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* ''Literature/WhatHappenedToLaniGarver'': Lani's name was originally spelled Lonny, but he changed it to be more androgynous.
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--->'''Ged:''' You must make a choice. Either you must leave me, lock the door, go up to your altars and give me to your Masters; then go to the Priestess Kossil and make your peace with her — and that is the end of the story — or, you must unlock the door, and go out of it, with me. Leave the Tombs, leave Atuan, and come with me oversea. And that is the beginning of the story. You must be Arha, or you must be Tenar. You cannot be both.
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--->'''Ged:''' You must make a choice. Either you must leave me, lock the door, go up to your altars and give me to your Masters; then go to the Priestess Kossil and make your peace with her — -- and that is the end of the story — -- or, you must unlock the door, and go out of it, with me. Leave the Tombs, leave Atuan, and come with me oversea. And that is the beginning of the story. You must be Arha, or you must be Tenar. You cannot be both.
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-->''"I will tell you what we will do, my lad," he said. "My father was my ideal man, and I loved him better than any other I have ever known. He went out five years ago, but that he would have been proud to leave you his name I firmly believe. If I give to you the name of my nearest kin and the man I loved best—will that do?" ''
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-->''"I will tell you what we will do, my lad," he said. "My father was my ideal man, and I loved him better than any other I have ever known. He went out five years ago, but that he would have been proud to leave you his name I firmly believe. If I give to you the name of my nearest kin and the man I loved best—will best--will that do?" ''
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** Numair Salmalín of ''Literature/TheImmortals'' used to be [[Literature/TheNumairChronicles Arram Draper]] — people assumed/joked that it was because he decided that [[AwesomeMcCoolName the name wasn't cool enough]] for one of the most powerful mages in the world, but actually he changed it to hide from [[EvilOverlord the Emperor of Carthak]], who was [[BringHimToMe hunting him]] after he [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere left the Empire]]. (''And'' because it sounded cooler.)
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** Numair Salmalín of ''Literature/TheImmortals'' used to be [[Literature/TheNumairChronicles Arram Draper]] — -- people assumed/joked that it was because he decided that [[AwesomeMcCoolName the name wasn't cool enough]] for one of the most powerful mages in the world, but actually he changed it to hide from [[EvilOverlord the Emperor of Carthak]], who was [[BringHimToMe hunting him]] after he [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere left the Empire]]. (''And'' because it sounded cooler.)
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** It doesn't always work out in the mage's favor though, such as with Frostpine, who chose the name because he thought frostpines were pretty trees. When he actually ''traveled'' to where frostpines grow, he discovered that he hated the associated climate.
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** It doesn't always work out in the mage's favor though, such as with Frostpine, who chose the name because he thought frostpines were pretty trees. When he actually ''traveled'' to where frostpines grow, pines got covered in frost, he discovered that he hated the associated climate.climate.
* Her previous name, if she had one, isn't shown, but [[StreetUrchin Joat]] in ''[[Literature/TheShipWho The City Who Fought]]'' picked her own name as an anagram of "Jack-of-all-trades" because that's how she sees herself - as someone who can do a bit of everything.
* Her previous name, if she had one, isn't shown, but [[StreetUrchin Joat]] in ''[[Literature/TheShipWho The City Who Fought]]'' picked her own name as an anagram of "Jack-of-all-trades" because that's how she sees herself - as someone who can do a bit of everything.
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* In Creator/RobertEHoward's ''Literature/ConanTheBarbarian'' story "Literature/AWitchShallBeBorn", Salome reminds Constantius to call her Taramis since she is going for FakeKing.
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* In "Literature/AWitchShallBeBorn", Salome reminds Constantius to call her Taramis since she is going for FakeKing.
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* Creator/JacquelineWilson
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* Creator/JacquelineWilsonCreator/JacquelineWilson:
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** ''Literature/{{Cookie}}'' has a similar plot involving a girl and her mother fleeing from an abusive father. The heroine, Beauty, is a plain and overweight girl who has struggled to live up to her name; but when she and her mother start a successful cookie-making business, she becomes known as Cookie (also a play on her surname, Cookson) and decides that she is much happier to live under this name.
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** ''Literature/{{Cookie}}'' has a similar plot involving a girl and her mother fleeing from an abusive father. The heroine, Beauty, is a plain and overweight girl who has struggled to live up to her name; but when she and her mother start a successful cookie-making business, she becomes known as Cookie (also a play on her surname, Cookson) and decides that she is much happier to live under this name.
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* In ''Literature/TheAdventuresOfStefonRudel'', the protagonist Stefan is given the new name [[AsLongAsItSoundsForeign Stefón]] by [[ThoseWackyNazis Hans-Ulrich Rudel]] upon moving to France and wants to be called by this name from then on.
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* In ''Literature/TheAdventuresOfStefonRudel'', the ''Literature/TheAdventuresOfStefonRudel'': The protagonist Stefan is given the new name [[AsLongAsItSoundsForeign Stefón]] by [[ThoseWackyNazis Hans-Ulrich Rudel]] upon moving to France and wants to be called by this name from then on.
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* In the ''Literature/ApprenticeAdept'' series, Serfs are allowed to change their name when they gain legal adult status (Stile chose his name from a piece of farm equipment that allowed him his first experience with horses) Serfs who win The Great Game and gain Citizen status are allowed to change them again (Rifleman does this, commemorating the trapshooting game that won him his Citizenship).
** Another example (in a roundabout way) is the way Werewolves receive their full, four-syllable name: They are given the first syllable at birth. They receive their second when they are officially made pack members (around five or six years of age - members of the same peer group all get the same second syllable). The third is granted by the Pack Leader at around nine or ten years old, after a First Kill (successful solo hunt). The fourth is received after a wolf's [[SexAsRiteOfPassage ritual first mating]] - traditionally both partners taking the other's first syllable as their last. It is apparently traditionally the first for both parties. A werewolf isn't considered a full adult Pack member until gaining the fourth syllable. Adept Brown's werewolf companion only had a three-syllable name because [[spoiler: She was a lesbian and refused to mate with a male.]]
** Another example (in a roundabout way) is the way Werewolves receive their full, four-syllable name: They are given the first syllable at birth. They receive their second when they are officially made pack members (around five or six years of age - members of the same peer group all get the same second syllable). The third is granted by the Pack Leader at around nine or ten years old, after a First Kill (successful solo hunt). The fourth is received after a wolf's [[SexAsRiteOfPassage ritual first mating]] - traditionally both partners taking the other's first syllable as their last. It is apparently traditionally the first for both parties. A werewolf isn't considered a full adult Pack member until gaining the fourth syllable. Adept Brown's werewolf companion only had a three-syllable name because [[spoiler: She was a lesbian and refused to mate with a male.]]
to:
* In the ''Literature/ApprenticeAdept'' series, ''Literature/ApprenticeAdept'':
** Serfs are allowed to change their name when they gain legal adult status (Stile chose his name from a piece of farm equipment that allowed him his first experience with horses) Serfs who win The Great Game and gain Citizen status are allowed to change them again (Rifleman does this, commemorating the trapshooting game that won him his Citizenship).
**Another example (in a roundabout way) is the way Werewolves receive their a full, four-syllable name: name. They are given the first syllable at birth. They receive their second when they are officially made pack members (around five or six years of age - members of the same peer group all get the same second syllable). The third is granted by the Pack Leader at around nine or ten years old, after a First Kill (successful solo hunt). The fourth is received after a wolf's [[SexAsRiteOfPassage ritual first mating]] - traditionally both partners taking the other's first syllable as their last. It is apparently traditionally the first for both parties. A werewolf isn't considered a full adult Pack member until gaining the fourth syllable. Adept Brown's werewolf companion only had a three-syllable name because [[spoiler: She was a lesbian and refused to mate with a male.]]
** Serfs are allowed to change their name when they gain legal adult status (Stile chose his name from a piece of farm equipment that allowed him his first experience with horses) Serfs who win The Great Game and gain Citizen status are allowed to change them again (Rifleman does this, commemorating the trapshooting game that won him his Citizenship).
**
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* In ''Literature/TheCrewOfTheCopperColoredCupids'', Sharpshooter changed his name to [[Literature/TheMostDangerousGameNight Zaroff]] as part of his StartOfDarkness.
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* In ''Literature/TheCrewOfTheCopperColoredCupids'', ''Literature/TheCrewOfTheCopperColoredCupids'': Sharpshooter changed his name to [[Literature/TheMostDangerousGameNight Zaroff]] as part of his StartOfDarkness.
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* Creator/AnneMcCaffrey's ''Literature/DragonridersOfPern'': In ''Dragonsdawn'', Tarvi Andiyar changes his name to Telgar, which was originally his wife's surname. He never admitted how much he loved her until she was dying and made the change to honor her sacrifice to help the Pern colony.
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* Creator/AnneMcCaffrey's ''Literature/DragonridersOfPern'': ''Literature/DragonridersOfPern'':
** In ''Dragonsdawn'', Tarvi Andiyar changes his name to Telgar, which was originally his wife's surname. He never admitted how much he loved her until she was dying and made the change to honor her sacrifice to help the Pern colony.
