SUNY ESF
Lived/Preferred Name Process

Members of our community may go by a first name that is different from their legal name. To differentiate from a legal name, this is sometimes referred to as a lived, chosen, or preferred name.  Lived names may include a shortened version of a legal name, the use of a middle name, “Americanized” or transliterated versions of a legal name, or a completely different name that reflects who you are. 

To Submit a Lived/Preferred Name

Log into your myESF portal (students) or Faculty Self-Service Banner (employees). Under the "Personal Information" tab, edit your personal details to include a "Preferred First Name." You may also update your personal pronouns and gender identity if desired. Within approximately 24 hours of updating the "Preferred First Name" field in myESF, your legal name will be automatically replaced by your lived/preferred name in the following places:

ESF Information Systems

• esf.edu email address display name
• ESF class rosters
• All myESF system greetings
• Your myESF profile display name
• ESF Handshake
• Employees: Academic departmental directories and faculty directory
• Curriculum plan sheets (Degree Works) list legal name, with lived name in parantheses

Syracuse University Information Systems

• BlackBoard
• syr.edu email display name

• SU Zoom display name

Other Systems

• MySlice and SU class rosters are NOT linked to myESF. Students are advised to update preferred name on MySlice for lived names to be displayed on SU class rosters and any other systems provisioned directly by MySlice.
  • Employees may not have MySlice provisions, or the Personal tile to make these changes; if this is the case, please submit a request by email ([email protected]; copy [email protected])  
• Centennial Hall records are not linked to myESF. To update name for your door tag and other records, please update fields in the Residential Portal app. Please direct questions to [email protected]. Please note that legal contracts will reflect legal name.
• Campuslabs systems (Engage/Corq at ESF and OrangeNow at SU) are not linked to myESF (Engage/Corq), MySlice, or each other. To have lived names on club rosters, events RSVPs, and co-curricular transcripts, users should edit that platform's campus profile directly and independently. For Engage, click your profile picture or name, and then the pencil to revise editable fields; repeat (if desired) for OrangeNow. Users may also upload photos, if they choose. 
• Moon Library accounts
  • Interlibrary Loan users may edit ILLiad profiles directly. 
  • Moon Library uses Alma/Primo for internal loans and searches, and staff periodically manually sync Lived Name fields from Banner. Synchronization is frequent early in the semester, but upon request ([email protected]) at other times.
• Individual faculty webpages and non-academic employee department directory/contact webpages (such as for the Business Office, Student Affairs, and Facilities staff) are not linked to myESF. Displayed names can be updated upon request, using the website request form.
• ID Cards with lived names can be printed upon request at no charge, but they are not issued automatically. Once Lived Name is updated in myESF please, visit the SU ID Card office in person, with old card, and state that you wish to have card reprinted with Lived Name. Please note that replacement of lost cards, cards reprinted just with new photos, or requests made online, will incur a fee.

Important Notes

• Some institutional, federal, and state documentation requires the use of legal name, for example transcripts, financial aid documentation, and international student documentation. 
• If you have granted access to any of the above systems to someone else (parent/family/guardian/other), they will see the same name information that you see.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does ESF use the combination term Lived/Preferred Name?

You may notice that our process uses the combination term "Lived/Preferred Name". This is done in order to remain consistent with language used within the ESF and SU information systems; we recognize that lived names are not merely a preference. We firmly believe that everyone should be referred to by the name that authentically reflects their identity.

Why isn’t my Lived/Preferred Name used everywhere?

We endeavor to use the lived name you provide in as many area as possible, including on mailings to permanent addresses. However, some institutional, federal, and state documentation requires the use of legal name, for example transcripts, financial aid documentation and bills, and international student documentation.

We recognize that there are instances where, for safety reasons students may need to solely use a legal name in their home environment. If this is your situation, we encourage you to reach out to the Lived Name Committee at [email protected] to discuss alternatives to the standard process.

I use my First Name and Middle Name - how would I indicate that?

Introducing yourself with the combination of legal first and middle names (for example, Mary Kate) is a common way of using a Lived Name. To have this reflected in campus systems, simply enter both names into the Preferred Name field, separated with a hyphen or blank space, just as you would writing it out in other forums.

Can I submit a lived/preferred last name?

Please note that this process allows individuals to indicate only a lived first name. If there has been a legal name change, students should follow steps outlined by the Registrar, while employees should contact HR ([email protected]).

