t – because the very law that now forbids punctuation marks would prevent her from officially registering her actual name. It’s like being told to solve a puzzle by using the missing piece.
“It’s an endless cycle of explanations,” she admits. “Every introduction becomes a mini-documentary about my name.” Yet despite the constant confusion and paperwork predicaments, L.A. wouldn’t have it any other way.
In fact, she might be the only person on Earth with this exact name – a true linguistic unicorn. Others have come forward with similar claims – sporting names like “L’ae” or “KC” – but none match her precise punctuated perfection.
In a world where parents are increasingly choosing unique names for their children, L.A. Cartier stands as a pioneer – albeit an accidental one. She’s living proof that sometimes the best stories come with their own punctuation marks, even if those marks aren’t technically legal anymore.
So the next time you’re frustrated spelling out your name for the third time at a coffee shop, remember L.A.’s story. At least you don’t need to carry legal documentation to prove your name exists. Now that’s what we call a full stop to any naming complaints.