Never a day goes by when you are not thought about, missed, and loved
The beginning of wisdom is to call things by their proper name.
(Confucius)
‘Words: second only to love’
If words are second only to love (which I believe to be true), then what is signified by a name? People the world over redefine themselves with particular words for a variety of different reasons.
The vast majority of people may grow into and ultimately accept and inhabit their personal or paternal names, which end up reflecting the character of the person they have become. But sometimes people remain dissatisfied (or are persuaded by others to be so) and seek to change their name.
Generally, this is an attempt to convince themselves and others that they are not who they are but who the think they would like to be: some are attempting to shake off elements of a past they wish to forget; some are trying to lay foundations to support the promise of a new life unburdened by adverse childhood experiences, but also, perhaps, past relationships.
But those who believe changing how they refer to themselves will change the essence of who they are, are mistaken. They may temporarily disguise or hide themselves, but changing their name will never actually change who they are. To paraphrase Aristotle: Give me a child till the age of seven, and I will give you the woman.
A former name may conjure (for others) love, beauty, resilience, mischievousness, intelligence, and honesty; why, then, would a person with such admirable qualities choose to replace that name with one that for some—perhaps, if they’re honest, even for the person themselves—represents a raft of opposite qualities, including violence, dishonesty, disingenuousness, and deception?
Only the individual concerned can answer that question.