R.I. Gen. Laws § 15-5-17: Change of name.

Any person, to whom a divorce from the bond of marriage is decreed, shall, upon request, be authorized by the decree to change their name, notwithstanding that there may be children born of the marriage, and subject to the same rights and liabilities as if their name had not been changed. This statute is in addition to, and not in abrogation of, the common law.