** In ''Dragonsdawn'', Tarvi Andiyar changes his name to Telgar, which was originally his wife's surname. He never admitted how much he loved her until she was dying and made the change to honor her sacrifice to help the Pern colony.
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* In ''Literature/EccentricNeighborhoods'' Don Álvaro had originally named his oldest daughter "Milagros" (Spanish for "miracles"). He ends up naming her Clarissa [[note]]derived from the Germanic name Clarice, itself derived from the Latin ''clarus'', meaning bright, clear or famous[[/note]] because she is so intelligent. The rename also sets her apart from her sisters' [[ThemeNaming names which are based upon poetry or mythology.]]
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* In ''Literature/EccentricNeighborhoods'' Don Álvaro had originally named his oldest daughter "Milagros" (Spanish for "miracles"). He ends up naming her Clarissa [[note]]derived (derived from the Germanic name Clarice, itself derived from the Latin ''clarus'', meaning bright, clear or famous[[/note]] famous) because she is so intelligent. The rename also sets her apart from her sisters' [[ThemeNaming names which are based upon poetry or mythology.]]
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* The cast of ''Literature/{{Haunted 2005}}'' are mostly OnlyKnownByTheirNickname, and the nicknames in question come from the stories they tell, most of which are linked to their secret crimes and shames. "The opposite of superhero names."
* It's a part of [[MagicalNativeAmerican Tayledras]] culture in the ''Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar'' series that individuals may change their [[NameThatUnfoldsLikeLotusBlossom descriptive "use-names"]] after life-changing events. Songwind, one of the heroes of the ''Mage Winds'' trilogy, changed his name to Darkwind after a terrible accident led him to abandon magecraft. Persons adopted by the Tayledras also take new names, especially if they want a clean break from their past.
* In ''Literature/HisDarkMaterials'' Lyra's original surname is "Belacqua", but Iorek gives her the surname "Silvertongue" when she manages to deceive Iofur, an Armored Bear, which is supposedly [[LivingLieDetector impossible]]. For the rest of the series, having been betrayed or abandoned by both birth-parents (neither of whom ever really acknowledges her as such in person), she identifies herself as Lyra Silvertongue.
* In Abbe Prévost's ''Histoire d'une Grecque moderne'', the [[GorgeousGreek Greek]] [[BeautifulSlaveGirl concubine Zara]] is set free and decides to reclaim her heritage by changing her name to Théophé, representing her Hellenic origins.
* It's a part of [[MagicalNativeAmerican Tayledras]] culture in the ''Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar'' series that individuals may change their [[NameThatUnfoldsLikeLotusBlossom descriptive "use-names"]] after life-changing events. Songwind, one of the heroes of the ''Mage Winds'' trilogy, changed his name to Darkwind after a terrible accident led him to abandon magecraft. Persons adopted by the Tayledras also take new names, especially if they want a clean break from their past.
* In ''Literature/HisDarkMaterials'' Lyra's original surname is "Belacqua", but Iorek gives her the surname "Silvertongue" when she manages to deceive Iofur, an Armored Bear, which is supposedly [[LivingLieDetector impossible]]. For the rest of the series, having been betrayed or abandoned by both birth-parents (neither of whom ever really acknowledges her as such in person), she identifies herself as Lyra Silvertongue.
* In Abbe Prévost's ''Histoire d'une Grecque moderne'', the [[GorgeousGreek Greek]] [[BeautifulSlaveGirl concubine Zara]] is set free and decides to reclaim her heritage by changing her name to Théophé, representing her Hellenic origins.
to:
* The cast of ''Literature/{{Haunted 2005}}'' ''Literature/Haunted2005'' are mostly OnlyKnownByTheirNickname, and the nicknames in question come from the stories they tell, most of which are linked to their secret crimes and shames. "The opposite of superhero names."
* ''Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar'': It's a part of[[MagicalNativeAmerican Tayledras]] Tayledras culture in the ''Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar'' series that individuals may change their [[NameThatUnfoldsLikeLotusBlossom descriptive "use-names"]] after life-changing events. Songwind, one of the heroes of the ''Mage Winds'' trilogy, changed his name to Darkwind after a terrible accident led him to abandon magecraft. Persons adopted by the Tayledras also take new names, especially if they want a clean break from their past.
*In ''Literature/HisDarkMaterials'' Lyra's original surname is "Belacqua", but Iorek gives her the surname "Silvertongue" when she manages to deceive Iofur, an Armored Bear, which is supposedly [[LivingLieDetector impossible]]. For the rest of the series, having been betrayed or abandoned by both birth-parents (neither of whom ever really acknowledges her as such in person), she identifies herself as Lyra Silvertongue.
* InAbbe Prévost's ''Histoire d'une Grecque moderne'', the [[GorgeousGreek Greek]] [[BeautifulSlaveGirl moderne'': The Greek concubine Zara]] Zara is set free and decides to reclaim her heritage by changing her name to Théophé, representing her Hellenic origins.
* ''Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar'': It's a part of
*
* In
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* ''[[Literature/RedMoonRisingHolt Red Moon Rising]]'': When Rae and Temple are taken into the Kihuut, they are renamed Mayrikafsa and Kalashava.
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* ''[[Literature/RedMoonRisingHolt Red Moon Rising]]'': ''Literature/RedMoonRisingHolt'': When Rae and Temple are taken into the Kihuut, they are renamed Mayrikafsa and Kalashava.
* ''Literature/TheSwordOfSaintFerdinand'': After using a log as an improvised weapon to fend off an enemy squad, Diego de Vargas is named "Machuca" ("machacar" being Spanish by "smash, crush").
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** When Minas Ithil[[labelnote:trans]]Tower of the Rising Moon[[/labelnote]] became Minas Morgul[[labelnote:trans]]Tower of Black Sorcery[[/labelnote]], the fortress-town of Minas Anor[[labelnote:trans]]Tower of the Setting Sun[[/labelnote]] on the other side of the Anduin was also renamed to Minas Tirith[[labelnote:trans]]Tower of Guard/Watch[[/labelnote]]. Tolkien also mentions that Mirkwood (originally "Greenwood the Great") was given a new, third name (Eryn Lasgalen: "Wood of Greenleaves") after the events of ''Lord of the Rings''.
** And people tend to acquire all sorts of names in all his works. Even objects get Meaningful Renames: when the [[AncestralWeapon sword Narsil]] gets reforged, Aragorn renames it Andúril.
** And people tend to acquire all sorts of names in all his works. Even objects get Meaningful Renames: when the [[AncestralWeapon sword Narsil]] gets reforged, Aragorn renames it Andúril.
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** When Minas Ithil[[labelnote:trans]]Tower Ithil (Tower of the Rising Moon[[/labelnote]] Moon) became Minas Morgul[[labelnote:trans]]Tower Morgul (Tower of Black Sorcery[[/labelnote]], Sorcery), the fortress-town of Minas Anor[[labelnote:trans]]Tower Anor (Tower of the Setting Sun[[/labelnote]] Sun) on the other side of the Anduin was also renamed to Minas Tirith[[labelnote:trans]]Tower Tirith (Tower of Guard/Watch[[/labelnote]].Guard/Watch). Tolkien also mentions that Mirkwood (originally "Greenwood the Great") was given a new, third name (Eryn Lasgalen: "Wood of Greenleaves") after the events of ''Lord of the Rings''.
**And people People tend to acquire all sorts of names in all his works. Even objects get Meaningful Renames: renamed: when the [[AncestralWeapon sword Narsil]] gets reforged, Aragorn renames it Andúril.
**
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** Especially CosmicPlaything Túrin's frequent renames; he hopes they'll be meaningful and he'll escape his fate; it doesn't work. Usually, his new name is a reflection on the latest tragedy to happen to him: i.e. Neithan (the Wronged), Agarwaen (the Blood-Stained), Turambar (Master of Doom). The final name gets an ironic echo--Master of Doom, by Doom mastered. (Typically, readers refer to him as Túrin Turambar when speaking of him.)
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** Especially CosmicPlaything ''Literature/TheChildrenOfHurin'': Túrin's frequent renames; he hopes they'll be meaningful and he'll escape his fate; it doesn't work. Usually, his new name is a reflection on the latest tragedy to happen to him: i.e. Neithan (the Wronged), Agarwaen (the Blood-Stained), Turambar (Master of Doom). The final name gets an ironic echo--Master of Doom, by Doom mastered. (Typically, readers refer to him as Túrin Turambar when speaking of him.)
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* ''Literature/TheWolfDenTrilogy'': Upon attaining her freedom, Amara becomes Gaia Plinia Amara, Liberta.
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* ''Literature/TheYellowBag'': Rei ("King") changes his name to Alfonso shortly after meeting Raquel, as he never liked his old name.
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* ''Literature/ZenobiaJuly'': When the titular trans girl was deciding on her new name, she chose "Zenobia" because it started with a Z and ended with an A, and "July" because that was when she got her name legally changed, and because it started with the same letter as her original last name, Jarecky.
