Teen doesn’t want to share infamous name
This Nikolas Cruz has no blood on his hands. He doesn’t spend his days in a jail cell. He’s never even been in trouble.
People treat him like a pariah nonetheless. They confuse him with the man who shares his name: Nikolas Cruz, the high school killer.
On Valentine’s Day 2018, Nikolas Jacob Cruz murdered 17 staff and students and wounded 17 others at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in
Parkland. That Nikolas Cruz is awaiting a trial expected to begin next year.
The other Nikolas Cruz, middle name Marciel, is also a teenager in Broward County, and he has tired of the notoriety his name has brought him. He is applying to change his name to something that will let him live in peace.
His mother, Ivonne Moran, said she named him Nikolas in the first place after her favorite actor at the time — Nicolas Cage. She used the “k” because she figured no one else would.
She learned differently the day Cruz opened fire at Stoneman Douglas. She remembers watching the news with her family in Sunrise, getting a phone call in the middle of it and discovering that Univision was on the line wanting to talk to her. A blitz of other media outlets followed.
She said she told Nikolas, “As long as it’s not spelled the same, we’ll be fine.” It was.
Ever since, the name that Nikolas shares with a mass murderer has been devastating. “He’s not proud of his name anymore,” Ivonne said.
Ivonne kept Nikolas out of school the day after the shooting because she was worried about students’ and parents’ reaction. Ivonne’s younger son Van introduced his brother as “Nikolas Cruz” only once after the shooting. After his friends’ questions — never again.
The last straw for Nikolas was a handshake. When he introduced himself one day as “I’m Nikolas Cruz,” a man recoiled, drew his hand back and gasped, “Oh my god!”
Ironically, Nikolas could have been at Stoneman Douglas the day that Cruz murdered his former classmates. When the family was looking for high schools for Nikolas four years ago, Stoneman Douglas was one of their top choices due to its excellent special education program. Nikolas has highfunctioning autism, his mother said.
In the end, Ivonne chose the Divine Academy of Broward instead, because the school could tailor Nikolas’ experience to his needs.
Nikolas waited until he was 18 to try to change his name. He simply has to fill out an application, pay $400 and wait for the courts to complete a background check. Within 30 to 90 days, he will have a hearing and be able to embrace the new name.
He is waiting to send out college applications until the change has gone through. He loves politics and history and wants to be a historical analyst one day.
Ivonne said she knows how difficult it has been for her family and how easy it is to blame people for their ignorance. “How would we know how we would react if we were on the other end?” she tells her sons.
Nikolas chose the new name of Nikolas Rene Moran. “Rene” means “rebirth,” and to him and his family, that’s exactly what this is.