What is a preferred name?

A preferred name is any name an individual chooses to use other than individual’s legal name. Students, faculty and staff may want to be addressed by a different name in the community.

What is a legal name?

A person’s legal name is the name they use for official governmental documents, such as licenses, passports, and tax forms.

What is a primary name?

A person’s legal name.

The Cougar Card Office recognizes that faculty, staff, and students may use names other than their legal names to refer to themselves. The Cougar Card system now pulls your name from the preferred name section in the myUH System. As long as you have your preferred name entered into your myUH account, it will appear on your Cougar Card.

The preferred name section is the default name on class rosters, grade rosters, student milestones, transcript notes, and grade change requests, Microsoft Teams, UHGo App and your Cougar Card. If there is not a preferred name listed, then the primary name is used.