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* ''Literature/ZenobiaJuly'': When the titular trans girl was deciding on her new name, she chose "Zenobia" because it started with a Z and ended with an A, and "July" because that was when she got her name legally changed, and because it started with the same letter as her original last name, Jarecky.Jarecky.
----
----
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* In ''Literature/TheAdventuresOfStefonRudel'', the protagonist Stefan is given the new name [[AsLongAsItSoundsForeign Stefón]] by [[ThoseWackyNazis Hans-Ulrich Rudel]] upon moving to France and wants to be called by this name from then on.
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* ''Literature/{{Yellowface}}'': The main character's full name is Juniper Song Hayward, due to her mother having had a [[HippieParents hippie phase]], but she's gone simply by "June Hayward" both personally and professionally her whole life. This changes when June sells a (stolen) manuscript based on Chinese history and culture, and the publisher worries about the optics of a white author at a very white publisher profiting off Asian culture. This leads them to have her publish under the name "Juniper Song," which sounds vaguely Asian. The ''official'' reason June gives for the rebrand is that her first book under her own name bombed, so she wants to make a clean start, and she never ''says'' she's Asian, so [[YouDidntAsk she feels it's on other people for making assumptions]]. Those who realize "Juniper Song" is a white woman don't buy this explanation for a second.
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* ''Literature/{{Yellowface}}'': The main character's full name is Juniper Song Hayward, due to her mother having had a [[HippieParents hippie phase]], but she's gone simply by "June Hayward" both personally and professionally her whole life. This changes when June sells a (stolen) manuscript based on Chinese history and culture, and the publisher worries about the optics of a white author at a very white publisher profiting off Asian culture. This leads them to have her publish under the name "Juniper Song," which sounds vaguely Asian. The ''official'' reason June gives for the rebrand is that her first book under her own name bombed, so she wants to make a clean start, and she never ''says'' she's Asian, so [[YouDidntAsk she feels it's on other people for making assumptions]]. Those who realize "Juniper Song" is a white woman don't buy this explanation for a second.second.
* ''Literature/ZenobiaJuly'': When the titular trans girl was deciding on her new name, she chose "Zenobia" because it started with a Z and ended with an A, and "July" because that was when she got her name legally changed, and because it started with the same letter as her original last name, Jarecky.
* ''Literature/ZenobiaJuly'': When the titular trans girl was deciding on her new name, she chose "Zenobia" because it started with a Z and ended with an A, and "July" because that was when she got her name legally changed, and because it started with the same letter as her original last name, Jarecky.
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** [[spoiler:In Dalmatia, all the merfolk take on new names when they convert to Christianity and gain mortal souls. Vanimen becomes Andrei, and Eyjan becomes Dagmar.]]
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** [[spoiler:In Dalmatia, all the merfolk take on new names when they convert to Christianity and gain mortal souls. Vanimen becomes Andrei, and Eyjan becomes Dagmar.]]]]
* ''Literature/{{Yellowface}}'': The main character's full name is Juniper Song Hayward, due to her mother having had a [[HippieParents hippie phase]], but she's gone simply by "June Hayward" both personally and professionally her whole life. This changes when June sells a (stolen) manuscript based on Chinese history and culture, and the publisher worries about the optics of a white author at a very white publisher profiting off Asian culture. This leads them to have her publish under the name "Juniper Song," which sounds vaguely Asian. The ''official'' reason June gives for the rebrand is that her first book under her own name bombed, so she wants to make a clean start, and she never ''says'' she's Asian, so [[YouDidntAsk she feels it's on other people for making assumptions]]. Those who realize "Juniper Song" is a white woman don't buy this explanation for a second.
* ''Literature/{{Yellowface}}'': The main character's full name is Juniper Song Hayward, due to her mother having had a [[HippieParents hippie phase]], but she's gone simply by "June Hayward" both personally and professionally her whole life. This changes when June sells a (stolen) manuscript based on Chinese history and culture, and the publisher worries about the optics of a white author at a very white publisher profiting off Asian culture. This leads them to have her publish under the name "Juniper Song," which sounds vaguely Asian. The ''official'' reason June gives for the rebrand is that her first book under her own name bombed, so she wants to make a clean start, and she never ''says'' she's Asian, so [[YouDidntAsk she feels it's on other people for making assumptions]]. Those who realize "Juniper Song" is a white woman don't buy this explanation for a second.
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!!!'''By Author:'''
* A RunningGag in Creator/ChristopherAnvil's "The Trouble with Cargoes" stories: the boss of the shipping company renames ships based on how well or (usually) badly they've performed recently. Which is why his line has ships called ''Moron's Delight'' and ''Spittoon''.
* Creator/JacquelineWilson
** In ''Literature/LolaRose'', protagonist Jayni spends most of the book living under the alias of Lola Rose; she and her family are hiding from her abusive father. Even at the end of the story after he leaves for good, she decides to break with the past by continuing to be known as Lola Rose. It's also symbolic of a break from her father since her original name was a portmanteau of her parents' names (Jay and Nikki.)
** ''Literature/{{Cookie}}'' has a similar plot involving a girl and her mother fleeing from an abusive father. The heroine, Beauty, is a plain and overweight girl who has struggled to live up to her name; but when she and her mother start a successful cookie-making business, she becomes known as Cookie (also a play on her surname, Cookson) and decides that she is much happier to live under this name.
!!!'''By Work:'''
* ''Literature/TwentySixSixtySix'': Benno von Archimboldi [[spoiler: is named after Guiseppe Arcimboldo, an artist Hans Reiter read about while going through Anksy's diary. The ''von'' is associated with his Germanic heritage, but it's also a way for Reiter to remember Baroness von Zumpe.]]
* In ''Literature/TheAmyVirus'', protagonist Cindy Butt renames herself Cyan Beaut as part of the process of discovering her identity and rebelling against [[AbusiveParents her parents' abuse]]. [[spoiler:[[TheAtoner Her mother]] promises to make it official by allowing her to legally change it to that new one at the end of the story.]]
* In the ''Literature/ApprenticeAdept'' series, Serfs are allowed to change their name when they gain legal adult status (Stile chose his name from a piece of farm equipment that allowed him his first experience with horses) Serfs who win The Great Game and gain Citizen status are allowed to change them again (Rifleman does this, commemorating the trapshooting game that won him his Citizenship).
** Another example (in a roundabout way) is the way Werewolves receive their full, four-syllable name: They are given the first syllable at birth. They receive their second when they are officially made pack members (around five or six years of age - members of the same peer group all get the same second syllable). The third is granted by the Pack Leader at around nine or ten years old, after a First Kill (successful solo hunt). The fourth is received after a wolf's [[SexAsRiteOfPassage ritual first mating]] - traditionally both partners taking the other's first syllable as their last. It is apparently traditionally the first for both parties. A werewolf isn't considered a full adult Pack member until gaining the fourth syllable. Adept Brown's werewolf companion only had a three-syllable name because [[spoiler: She was a lesbian and refused to mate with a male.]]
* ''Literature/AtlasShrugged'': Michael Mulligan was given the derogatory nickname Midas for his greed, and went on to [[InsultBackfire legally change his name thereto]].
* In ''Literature/TheBalancedSword'', the Intelligent Toads are given one name when they are born and choose a second name with some personal significance when they become adults. One of the protagonists of the trilogy is a Toad named Poplock Duckweed, and his introduction shows the event which inspired him to choose the name "Poplock".
* In ''Literature/ABrothersPrice'', little Neddie was not born with that name. [[spoiler:She was adopted in order to save her from being executed with her family, as she was a toddler at the time. Her adoptive family renamed her.]]
* Two examples stand out in the ''Literature/ChaletSchool'' series, courtesy of serial [[TheNicknamer Nicknamer]] Joey Bettany / Maynard. Firstly, Eustacia Benson becomes known as 'Stacie' in ''Eustacia'' after [[BreakTheHaughty getting injured on a mountain]] and subsequently [[TookALevelInKindness taking a level in kindness]]. Secondly, in ''Theodora'', Jo gives troubled teen Theodora Grantley the nickname of 'Ted' to represent her wiping the slate clean by starting a new life at the Chalet School and putting her DarkAndTroubledPast behind her.
* ''Literature/{{Circleverse}}'':
** Street rat "Roach" chooses Briar Moss when he needs a legal name, Living Circle religious dedicates choose naturey names when they join a temple and academic mages invent some kind of typically fancy-sounding last name when they get their credentials.
** It doesn't always work out in the mage's favor though, such as with Frostpine, who chose the name because he thought frostpines were pretty trees. When he actually ''traveled'' to where frostpines grow, he discovered that he hated the associated climate.
* In Jeramey Kraatz's ''Literature/TheCloakSociety'', Misty wants to be The Mist. When she is certain she is not up to rescuing Gage, he appeals to her that it was beyond ''Misty'''s powers, but he thought that ''The Mist'' could do it. This inspires her, and she's able to pull it off.
* Creator/JimButcher's ''Literature/CodexAlera'' series:
** ''Captain's Fury'' has the moment when Tavi first publicly identifies himself by his true name instead of the nickname he's been known by since infancy. [[spoiler:And outs himself as the grandson of [[TheHighKing the First Lord]] Gaius Sextus and heir to the throne of all Alera, putting an abrupt end to the SuccessionCrisis that had been brewing since Book 1.]] This wasn't news to the readers, but it was quite an in-universe WhamLine for those who witnessed it.
