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My father’s birth certificate has his names as David John, but my grandmother didn’t like the name David so she called him John. On my parents’ marriage certificate he’s down as John David and he signed it John David. Are my parents legally married?

Yes. The name that goes down in the marriage register should be the name which the person is using at the time of the wedding. Under English law you can call yourself by whatever name you choose; this applies to first names, surnames or both. If your parents married in a Church of England ceremony however the vicar may have objected if your father had tried to use a Christian name other than the one on his baptismal certificate.

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