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deed poll

American  
[pohl] / poʊl /

noun

Law.
deeds poll plural
  1. a deed signed and executed only by the grantor.


deed poll British  

noun

  1. law a deed made by one party only, esp one by which a person changes his name

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of deed poll

First recorded in 1580–90

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Sport was her "saviour", and through it she met javelin coach Margaret Whitbread - eventually being fostered by the Whitbread family and changing her surname by deed poll.

From BBC Dec. 19, 2023

In a bid to help promote the fishing industry he even briefly changed his name by deed poll to Austin Haddock in 2002.

From BBC Sep. 3, 2021

Kaiser changed it by deed poll years ago, borrowing inspiration from Keyser Söze, the character in the film The Usual Suspects who has a double life.

From The Guardian Jun. 28, 2018

A smiley care worker from Liverpool, Benson recently changed his middle name by deed poll to I Love Spam.

From The Guardian Jul. 22, 2017

I'd have to change my name by deed poll, but Dad’d never let me.

From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell

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