--->[[spoiler:"I have been known as Tavi of Calderon, [...] but my ''name'' is ''Gaius Octavian''."]]
** In the penultimate book, ''Princeps' Fury'', Tavi is named Tavar by his Canim allies. It's a word in the Canim language that happens to sound like his real name, or at least his nickname, which is convenient. Later, he learns that it's the word for a small, very dangerous predator, similar if not identical to a wolverine.
** In the final volume, ''First Lord's Fury'', [[spoiler:Gaius Isana gives the traitorous Lady Aquitaine a more fitting name:]]
--->[[spoiler:For my husband's memory, for my child's future, for those whose blood is upon your hands, I defy you. I name you Nihilus Invidia, Invidia of Nusquam, traitor to the Crown, the Realm, and her people.]]
* Tendu of ''Literature/TheColorOfDistance'' have three sentient stages in their life cycles, bami, elder, and the optional enkar. As bami they chose a symbol to be their name, and with each stage it becomes more elaborate. A visiting human assigns words to these symbols so she has an easier time with names, and sees the bami Ani become elder Anito, and later the enkar Anitonen.
* In Creator/RobertEHoward's ''Literature/ConanTheBarbarian'' story "Literature/AWitchShallBeBorn", Salome reminds Constantius to call her Taramis since she is going for FakeKing.
* In ''Literature/ConfessionsOfFelixKrull'', when the protagonist becomes employed as a liftboy at the Hotel Saint James and Albany in Paris, the director tells him that from now on he will answer to the name Armand, to show him who's boss and because he considers "Felix" too intimate and pretentious.
* In ''Literature/TheCountOfMonteCristo'', Edmond Dantes takes on several different names. Lord Wilmore is the title he takes when performing acts of generosity and the eponymous Count is his new central persona as he gets his revenge. He only reveals his old name to his enemies just as he has defeated them, as the final blow.
* In Alexey Vinokurov's ''Literature/TheCountryOfThreeLands'', a goblin (whose race is viewed as AlwaysChaoticEvil) undergoes a HeelFaceTurn. As goblins are notorious for foul language, this one teaches himself to [[LastSecondWordSwap say "oh, blin"]] (sort of a milder equivalent of "damn" in Russian) whenever he wants to curse. He promptly gets nicknamed Oblin.
* In ''Literature/TheCrewOfTheCopperColoredCupids'', Sharpshooter changed his name to [[Literature/TheMostDangerousGameNight Zaroff]] as part of his StartOfDarkness.
* ''Literature/TheDalemarkQuartet'': At the end of ''The Crown of Dalemark'', the new king takes the name Amil, which is one of the names of the Undying spirit of the land who is mostly called The One. This represents the king taking on the burdens of The One [[spoiler:specifically rooting out the renegade mage and descendent of The One, Kankredin]].
* In Creator/SarahAHoyt's ''Literature/DarkshipThieves'', Thena tells Kit he doesn't have to change his name [[spoiler:when they marry]], but he insists.
* In the sequel novels (of questionable canonicity) to Creator/HarryHarrison's ''Literature/{{Deathworld}}'' books, the battleship recovered in the short story is renamed from its original Imperial name ''Nedetruebla'' ("indestructible" in [[UsefulNotes/EsperantoTheUniversalLanguage Esperanto]]) to ''Argo''. In the second story arc of ''Return to Deathworld'', Jason figures out what the name ''Argo'' refers to and freaks out, considering their current mission directly parallels the ancient myth (even his first name fits). In a later novel, [[spoiler:the ship is destroyed by sabotage]], indicating they probably should have kept the original name.
* In ''Literature/DinnerAtDeviantsPalace'', the cult gives a new name to every member when they join, to help separate them from their own life. Inverted at the end, when the character called Sister Windchime renounces the cult and changes her name back to Barbara.
* In ''{{Literature/Dinoverse}}'', the lieutenant raptor of a [[RaptorAttack pack]] gets named Junior since he's always hanging with the slightly smaller "boss". When he falls down a hole with only one of his sickle claws intact, the [[TheNicknamer same character]] changes his name and starts calling him Hook.
* Agnes Nitt from Terry Pratchett's ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' series renamed herself Perdita to sound more mysterious. She actually wanted to be "Perdita X Dream" but even she realized her down-to-earth Lancrian peers wouldn't take her seriously that way; they were already referring to her as "Agnes what calls herself Perditax". It got complicated when "Perdita" became more and more of an independent split personality with each book, but at first it was just Agnes calling herself Perdita.
* This is significant in ''Literature/{{Divergent}}'', as characters changed their names to abandon their old faction identity:
** The main character Beatrice becomes known as Tris instead of Beatrice. While this is a nickname, it's meaningful because it is significant in the character adopting a Dauntless rather than Abnegation identity.
** Four decided to call himself Four because [[spoiler: he only has four fears in the fear landscape. His original name was Tobias, but as he was abused by his father that's also one reason he wanted to abandon that identity]].
* ''Series/DoctorWho'' [[Franchise/DoctorWhoExpandedUniverse Expanded Universe]]: Done by a ''species'' in ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoNewAdventuresOriginalSin Original Sin]]'', after losing an extremely unpleasant war with [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters the Earth Empire]]. The two Hith met in the course of the book are named "Homeless Forsaken Betrayed And Alone" and "Powerless Friendless And Scattered Through Space".
* The original name of the girl Dodger rescues in ''Literature/{{Dodger}}'' is never given. The Meyhews call her Simplicity, although she says to Dodger "I think I am not very simple". By the end of the book, she's [[spoiler: Serendipity]].
* In Richard Powell's ''Literature/DonQuixoteUSA'', the main regiment of the San Marcan army, known at the start of the book as the Regiment of the Thirteenth of September, changes its name every time the government changes leaders. According to the Generalissimo's second-in-command Carlos, very few dates remain unused.
* ''Literature/DragonJousters'': At the end of ''Joust'', Vetch abandons his serf name and takes back his original name of Kiron.
* Creator/AnneMcCaffrey's ''Literature/DragonridersOfPern'': In ''Dragonsdawn'', Tarvi Andiyar changes his name to Telgar, which was originally his wife's surname. He never admitted how much he loved her until she was dying and made the change to honor her sacrifice to help the Pern colony.
** Later in the timeline this is in the backstory of all male dragonriders, who replace part of their name with an apostrophe. So when Lytonal became a dragonrider he became L'tol. After he survived his dragon's death he became Lytol.
* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'': Harry Dresden has a penchant for nicknaming things, groups, and individuals.
** In ''Literature/DeathMasks'' when Harry first encounters the Archive, he doesn't just recognize this five-year-old as a powerful and dangerous force to be reckoned with, but also a child. She has no given name because her mother, the previous Archive, never gave her one before something happened that put her into a coma. This means she has been the Archive all her life, rather than inheriting the mantle in her adulthood with her own developed personality and mind to maintain her own person. So Harry calls her Ivy and treats this powerful being like any other girl, like allowing her to play with his cat. The name is the first step in Ivy slowly developing her own distinct personality separate from the Archive's massive amount of information (namely all knowledge either written, typed or now printed) as well as personal memories of all previous Archives.
** The shadow of the Fallen Angel Lasciel resides in Harry's head for several books. Eventually [[spoiler:after years of enduring her and not giving in to temptation to take up her Coin, he asks the shadow a question: how long has anyone else ever lasted against a shadow? She realizes with some hesitancy no person has lasted more than a month or two before taking up the coin. He further notes that if his mind is malleable enough to turn to evil, then as the shadow lives in his mind, she is just as malleable. He argues that she is distinct and now different from the True Lasciel and her absorption into Lasciel upon his claiming the Coin is equivalent to her death. So, he nicknames her Lash. This pebble starts a rock slide to the point she eventually turns on Lasciel, renouncing the Fallen and willingly gives up her existence to save Harry's life from a powerful mental attack]]. All from a nickname Harry gives.
** Archangel Uriel pointedly warns Harry against using the nickname "Uri" for him again. The "el" ("of God") part of his name is a very important part of Uriel's identity. Thus, the possible changes using the nickname could invoke would not be positive ones.
* Creator/UrsulaKLeGuin:
** ''Literature/{{Earthsea}}'' has many examples, as the power of a name is a prominent theme in the books.
*** In a world where knowing a thing's true name allows you to control that thing, it's common practice for a person to have one name as a child, then have a rite of passage into adulthood in which that name is discarded and replaced with two others, their secret true name and a public name which everyone will call them from then on. The protagonist of ''Literature/AWizardOfEarthsea'' starts off with the name Duny; he is given his true name, Ged, by the mage Ogion and calls himself by the name "Sparrowhawk".
*** In ''Literature/TheTombsOfAtuan'', the rite turning Tenar into the priestess involves taking away her name; henceforth, she is Arha, the Eaten One. [[spoiler:Ged restores "Tenar" to her, a significant plot event.]]
