LGBTQ at Ohio State

Preferred Name

We recognize that for many LGBTQ+ individuals, the ability to use a preferred name is vital to one's sense of identity. Ohio State University encourages students and employees to utilize this policy if they have a name that they prefer over their legal name. Below is information on Ohio State's preferred name policy. 

The Office of Institutional Equity provides guidance on use of chosen names and pronouns.

Preferred Name Policy

Students and employees can specify their preferred name on my.osu.edu. A preferred first name field, preferred middle name field, and preferred last name field are available. Setting a preferred name will update one's name across a variety of Ohio State applications and systems. 

What is a Preferred Name?

A preferred name is a name that someone prefers to go by in daily life that differs from their full legal name. For example, going by a nickname, middle name, or chosen name. This option is important for many members of the LGBTQ community, especially those who are trans and/or nonbinary, as well as for some international students.

A preferred first name field, preferred middle name field, and preferred last name field are available for you to specify a name, other than your legal first/middle/last name, that you are known by or want to be known by. The university recognizes and respects that many of its students and employees use names other than their legal names to identify themselves for various reasons.

Changing your Preferred Name Online 

  1. Log on to my.osu.edu

  2. Locate the navigation bar on the left side of the page and click My Identity Profile

  3. Locate the section labeled My Preferred Names

    • To set a preferred first name, click Edit next to the text box labeled First Name

      • Provide preferred first name and click Submit

    • To set a preferred middle name, click Edit next to the text box labeled Middle Name

      • Provide preferred middle name and click Submit

    • To set a preferred last name, click Edit next to the text box labeled Last Name

      • Provide preferred last name and click Submit

For additional assistance, visit the IT Knowledge Base resource on Preferred Names.

Staff and Faculty

If you are an employee of the University (excluding student employees), you can set your preferred name on Workday.

  1. Log on to Workday

  2. Click the person icon at the top right of the Workday homepage to open your Profile page.

  3. Click on View Profile under your name.

  4. There will be a navigation bar on the left side of the page. Click on Personal

  5. Near the top of the page, there are tabs. Click Names

  6. There will be a section labeled Preferred Name, click Edit

  7. Type in your preferred name and make sure to uncheck the checkbox labeled Use Legal Name as a Preferred Name

  8. Click Submit and Done to save your changes.

For more information and resources, check out the Administrative Resource Center article on Personal Information Change.

Preferred Name Usage

Systems and applications managed by the Office of Technology and Digital Innovation make it a priority to use the preferred first, middle and last name provided by Ohio State community members whenever possible. There are some circumstances where a legal name must be used. These situations primarily related to legal and financial transactions.

Below is an overview of our most used systems and if they utilize preferred names:

Preferred First Name

Where will preferred first name be used?

  • Display Name

  • FindPeople*

  • Ohio State App*

  • University Email

  • Skype Address Book

  • Class rosters

  • Grade rosters

  • CarmenCanvas

  • CarmenZoom

  • Advising Reports and Advising Portals

  • BuckeyeLink

  • Official university correspondence (mail and email)

  • Web Applications that use a single sign on will display preferred names within the apps (e.g., SharePoint, Drupal, and WordPress).

* Both Legal and Preferred Last Name can be used when searched.

Where will my preferred first name NOT be displayed?

Preferred first names will NOT be used for any official university documents such as transcripts or degrees.  In addition, preferred first names will NOT be used for human resources or OSU Wexner Medical Center systems.

Preferred Middle Name

Where will preferred middle name be used?

  • Identity Express 

  • Workday 

Where will my preferred middle name NOT be displayed?

Preferred middle names will NOT be used for any official university documents such as transcripts or degrees. In addition, preferred middle names will NOT be used for human resources or OSU Wexner Medical Center systems.

Preferred Last Name

Where will preferred last name be used?

  • Email Address

  • Display Name

  • Username (login name, name.#)

  • FindPeople*

  • Ohio State App*

  • University Email Address Book*

  • Skype Address Book*

  • Web Applications that use a single sign on will display preferred names within the apps (e.g., SharePoint, Drupal, and WordPress.)

*Both Legal and Preferred Last Name can be used when searched.

Where will my preferred last name NOT be displayed?

Preferred last names will NOT be used for any official university business such as transcripts, human resources, degrees, legal documentation or OSU Wexner Medical Center systems.

For information about preferred name usage on additional Ohio State systems, visit the Administrative Resource Center's article on Preferred Name Usage.

For a list of systems that may need to be updated individually, OSU Newark has a great resource on additional places at Ohio State that you may wish to update your information.

Note: Across Ohio State, different digital systems are utilized for varying services, and not all of these platforms are integrated together. This means that your legal name may still show up in some places even though you have selected a preferred name. The Office of Technology and Digital Innovation is working hard to ensure preferred names are used whenever possible, but this endeavor is still a work in progress.

  • If you find a location where your preferred name is not being used, please contact PreferredName@osu.edu

Preferred Name on BuckID

Once you set your preferred name, you can also request a new BuckID with your preferred name for free. Your legal name will still appear on diplomas, transcripts, enrollment verifications, and degree verifications. For more information about this process, please see the Frequently Asked Questions for use of a preferred name on BuckID.