No Redditit is circulating that “Miguel” and “MIGUEL” are considered different first names in Portugal. The allegation comes after the user found apparently duplicate entries in the list of admitted names, published by Institute of Registries and Notaries (IRN). The doubt set in: is this a technical error or is there a legal basis for distinguishing names just by using capital letters? SIC Verifies.
The list of proper names admitted in Portugal, published by Institute of Registries and Notaries (IRN), is generating doubts and also some irony on social media.
In a thread on Reddita user noticed that the names “Miguel” and “MIGUEL” appear twice and questioned whether they count as different options.
In the comments, there were even those who joked about the situation, suggesting that the capitalized version would be like “shouting the name”.
In addition to “Miguel” and “MIGUEL”, SIC Verifica reported other examples in such as “Salvador” and “SALVADOR”, “Tomé” and “TOMÉ”, or even “Aaron” and “AAron”.
What does the IRN say?
HAS SICo IRN clarifies that “There is no technical error in the database”. According to the public institute, the list of proper names available is “exemplary and not exhaustive”that is, it does not represent a complete or definitive list of all names permitted in Portugal.
Furthermore, apparent duplications such as “Miguel” and “MIGUEL”, “result and how the list was compiled and presentedwhich may only reflect differences in spelling or capitalization”.
The IRN emphasizes that The presence of these variations in the list does not mean that all forms are automatically permissible as they appear. In other words, the fact that “MIGUEL” appears in capital letters does not mean that it is recognized as a distinct name from “Miguel”.
In practice, Assessment is always done on a case-by-case basis by Civil Registration services.
According to IRN, the correct way to validate a first name is request confirmation directly from a Civil Registry office. This means that the public list serves as a reference only and does not replace official verification.
SIC verifies that it is…
It is true that “Miguel” and “MIGUEL”, like other similar examples, are on the list of proper names admitted in Portugal, published by the IRN. However, these duplications do not indicate legal differences between the names, but rather variations in presentation. The admissibility of a name continues to depend on the analysis of the Civil Registry services.