--->'''Ged:''' You must make a choice. Either you must leave me, lock the door, go up to your altars and give me to your Masters; then go to the Priestess Kossil and make your peace with her — and that is the end of the story — or, you must unlock the door, and go out of it, with me. Leave the Tombs, leave Atuan, and come with me oversea. And that is the beginning of the story. You must be Arha, or you must be Tenar. You cannot be both.
** In ''Literature/AlwaysComingHome'', people in the Valley tend to have three names throughout their lives; as children, as adults and as old people. The mother of Stone Telling was Willow as an adult, and once she broke up with Terter, demanded to be called by her childhood name, Towhee. It was considered an extremely wrong action which her daughter never accepted, and upon her death, she was mourned as Ashes. Stone Telling herself also had a fourth (or rather, second) name while living among the Dayao.
* In ''Literature/EccentricNeighborhoods'' Don Álvaro had originally named his oldest daughter "Milagros" (Spanish for "miracles"). He ends up naming her Clarissa [[note]]derived from the Germanic name Clarice, itself derived from the Latin ''clarus'', meaning bright, clear or famous[[/note]] because she is so intelligent. The rename also sets her apart from her sisters' [[ThemeNaming names which are based upon poetry or mythology.]]
* ''Literature/TheEmpiriumTrilogy'': Corien renamed himself after he escaped the Gate. He hates his original name, Kalmaroth, seeing it as an indelible reminder of his former failure during the Angelic Wars.
* ''Literature/AnEncounterAndAnOffer'' has a fae boy being renamed to [[NamedAfterSomeoneFamous Arthur]], after being taken by Sir Kay as a squire. He, however, has no idea why.
* In the AfterTheEnd series ''Literature/{{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.
%%* In Melanie Rawn's ''Literature/TheExiles'', Series, many characters hide their true name and heritage to avoid persecution.
* In Robertson Davies' ''Literature/FifthBusiness'' Boyd Staunton becomes Boy, an icon of youthful success, while Dunstable Ramsay starts calling himself Dunstan, after Saint Dunstan, and [[spoiler: Paul Dempster ditches his old identity to become Magnus Eisengrim.]]
* ''Literature/TheFifthSeason'': Fulcrum students are given rock-themed names when they graduate, both as a nod to their DishingOutDirt powers and as one of many ways they're {{dehumaniz|ation}}ed. [[spoiler:Damaya]] requests the name Syenite, after a stone that [[{{Determinator}} becomes stronger under heat and pressure]] rather than break.
* ''Literature/ForestKingdom'': It's revealed in book 4 (''Beyond the Blue Moon'') that Prince Rupert renamed himself Hawk after Robert Hawke, a comrade in arms whom he respected.
* ''Literature/FoxDemonCultivationManual'': Rong Bai's original name was Tu Shan Bai. He changed it to Tu Shan Rong Bai in honour of his mother, but removed one radical from her name. The "Rong" in Rong Sang's name is written 榕, while the "Rong" in Rong Bai's name is written 容 without the tree radical (木).
* In Creator/GeneStrattonPorter's ''Literature/{{Freckles}}'', Freckles refuses to give the name given him at the orphanage. [=McLean=] offers him his own father's name.
-->''"I will tell you what we will do, my lad," he said. "My father was my ideal man, and I loved him better than any other I have ever known. He went out five years ago, but that he would have been proud to leave you his name I firmly believe. If I give to you the name of my nearest kin and the man I loved best—will that do?" ''
** Later, he learns his original name, at birth, as part of discovering his family. Then Angel's father talks to him:
--->'' Under Freckles' earnest eyes the Man of Affairs answered soberly: "I think I have, Mr. O'More."\\
\\
That was the first time Freckles heard his name from the lips of another. One second he lay overcome; the next, tears filled his eyes, and he reached out his hand. Then the Angel's father understood, and he clasped that hand and held it in a strong, firm grasp. ''
* In Alex Gino's ''Literature/{{George}}'', George is a transgender girl who starts calling herself "Melissa" (which is reflected by the narrative referring to her as "George" until she sees herself as "Melissa" in the mirror) after she finally gets to dress up as a girl.
* In Creator/VictoriaForester's ''Literature/TheGirlWhoCouldFly'', at the end, Conrad [[spoiler:is told by his father that he has to stop calling himself Harrington and no longer associate with his parents. He agrees.]]
%%* In Creator/WilliamAlexander's ''Literature/GoblinSecrets'', several of Graba's "grandchildren" have taken new names.
* In the ''Literature/HarryPotter'' series, Voldemort assumed his name upon becoming the BigBad and casting away his connection with his {{Muggle}} father, whose first name of Tom he shares. Voldemort actually comes from an anagram of his full name "Tom Marvolo Riddle" to become "I am Lord Voldemort". In order to retain this anagram, his name tended to be changed in various languages.
* The cast of ''Literature/{{Haunted 2005}}'' are mostly OnlyKnownByTheirNickname, and the nicknames in question come from the stories they tell, most of which are linked to their secret crimes and shames. "The opposite of superhero names."
* It's a part of [[MagicalNativeAmerican Tayledras]] culture in the ''Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar'' series that individuals may change their [[NameThatUnfoldsLikeLotusBlossom descriptive "use-names"]] after life-changing events. Songwind, one of the heroes of the ''Mage Winds'' trilogy, changed his name to Darkwind after a terrible accident led him to abandon magecraft. Persons adopted by the Tayledras also take new names, especially if they want a clean break from their past.
* In ''Literature/HisDarkMaterials'' Lyra's original surname is "Belacqua", but Iorek gives her the surname "Silvertongue" when she manages to deceive Iofur, an Armored Bear, which is supposedly [[LivingLieDetector impossible]]. For the rest of the series, having been betrayed or abandoned by both birth-parents (neither of whom ever really acknowledges her as such in person), she identifies herself as Lyra Silvertongue.
* In Abbe Prévost's ''Histoire d'une Grecque moderne'', the [[GorgeousGreek Greek]] [[BeautifulSlaveGirl concubine Zara]] is set free and decides to reclaim her heritage by changing her name to Théophé, representing her Hellenic origins.
* ''Literature/HiveMind2016'': People who come to the Sea Farm as driftwood often take new names to indicate their new life. [[spoiler:When she comes back from the Hive, Celandine takes the name Tressa, meaning 'third', to indicate that this is the third part of her life.]]
* ''Literature/HonorHarrington'':
** The renaming of Haven [[spoiler:from the People's Republic of Haven to the ''Republic'' of Haven]] signifies a seismic shift in that particular entity's politics and government [[spoiler:and completes Haven's gradual HeelFaceTurn]]. As a result, Manticorans [[spoiler:force themselves to switch their [[NicknamingTheEnemy nickname]] from "Peeps" to "Havenites"]] -- the [[spoiler:Peeps]] were a [[spoiler:PeoplesRepublicOfTyranny (albeit with quite a few sympathetic characters trying to make a change),]] whereas the [[spoiler:Havenites]] -- not just individual people, this time, but the nation as a whole -- were a [[spoiler:WorthyOpponent in a GoodVersusGood scenario]] that only ended when [[spoiler:Eloise Pritchart decided to throw a SpannerInTheWorks of the [[BigBad Mesan Alignment]]]] and [[spoiler:took off for Manticore to kickstart the Grand Alliance]]. ''Phew.''
** The planet originally exploited by Manpower Incorporated and called Verdant Vista eventually rebelled and renamed itself Torch, becoming a star nation of freed genetic slaves, i.e. a beacon of freedom. Notably, the Mesans continue to call it by its original name.
** Treecats who have adopted humans regard the human name they're given as an important part of the bond, though they keep their original names for use among 'cats.
*** Since [[NameThatUnfoldsLikeLotusBlossom treecat names]] are descriptive it's possible for a treecat's name to change multiple times during their life. A notable example is Singer of Sorrow, her name was changed to that after the rest of her clan was wiped out in the Yawata strike leaving her the SoleSurvivor.
** Also, the Star Kingdom of Manticore later becomes [[spoiler:the Star Empire of Manticore, after the newly-discovered Talbott Cluster petitions Manticore for annexation, increasing the number of systems in the former Star Kingdom by several times. At this point, the Star Empire's total population is about 41 billion sentient beings (including humans, treecats, and Medusans). Queen Elizabeth III Winton is now known as both Queen and Empress.]]
* In ''Literature/TheHorseAndHisBoy'' at the end Shasta changes his slave-name back to his birth name Cor after he is discovered to be the long-lost Prince of Archenland.
* ''Literature/HuntersMoon1989'': Todds change their names to reflect their mate's family name. For example, A-ran changed his name to A-ho after coupling with O-ho.
* ''Literature/{{Hurog}}'': In ''Literature/DragonBones'' Ward invokes this trope when he renames his father's fierce and dangerous stallion from the evil-sounding "Stygian" to "Pansy", and endeavours to change the horse so that the new name fits. Ward is good with horses, and the stallion's "viciousness" was more due to mistreatment than anything else, so this trope works.
* In ''Literature/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.
* ''Literature/InvisibleMan'': "It is time Ras the Exhorter become Ras the DESTROYER!"