What can I do if a college community member refuses to use my lived/preferred name or repeatedly neglects to use my lived/preferred name?

ESF is committed to fostering a safe, respectful, and inclusive environment for the benefit of our entire campus community. You have several options for reporting and/or support in this instance. These include connecting with the Lived Name Committee ([email protected]), the Office of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access, a trusted faculty or staff member, or by submitting a bias incident report (either anonymously or with your contact information attached).

What name will someone else with access to my records see?

If you have granted access to any of the above systems to someone else (parent/family/guardian/other), they will see the same name information that you see.

Can my diploma list my lived name?

Lived names can be on diplomas if the student requests on their graduation form.

How often can I change my Lived Name? 

You may revise as often as you choose, in each of the listed systems.  Remember that changes may take up to 24 hours to propagate to the various places that utilize this field. Please note that instructors may not see class lists updated, or regularly enough to be alerted to changes—please notify them of updates so that they can begin using them right away.  You may also ask [email protected] to facilitate that conversation on your behalf.

My dead name is used someplace where a legal name is not required?

We understand that seeing deadnames can be distressing—we thank you for your assistance in troubleshooting systems with us. Some web-based systems may retain outdated information; please clear browser cache, or try an incognito mode. If information persists, please forward email or email relevant screenshots to [email protected]—we will work with IT to identify the cause and the steps to automatically update from Banner or add instructions to this page for users to manually update the relevant profile.  

Zoom meetings pronouns

Syracuse University has enabled sharing pronouns in Zoom profiles, with pronouns fed from MySlice!   This provides the option to automatically append pronouns to an individual’s default display name for every meeting, no meeting, or to ask each time. Pronouns can also be manually toggled on/off through each meeting’s Participant list while that meeting is underway.  

Unfortunately, few ESF employees are provisioned in MySlice to add or edit pronouns independently; this may be limited to those with a dual role (either a student, or a second position at SU).

Other employees that would like to take advantage of this feature may request that ITS staff  manually update profiles. To request zoom pronouns be added to your profile, employees should email [email protected] with SU NetID and pronouns. If comfortable doing so, please also copy [email protected].

More information is available from SU 

Can netIDs and ESFids reflect lived rather than legal name or initials?

Changing a username cannot be taken lightly, as depending on the number of systems each user should access, there can be multiple places where things can go awry and persist.  In addition, access to systems will be impacted for 1-3 work days.  

However, big life changes might necessitate a username change, or the creation of an email “alias.”  Ideally, these changes would be implemented early in the time an individual time at ESF or SU. Changes at a later date are feasible, but may take longer to adjust depending on which systems are impacted for any single individual.

Changes will be considered when:

• Legal name change or Preferred name in Myslice that does not share the same initials as legal name;  
• Your name is misspelled in MySlice or Banner.
• The current NetID or ESFid is offensive and/or inappropriate.

To initiate this change due to misspellings or legal name change, first contact HR or the Registrar’s Office to update the record to request a correction or change.  For lived name changes, the Preferred name must be current in MySlice. Then, please email your request to [email protected].  Please note that user must agree to remain logged out of all Syracuse University supplied systems for up to 24 hours on the day of the scheduled change.

Once NetID revisions are complete, users should send revised NetID to [email protected] to initiate changes in ESF systems.  Please note that once this change begins, it can take 24-48 hours to work in all systems.  During this time, there will be a temporary loss in access to ESF and SUNY systems.

Contact the Lived Name Committee

If you would live help talking about your name and/or pronouns with anyone on campus or at Syracuse University, please contact the Lived Name Committee at [email protected].

If you have any questions about this process, please check the "Frequently Asked Questions" list and/or reach out to the ESF Lived Name Committee at [email protected].

To report an incident of hate or bias please report the incident(s) in our Bias Reporting Tool.

Bias Reporting Tool

Bias Incident Reporting Form

ESF's bias reporting system provides ESF students, staff, and faculty with an avenue to report incidents of bias, bigotry, or hate that occur on our campus or in off-campus settings that impact ESF. Reports may be submitted anonymously or with the reporter's name included. Please note that submitting a report anonymously may impact ESF's ability to fully respond to your concerns. ESF Community members who feel they have been the target of bias (or who have witnessed a bias-related incident) may report the incident online, or contact these Title IX Authorities.