The 18-year-old son of jailed evangelist Tony Alamo filed documents Wednesday in Miller County requesting his named be changed.
"My father's name is Tony Alamo. My father is a famous evangelist, and for some time now I have been subject to inconveniences on account of my name," wrote Sion Alamo.
The "original petition for adult's name change" asks that a circuit judge approve the change from Sion Abraham Alamo to Sion Abraham Lazar.
Tony Alamo's given name is Bernie LaZar Hoffman.
Sion Alamo will have to contact Circuit Judge Joe Griffin, who was assigned to Alamo's civil petition, and ask for a court hearing, Circuit Clerk Mary Pankey said. Sion Alamo will have to present Griffin with an appropriate legal document before the judge can authorize the name change.
Hoffman changed his name several times before settling on Tony Alamo in the late 1960s.
Sion Alamo could not be reached for comment. A phone number handwritten on court documents was answered by a woman who said she does not know Sion Alamo. The woman said she has had the phone number for about eight years.
In November 2008, Sion Alamo's name was listed on removal orders authorizing child welfare officials in Miller and Sebastian counties to take about 100 minors into state custody.
Many of the children have never been found. When Sion Alamo turned 18, the state no longer had the authority to take him.
Tony Alamo was convicted in July of bringing five young girls he had wed as children across state lines for sex. He was sentenced to 175 years and is serving time in a federal prison in Tuscon, Ariz.