* ''Literature/IronDruidChronicles'': Atticus says that he chose that name to remind himself of people he aspires to be like, specifically Atticus Finch from ''Literature/ToKillAMockingbird''.
* In ''Literature/TheLionKingSixNewAdventures'', Scar from ''WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994'' is revealed to have renamed himself as an adolescent when he got his eponymous scar. Scar's name was originally "Taka", which translates to either "want" or [[TheUnFavorite "garbage"]] in Swahili.
* In ''Literature/TheMachineriesOfEmpire'', [[spoiler:Kel Cheris]] discards her faction name and returns to her family surname at the end of the first book to show that she is no longer aligned with her faction.
* ''Literature/MalazanBookOfTheFallen'':
** Many characters choose to abandon their old names with their old lives. Among [[BadassArmy the Malazan Army]], this is actually a requirement, and the soldiers' new names are usually chosen by their drill sergeant based on their personality (Tarr, Bottle, Truth), a quirk (Blend, Limp), as a joke (Kindly, who is not), or an event (Braven Tooth, who broke one off in a bar fight).
** Subverted with Fiddler. In ''Literature/HouseOfChains'', he renames himself Strings in order to sign up with the Malazan military again. Nobody who's ever even heard of him buys it, so he eventually goes back to Fiddler.
** Smiles was nicknamed thus by her squad's drill sergeant ''because'' she never does so and instead tries to kill everyone with her stare.
** In ''Literature/MidnightTides'', Silchas Ruin gives Scabandari the name "Bloodeye" while the latter boasts about how no one can oppose them in this new world. Silchas explains how that's due to the blood that now stains Scabandari's vision, implying there's more to it than just the battle they just fought, and Scabandari certainly has left a trail of blood and devastation behind. He is not too pleased with his new name but nonetheless proceeds to [[InTheBack knife Silchas in the back]], leading many readers to suspect that Silchas knew of the coming betrayal.
* ''Literature/TheMazeRunner'': Everyone who enter the Glades are given new names [[NamedAfterSomebodyFamous taken from famous real-life people]], mainly those from the scientific field. A few of them have their names revealed in the prequel novels; Tessa's birth name is "Deedee", while Thomas' is "Stephen".
* In Creator/GeneStrattonPorter's ''Literature/MichaelOHalloran'', Mickey renames Peaches to Lily.
-->''"Lily!" he repeated. "Little snow white lily! Peaches is a good name for you if you're referring to sweetness, but it doesn't fit for colour. Least I never saw none white. Lily fits you better. If you'd been a dog, I was going to name you Partner. But you're mine just as much as if you was a dog, so I'll name you if I want to. Lily! That's what God made you; that's what I'm going to call you."''
* In Creator/EdgarRiceBurroughs's ''Literature/TheMonsterMen'', Professor Maxon and von Horn dub Number 13 "Jack". It doesn't stick. When he gets called "Bulan" by the Malays, however, it does.
* ''Literature/MonsterOfTheMonthClub'': Sparrow Earth thinks of her, her sister's and her daughter's respective renamings as meaningful, to represent the family's lifestyle as "children of the Earth". Rilla's less convinced.
** Sparrow Harmony Earth was born Donna Knox, went by Donna Pinowski when she was married, and returned to her maiden name after they split up. Book 3 reveals that "Sparrow" was her husband's nickname for her because she was rather flighty and reminded him of a sparrow in flight.
** Poppy Harmony Earth was, after a string of marriages that each ended in turn, Sally Knox Bailey Hailey Hobbs Street.
** Rilla Harmony Earth used to be Rilla Pinowski.
* ''Literature/TheMoonAndTheSun'': After the Turkish slave Odelette is [[SlaveLiberation freed]], she changes her name to Haleed and becomes a practicing Muslim.
* In Creator/JaneAusten's ''Literature/NorthangerAbbey'', Catherine's younger sister Sally changes her name to... Sarah, for what young lady of common gentility will reach the age of sixteen without altering her name as far as she can? Or dropping one's childhood's family pet name might count as DownplayedTrope.
* In the ''Literature/OldKingdom'' series, Touchstone used to be Torrigan, but took the name of a fool after (in his eyes) accidentally helping the betrayal of the royal family. Also, the first book's Big Bad took the name Kerrigor after becoming one of the Greater Dead; his original name was Rogir, [[SdrawkcabName short for Rogirek.]] Chlorr of the Mask took her name after betraying her calling as [[spoiler:an Abhorsen, her real name was Clariel]].
* ''Literature/TheOtherworld'': In ''Industrial Magic'', Hans chose his name because he felt ‘John’ wasn’t an appropriate name for a vampire.
* In Creator/JohnMilton's ''Literature/ParadiseLost'', the narrator comments that fallen angels have lost their names and will get new ones among humanity.
* In ''Literature/{{Psmith}}''[='s=] EstablishingCharacterMoment, he explains to Mike that he [[MyNaymeIs added a silent "P" to his name]] because the name "Smith" [[MrSmith is far too common]]. By that time it's already clear that Psmith is ''not'' a common [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} kind of guy]].
* ''Literature/TheQuestOfTheUnaligned'': In the world of Caederan, those who are aligned to one of the four elemental magics must change their name to reflect that alignment (i.e. Lahana becomes L''[[PlayingWithFire aesh]]''ana.)
** [[spoiler: After Alaric transforms Laeshana from an [[PlayingWithFire aesh]] to a [[LightEmUp orah]], there is some debate as to whether she should change her name to Lorahna. She technically doesn't have to, since orahs are elementally unaligned and unaligned names don't need to reflect anything in particular.]]
* In Creator/GKChesterton's ''The Return of Don Quixote'', at the climax, Michael Herne reveals [[spoiler:that the Severne family are not the ancient noble house they claim to be, having gotten their hands on the title recently and in a legally dubious manner, and their real name is Smith, even though he is in love with the Honourable Rosamund Severne. He leaves, certain he has lost all. Later, he learns that she no longer goes by Rosamund Severne; if he wants to find her, he should ask for "Miss Smith".]]
* ''[[Literature/RedMoonRisingHolt Red Moon Rising]]'': When Rae and Temple are taken into the Kihuut, they are renamed Mayrikafsa and Kalashava.
* In Feist's ''Literature/TheRiftwarCycle'', the boy Pug is given the name Milamber once he graduates as a Greater Path magician. Interestingly enough he mostly goes by Pug still. The rename was supposed to be meaningful, the fact that it didn't really stick is also meaningful...
* In Creator/StephenHunt's ''The Rise of the Iron Moon'', when Lord Starborn casts off a newborn ship, Commander Black offers her the name Sprite of the Stars; Coppertracks insists, as a steamman, that she be Starsprite.
* Literature/TheShadowhunterChronicles:
** Thanks to his TangledFamilyTree, Jace changes his surname no less than three times. He was raised believing he is the son of Michael Wayland, so he goes by "Jace Wayland" at the start of the series. The first book's ending reveals that he is the son of Valentine Morgenstern, so he (reluctantly) becomes "Jace Morgenstern". Then the third book reveals he isn't after all and is actually the son of Stephen Herondale. For some time afterward, he goes by his adopted family's surname, before settling on "Jace Herondale" in the sixth book as a way to preserve the family name.
** By tradition, mundanes who undergo Ascension take a new Shadowhunter surname. Sophie Collins takes the name "Ashdown" (though she doesn't keep it for long as she marries Gideon Lightwood and changes to his surname shortly afterwards), while Simon becomes "Simon Lovelace", which also doubles as a DeadGuyJunior as he honors his late friend, George Lovelace, who did not survive the Ascension.
** After she escaped from the Circle's uprising and her husband, Valentine, Jocelyn Morgenstern changed her name to "Jocelyn Fray", Fray being the portmanteau of her maiden name, Fairchild, and Tessa Gray's surname, as Tessa helped her settle down in New York. Years later, her daughter, Clary, would change her surname from Fray to [[NomDeMom Fairchild]], as she wants to reconnect with her Shadowhunter identity but not with a father she hates.
** It is stated that warlocks have a tradition of changing their surnames upon being recognized as one. The names are often connected to darkness or evil things, symbolizing their demonic ancestry. However, we have yet to learn any of the old names (even Magnus' is unknown since he loathes to talk about his past).
** The Jace Herondale of Thule changes his name to Janus upon entering this world. (Janus is the Roman god of doorways.)
* In ''Literature/SkulduggeryPleasant'', mages can control a person to a certain degree if they know the person's given name and they don't have a taken name yet. Because of this, everybody chooses a taken name, and most of them are pretty cool.
* In Creator/MichaelFlynn's ''Literature/SpiralArm'' novel ''On the Razor's Edge'', Donovan renames Five as "Pyati", producing much emotion not only for Five but for all his new attendant magpies. [[spoiler:At the end, he tells them he will give them all names, and they beg for their dead comrades to receive them posthumously; when he agrees, they are in tears.]]
* In ''Literature/{{Stargirl}}'' by Jerry Spinelli, Stargirl is constantly renaming herself. She compares it to outgrowing a shirt and finding a new one that fits.
