http://www.nydailynews.com/news/election/de-blasio-names-de-blasio-article-1.1463591Mayoral hopeful Bill de Blasio has had three different legal names, court records show
Bill de Blasio, born Warren Wilhelm Jr., legally changed his name twice over the past 30 years.
By Greg B. Smith / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Sunday, September 22, 2013, 2:00 AM
Bill de Blasio (in 1999 photo) was born Warren Wilhelm Jr. In 1983, he legally changed his name to Warren de Blasio-Wilhelm. In 2002, he legally changed it again, to Bill de Blasio.
The mayoral candidate who often calls New York a “tale of two cities” has a personal tale of three names.
Most New Yorkers have come to know Bill de Blasio as the Democratic candidate with the affable family, including a teenage son who has been featured in campaign ads.
Left unsaid in the candidate’s official biography is that Bill de Blasio is his third legal name.
The man who could become the city’s 109th mayor was born Warren Wilhelm Jr. on May 8, 1961, in Manhattan, his birth certificate shows.
In 1983, fresh out of New York University, he petitioned a Manhattan judge to formally change his name to Warren de Blasio-Wilhelm, according to legal records.
And in December 2001 he petitioned a judge in Brooklyn to formally change his name again, this time to Bill de Blasio.
In recent years the candidate has, at times, talked about the evolution of his name, saying it reflected a personal journey that involved his parents’ divorce and an identification with his mother’s family, the de Blasios.
A Daily News examination of court records and other public documents provided new details of this evolution. However, the de Blasio campaign declined to answer a series of questions submitted by The News about the name changes. The News also contacted de Blasio’s older brother, Steven Wilhelm, 65, a journalist in Seattle, to ask about his sibling’s identities. “I need to check with the campaign,” Wilhelm said.
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