 TITLE: Will Changing Your Name Impact Your Credit? CONTENT: Will My Credit Score Change After Changing My Name?\n---------------------------------------------------\nDoes a new name mean you get a new credit score? Unfortunately for anyone who's hoping for a do-over, changing your name doesn't reset a poor credit score or wipe out your existing credit report to let you start anew. Your new name simply gets added to your existing credit report.\nWhether you're married or single, and no matter what your name is, the key factors that affect your credit score are:\n*   **Payment history**: Making on-time payments accounts for 35% of your FICO® Score☉ , the credit score most commonly used by lenders.\n*   **Credit utilization**: Your credit utilization ratio measures how much of your available revolving credit you are using compared to the total amount you have available. In the FICO model, it accounts for 30% of your credit score.\n*   **Length of your credit history**: How long you have had credit makes up 15% of your FICO® Score; typically, a longer history means a better score.\n*   **Credit mix**: Having a diverse mix of installment credit (such as car loans and mortgages) and revolving credit (such as credit cards and lines of credit) can improve your credit score. Credit mix accounts for 10% of your FICO® Score.\n*   **New credit**: The number of recently opened credit accounts and the number of hard inquiries lenders have made on your credit score accounts for 10% of your FICO® Score. Too many new accounts or hard inquiries can hurt your score. END