* The titular princess in ''Literature/TheStoryOfADisfiguredPrincess'' was initially named "Kamilah", meaning "perfect child", fitting because she's a princess with restrictions but, after mutilating her face and fleeing to a distant village, she renames herself "Barabel", meaning either "outcast" or "stranger", as she leads her life as something of an outcast and, due to no one recognizing her as a lost princess (one the account of her scarred face) and when she initially moves to a new place, she was a stranger.
* ''Franchise/StarTrekExpandedUniverse'':
** In ''Literature/TheFinalReflection'', all Klingons have a RiteOfPassageNameChange when they choose the career path they will follow in adult life. This is not the only meaningful rename the Klingon protagonist has; by that point in his life, he'd already been renamed once after being adopted out of the orphanage where he spent his childhood, and he subsequently changes his name again following his adoptive father's disgrace.
** In the [[Literature/StarTrekShatnerverse Shatnerverse]] novel ''The Return'', when Kirk and Picard prepare to mount an assault on the Borg homeworld in the Defiant-class USS ''Monitor'', accompanied by Spock, [=McCoy=], and the senior staff of the recently-destroyed ''Enterprise''-D, the captain of the ''Monitor'' has the name on the ship changed to ''Enterprise'' for the mission, musing that it won't show up in the history books but he felt it was appropriate.
* ''Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse'': In the short story ''Literature/{{Orientation}}'', Emperor Palpatine orders the training vessel ''Defiance'' to be renamed ''Obedience'' after the execution of its commander for defying and attempting to assassinate him.
* ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'':
** When the Rebel Alliance then the New Republic captured imperial warships. Accuser -> Emancipator, Adjudicator -> Liberator, Avarice -> Freedom (three examples are captured Imperial Star Destroyers).
** When a certain character cements their FaceHeelTurn...
--->[[spoiler:"Caedus. My name is Darth Caedus."]]
* In ''Literature/StarWarsThrawnAscendancyChaosRising'', we meet a young but promising Chiss from an obscure family. His name is Kivu'raw'nuru, or Vurawn for short. His superior has him apply for a merit adoption into the powerful Mitth family. After he is accepted, his new names is Mitth'raw'nuru, or Thrawn. After the end of his probation period, the suffix "odo" is added to his name. In the story, we also meet a female cadet with the core name Ziara. Who's this Ziara, you might ask. Well, maybe her full name might provide a clue: Irizi'ar'alani. Eventually, after she makes admiral, her affiliation to the Irizi family is removed, and she becomes simply Ar'alani. Had Thrawn stayed in the Chiss Expansionary Force and actually made admiral, he would likewise have been known as Raw'nuruodo.
* In Creator/RobinMcKinley's ''Literature/{{Sunshine}}'', it's eventually revealed that Sunshine's birth name is Raven Blaise. When her mother cut ties with the Blaise family, she and everyone else stopped using "Raven" and began calling her [[ThePowerOfTheSun Rae]]. By the time the events of the novel occur, she goes by "Sunshine" more than anything else, even within her own family... which is particularly significant since in this setting, a person's [[IKnowYourTrueName true name]] is the one they're known by rather than the one they were given at birth, and [[spoiler:some very old vampires can't even say ''words'' related to sunlight]].
* In ''Literature/SurvivorDogs'', pups are given names based on physical traits or behaviors (such as "Nose" or "Squeak"). When they're older they're renamed by either [[HumansByAnyOtherName longlegs]] or themselves during a NamingCeremony. For example, Lucky was born "Yap" and Lick renamed herself "[[spoiler:Storm]]".
* ''Literature/TechnicHistory'': The human poet Christopher Holm is [[GoingNative adopted]] by a [[TheClan "choth"]] of [[BirdPeople Ythrians]] under the name of Arinnian.
* In ''Literature/ThingsFallApart'', Nwoye takes a new Christian name after he converts. He chooses "Isaac". This is rather significant given [[SacrificialLamb what happened earlier]] to his adopted brother.
* In Creator/PoulAnderson's ''Literature/TimePatrol'' story "Gibraltar Falls", Manse explains at the end that [[spoiler:Feliz can't return to her own era under her own name, that's recorded history that she never did; she can, however, change her name and shift to a different one. Thomas offers "Mrs. Thomas Noruma".]]
* Creator/JRRTolkien's [[Franchise/TolkiensLegendarium Middle-Earth stories]]:
** In ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', Minas Morgul and Mirkwood forest both had other names before they were taken over by Sauron's team.
** When Minas Ithil[[labelnote:trans]]Tower of the Rising Moon[[/labelnote]] became Minas Morgul[[labelnote:trans]]Tower of Black Sorcery[[/labelnote]], the fortress-town of Minas Anor[[labelnote:trans]]Tower of the Setting Sun[[/labelnote]] on the other side of the Anduin was also renamed to Minas Tirith[[labelnote:trans]]Tower of Guard/Watch[[/labelnote]]. Tolkien also mentions that Mirkwood (originally "Greenwood the Great") was given a new, third name (Eryn Lasgalen: "Wood of Greenleaves") after the events of ''Lord of the Rings''.
** And people tend to acquire all sorts of names in all his works. Even objects get Meaningful Renames: when the [[AncestralWeapon sword Narsil]] gets reforged, Aragorn renames it Andúril.
** Aragorn's rename that was initiated to hide his identity from the Enemy, 'Estel' ('high hope' in Sindarin), is especially meaningful as he was foreseen, given the fact that Sauron was coming back and the Elves were leaving, to either be the last man of his line or the one to restore it to its former glory. The foresight came at the first from his grandmother Ivorwen, who also saw him wearing a green stone that would be the source of his other Meaningful Rename - Elessar Telcontar (Elfstone Strider). The stone itself was foretold to rightfully belong to one who would bear its name, and Aragorn's position as the HopeBringer is [=Lampshaded=] many times in the story.
** Especially CosmicPlaything Túrin's frequent renames; he hopes they'll be meaningful and he'll escape his fate; it doesn't work. Usually, his new name is a reflection on the latest tragedy to happen to him: i.e. Neithan (the Wronged), Agarwaen (the Blood-Stained), Turambar (Master of Doom). The final name gets an ironic echo--Master of Doom, by Doom mastered. (Typically, readers refer to him as Túrin Turambar when speaking of him.)
** The BigBad of ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'', Melkor, is given the name Morgoth ("the black enemy") by Fëanor after he steals the Silmarils and killed Fëanor's father. Similarly, Sauron's name before he went evil was (probably) Mairon. ("Sauron" is Elvish for "the Abhorred".)
** Many of Tolkien's bad guys are renamed or otherwise lose their names. Sméagol becomes "Gollum". Gríma becomes "Wormtongue". The Nazgûl are nameless, at least in the core books. Sauron's ambassador has forgotten his own name, and just calls himself "the Mouth of Sauron". Even Saruman ends up as just "Sharkey" (which Tolkien conjectures is from the Orcish ''Sharkû'', "Old Man").
** Several hobbits have been mentioned in the backstory who have adopted a new family name, apparently as a result of becoming leaders or patriarchs. For example, Gorhendad Oldbuck, who led the colonization of Buckland, renamed himself to Brandybuck, and his descendants like Merry use that family name. Samwise Gamgee, likewise, becomes Samwise Gardner by the end of the timeline, which seems to be the result of his work to reforest the Shire, his becoming the master of Bag End, and being the mayor of the Shire for many decades and a known friend of the King.
* ''Literature/TortallUniverse'':
** In ''Literature/SongOfTheLioness'', "Claw" is a meaningful rename for [[spoiler:Ralon of Malven]], since he looked like someone did that to him between his first appearance and his attempt to become Rogue. (It's from when a maid threw acid in his face when he tried raping her mistress.)
** Numair Salmalín of ''Literature/TheImmortals'' used to be [[Literature/TheNumairChronicles Arram Draper]] — people assumed/joked that it was because he decided that [[AwesomeMcCoolName the name wasn't cool enough]] for one of the most powerful mages in the world, but actually he changed it to hide from [[EvilOverlord the Emperor of Carthak]], who was [[BringHimToMe hunting him]] after he [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere left the Empire]]. (''And'' because it sounded cooler.)
* In ''Literature/TheTraitorSonCycle'', after his FaceHeelTurn, [[spoiler:Nita Qwan]] return to his old name Kevin Orley, which symbolizes his long-forgotten grudge against the Muriens family (the resurgence of which is what motivates his Turn).
%%* In Creator/RuthFrancesLong's ''Literature/TheTreacheryOfBeautifulThings'', Jack calls Jenny "Jenny Wren". If he had thought a little more about folklore, he might not have.
* Literature/TruemanBradley was born Truman. He changed the spelling after he decided to become a detective because a detective exposes truth.
* ''Literature/{{Uprooted}}'': People receive a name in the LanguageOfMagic from a magical artifact when they're formally accepted as new Wizards or Witches. {{Defied|Trope}} by Agnieszka, who refuses a name change because her personal identity is strongly rooted in her home community even after she trains in magic.
