History Main / MeaningfulReName

* In ''Fanfic/AsDreamsAreMadeOn'', the protagonist, Cassandra, is a fictionalized version of the author who landed in [[Literature/{{Twilight}} Bella Swan's]] body on the day of her arrival in Forks. Around midway through the story, after a series of dramatic events, Cass begins thinking of and referring to herself as Bella even when speaking to people who are already in the know and begins referring to Charlie Swan solely as 'dad,' as well.

* In ''Fanfic/NewStars'', after talking with Gordon and John, Maxx decides that he wants to give himself a last name (as clones typically have nothing but their numbers and nicknames). [[spoiler: By the end, he's chosen one: Maxx Newman]].

* A relatively minor example in ''Fanfic/MyMother''; Leia has never had a middle name, but when Padme reveals that she would have given her the middle name of 'Shmi' after her paternal grandmother if she had the time, Leia's acceptance of that name is the first sign to Padme that Leia is coming to accept her father's side of the family.
* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14171719/1/New-Stars New Stars]]'', the Republic clone trooper Maxx was formerly identified by his birth number and nickname. After spending time aboard the Orville, he decides to pick a last name [[spoiler: and to [[IChooseToStay become a member of the Orville's crew]]. By the final chapter, he's chosen the name "Newman"]].

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': When Cinder introduces herself, Raven immediately pegs Cinder Fall's surname as something she chose herself because she's the Fall Maiden. Upon suggesting this is a sign that Cinder is egomaniacal, Watts concedes that Raven is spot on.

* In ''Webcomic/NoRestForTheWicked'', [[http://www.forthewicked.net/archive/02-08.html Red feigns to believe that November is asking for this when she asks Red to give her her name.]] She is NotGoodWithPeople.

* In ''LightNovel/IveBeenKillingSlimesFor300YearsAndMaxedOutMyLevel'', Azusa rewrites her name in Katakana upon reincarnating, to dissociate from her old life. This is something that [[LostInTranslation may be lost to non-Japanese]][[note]]The connotation being she no longer sees herself as Japanese.[[/note]], so the AnimatedAdaptation represents it by having her change her name order, putting her family name last rather than first, and the anime's English dub sidesteps the issue.

** ''Manga/PhantomBlood'': Black Knight Bruford briefly reverts to his original honorable self thanks to being hit by Jonathan's Ripple. Right before the Ripple destroys him for good, he passes on his sword "Luck" to Jonathan. He also renames the sword "Luck & Pluck" (adding the letter "P" in blood next to the engraved "Luck") to acknowledge Jonathan's courage.
** ''Manga/GoldenWind'': In the past, Giorno Giovanna was born Haruno Shiobana. When he was 4-years-old, his mother married an Italian man and they moved to Italy. There his name was changed to Giorno Giovanna to make him fit in with his new home.
** ''Manga/StoneOcean'': [[spoiler: Emporio defeating Enrico Pucci causes a ResetButton that erases Pucci and his created universe as a whole, creating a newly restored universe and permanently altering the lives of the main cast (who had previously died in the final battle). The ResetButton ''also'' changes [[TheHero Jolyne Cujoh's]] name to Irene, which symbolizes two things. The first is that despite Jolyne and her allies being brought back, they are still significantly different due to their life experiences being much different (in short, they're the same people in terms of biology and basic personality, [[LossOfIdentity but not experience]]). The second is that Irene no longer has the letters in her name that make her a [=JoJo=] (her original name being '''Jo'''lyne Cu'''jo'''h), symbolizing that there's no need for the Joestar bloodline to continue their fight with evil. With Pucci RetGone, DIO's legacy has now ended with his death in 1989, several years before Jolyne/Irene's birth]].

* In ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry'', after moving back to her hometown, Ryuuguu Reina changed her name to "Rena". She did this because [[spoiler:she believed that renaming herself would do away with the memories of her parents' divorce, which she believed was her fault.]]

* In the AfterTheEnd series ''Endworld'', nearly every member of the Family goes through this on their 16th birthday, choosing a new name for themselves from the thousands of books they have stockpiled.

-->-- '''[[Literature/BookOfGenesis Genesis 17:4-5]]''', ''Literature/TheBible''

* ''Fanfic/PokemonCrossingFlyMeToTheMoon'': Benedict, the main protagonist, changes their name to Holly after coming out as a transgender girl. She picks Holly because it's her favorite flower.

May overlap with ArtifactAlias. Compare [[ThatManIsDead That Person Is Dead]], when a character disavows their old name without necessarily accepting a new one. If a name is forcefully taken from its bearer by magic, you're looking at TakeAwayTheirName. Also compare TheMagnificent, which is tacked on to the existing name — whether given or self-ascribed. {{Egopolis}}, where a despot renames an entire city after themself, is a subtrope. PleaseSelectNewCityName usually falls under this. See also TheMaidenNameDebate which involves changing one's name after marriage. A StageName or PenName may also qualify. See DoNotCallMePaul for when a character disregards their given name for personal reasons. OutgrowingTheChildishName is for when a character no longer uses their childhood diminutive name as a sign of maturity. It can also lead to IHaveManyNames if the old names are still valid. Contrast SignificantNameShift for when a character's name doesn't actually change but how another character addresses him ''does''.

** The dwarf Dreamy takes the name Grumpy after [[spoiler: giving up the fairy he loves and resigning himself to a life in the mines.]]

*** Upon his election as Pope, Jorge Mario Bergoglio decided to use the papal name ''Francis''. This was the first time in several hundred years that a man had taken a Papal name that had not been used previously.

** In the Book of Jeremiah, a priest named Pash-Hur gets annoyed by Jeremiah's prophesying and throws him in jail for the night. The next day he lets Jeremiah out, and Jeremiah informs him that God has changed his name to "Magor-Missaviv," which means "terror all around," because [[ForcedToWatch he will watch all his friends die]] in the invasion of Judah before being dragged off to Babylon for the rest of his life.
** Subverted by Naomi in The Book of Ruth. Near the beginning of the book, she tells Ruth not to call her "Naomi"(pleasant) but "Mara" (bitter) due to the misfortunes she's suffered. However, the narrative continues to refer to her as "Naomi".