I live in Ohio. My permanent address is listed as Dayton, Ohio but I live 9+ months of the year in Athens, Ohio at my university. I will be living in Dayton for 6 weeks for winter break, and it will be the last time I live there. Since there is a one year residency requirement to file for a name change, can I file in Dayton? I sure hope so, since I don't want to wait a year.

My permanent address for my credit cards, banks, with my university are all registered as my Dayton address. Is that all I need? I hope this is a dumb question.

The residency requirement is probably just state residency. You could probably just ask the court in either city.

City and county residency usually count only for vehicle registration, voter registration, running for a city or county office, and K-12 registration -- just things very local. My county's health department also has an extra charge for non-county residents requesting a flu shot from them.

use your permanent residence on all your other documents.