Once a person reaches 18, it is a relatively simple process to change his name. Consult with a family lawyer in your area to help you through the process but basically, you file an Application for Name Change, send the person's fingerprints in with a request to have the State perform a criminal check which it sends to the Court. Once the check is in to the Court, the lawyer prepares an Order approving the request for the Judge to review and hopefully, execute. A prove up of the request is normally required to be performed in front of the Judge as well.