* Creator/LoisMcMasterBujold's ''Literature/VorkosiganSaga'': In ''Literature/CaptainVorpatrilsAlliance'', Ivan thinks, at the end, that Miles's children will be old enough to call him Uncle Ivan by the time of his return, and shudders to think of how [[SignificantNAmeShift his identity can be changed]] without his doing anything. Then he reflects on the possibility of "Da" -- which is easier because he would do it.
** Also in the same series Miles at one point reflects that he's not eager for the day that he is greeted as "Count Vorkosigan, sir?" This will signify that his father is dead, and he's the new counts. Happens at the end of "Cryoburn,"
* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'':
** In Creator/DanAbnett's Literature/{{Ravenor}} short story "Playing Patience", Patience's name was assigned hers by the orphanage in which she lived, as were her sisters', Providence and Prudence. At the climax, she concentrates on her true, original name to keep herself together. Ravenor tells her to keep that name secret and safe, and she chooses to be "Patience Kys".
** In Aaron Dembski-Bowden's novel ''Soul Hunter'', Talos's slave is named Septimus -- and we hear how Primus, Secundus, etc died. When Eurydice is captured, Septimus immediately dubs her Octavia. After Talos [[NiceToTheWaiter rescues her]] from AttemptedRape, she accepts the name.
* ''Literature/WarriorCats'':
** Cat names consist of two parts. The first part stays the same forever, while the second part changes. Kitten names all end in kit (eg Hollykit or Snowkit), apprentice names end in paw (eg Sandpaw or Dustpaw), warrior names can end in anything (eg Tigerclaw or Lionheart), and leader names all end in star (eg Bluestar or Tallstar). The clan leader can also rename elders to fit with any battle scars they might have earned, etc... E.g., a cat who lost an eye becomes One-eye. A leader can also change a young cat’s name, the only known instances being because of deformities (i.e. Deadfoot, Lostface, and Crookedjaw).
** The protagonist of the first several books starts off as a pet cat named "Rusty". When he joins Thunderclan he is renamed to "Firepaw", due to his red pelt color. Eventually that too is changed to "Fireheart" and then "Firestar".
* ''Literature/WarWithNoName'': All the animals pick new names after the [[AnthropomorphicTransformation Change.]] For instance, Sebastian calls himself Mort(e), and Jenna becomes Wawa.
* In ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'':
** The Laurel Crown of Illian is renamed the Crown of Swords after [[spoiler:Rand conquers the country, to reflect his military focus]].
** The city of Aridhol became Shadar Logoth, or Shadow's Waiting, after it was inhabited by [[FogOfDoom Mashadar]], following its original inhabitants' corruption by [[HumanoidAbomination Mordeth]].
** The thirteen Forsaken, ancient servants of the Dark One, are {{Appropriated Appellation}}s from epithets used against them when they betrayed the Light: Moghedien the Spider, Sammael the Destroyer of Hope, Ishamael the Betrayer of Hope, Lanfear the Daughter of the Night, and so on. Lanfear is an exception in that she chose her own name -- which says a lot about her character.
** Ishamael is a notable Forsaken as he goes through several names that reflect his evolution into [[TheAntichrist Nae'blis]]. First, he's Elan Morin Tedronai, renowned philosopher. Upon swearing service to the Dark One, he became Ishamael, Betrayer of Hope. After deluding himself into thinking he ''was'' the Dark One he became Ba'alzamon, Heart of the Dark. Finally, recognizing that he wasn't the Dark One but completely embracing nihilism, he becomes Moridin, which simply means "Death".
** Also rather notable is the introduction of Faile in the third book, which starts rather well when [[AtrociousAlias she introduces herself as "Blade", unintentionally taking after a horse]] one of the heroes was riding.
** The Seanchan frequently rename as they change their social status. Particularly Egeanin, who is disgraced and becomes Leilwin, and Tuon, who had a different name as a child and becomes Fortuona when she ascends to Empress.
** Similarly, in the last book Mat is given the name 'Knotai' and Min 'Darbinda', though they continue using their original names outside of the Seanchan court.
** Padan Fain goes through a lot of names as well. At first he's just Fain, even after merging with Mordeth's spirit. Later he goes by Ordeith (Wormwood) and Jeraal Mordeth, but still mostly thinks of himself as Padan Fain in his own POV. In the later books, though, as Mordeth's personality becomes more deeply integrated into him and his dark powers expand, he decides he needs a new name. [[spoiler: In the last book, having transcended humanity completely and become a creature of raw dark power loosely attached to his mortal body, he/they/it renames him/their/itself Shaisam]].
* In ''Literature/WhileTheClockChimes'', Tatti becomes friends (with hints of PuppyLove) with Brush, a poor cleaning boy at the invisibles' palace. After [[spoiler:the invisibles are defeated and run away]], she decides to ask her brothers to think up a prettier name for him to mark the start of his new life.
* In ''Literature/{{Wicked}}'', Gregory Maguire has [[Literature/TheWonderfulWizardOfOz Glinda]] give up on trying to make people call her by the Gillikinese name Galinda [[spoiler:as a kind of symbol of mourning after Doctor Dillamond's death]].
* In ''Literature/WideSargassoSea'' by Creator/JeanRhys, a retelling of the story of the MadwomanInTheAttic from ''Literature/JaneEyre'', the protagonist is actually called Antoinette; she gains the name "Bertha" seen in ''Jane Eyre'' as a result of her husband imposing it on her in an attempt to control who she is. On the converse, on a meta level, Rhys's changing the original Bertha's name to Antoinette has a similar effect of changing the character into something she wasn't in the first place, in this case a rounded character portrayed sympathetically and based on her own experiences instead of a random maliciously insane plot device.
* ''Literature/WitchWorld'': In ''The Jargoon Pard'', in the opening, two mothers give children names that their lives may be well-set before them. One does it to claim the boy, since she knows they were switched.
* ''Literature/{{Worm}}'' has several examples:
** The supervillain [[spoiler:Madcap]], who upon capture cuts a deal with the authorities to become a superhero called [[spoiler:Assault]] (a move which ticks off [[spoiler:Battery]] for several reasons);
** The superhero [[spoiler:Armsmaster]], who after [[spoiler:being targeted for 'recruitment' into the Slaughterhouse Nine -- a gang of mass murderer supervillains --]] chooses to [[spoiler:escape house arrest with Dragon]], change his name to [[spoiler:Defiant]], and [[spoiler:go hunting the Nine]];
** The supervillain [[spoiler:Skitter]], who, reacting to [[spoiler:the prophecy of the end of the world]], negotiates a deal with the authorities to surrender and become a probationary superhero called [[spoiler:Weaver]];
** The superhero [[spoiler:Weaver]] gets renamed [[spoiler: Kephri, after mind-controlling almost every Parahuman to fight Scion.]][[note]]Kephri is an Egyptian sun god, and fits the Endbringer naming convention[[/note]]
** The supervillain [[spoiler:Glaistig Uaine]] becomes TheAtoner following [[spoiler:the death of Scion]] and takes up the name [[spoiler:Valkyrie]].
* Inverted in ''Literature/YoungWizards'': Nita ''changes'' the [[{{Satan}} Lone Power's]] TrueName to allow a possibility of redemption, [[spoiler: which it takes a few books later]].
* In the second story arc of the ''Literature/GuardiansOfGaHoole'' series, Nyroc, formerly the prince of TheRemnant of the [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Pure Ones]], changes his name to Coryn to separate himself from his former life and become an owl of good following his flight from his family.
* Throughout the novel that started it all, only two people refer to the youngest Corleone as "Michael": his father and his wife. To everyone else he's "Mike," except his mom, who calls him the even more diminutive "Mikey." And then he executes (pun intended) his master-stroke in the penultimate chapter. The next time he meets his ''caporegimes,'' they address him as "Don ''Michael,"'' [[Film/TheGodfather the new Godfather]].
** Less portentously, Vito Andolini changes his name to that of his hometown, Corleone, when he immigrates to America. He does this to make it harder for his Sicilian would-be killers to finish their vendetta, but also "...to preserve some tie with his native village. It was one of the few gestures of sentiment he was ever to make." (Averted in the film, which had his name changed by a careless immigration clerk on Ellis Island.)
* Mary Yoo from ''Literature/MiracleCreek'' was known as Meh-hee-yah in Korea. When she moved to America as a preteen, her mother helped her pick out the name Mary, the closest approximation she could think of. Her first months and years in America were so traumatic that she started thinking of the two names as different people - Meh-hee-yah was an outgoing girl who got in trouble for chatting too much and could argue her way out of most punishments, while Mary was quiet, obedient, and alone.
* Georg Jewell from ''Literature/{{Shtum}}'' was born Georg Friedman, but changed it at age ten after his whole family died in UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust. [[spoiler:He picked his name from two sources: "Jonatan's Jewel," his brother's beloved piece of Bohemia glass, and the Jewelly Sanatorium for Autistic Children, where Jonatan spent his final months.]]
-->'''Georg''': I was somebody else, so I should change my name and what else could it be?
* ''Literature/Green2009'': Green is involuntarily named "Emerald" by the court where she is enslaved- she eventually chooses the name "Green" for herself.
* ''Literature/TheBalladOfBlackTom'': Tommy starts going by Black Tom after the death of his father Otis, saying, "My birth name has no more power over me. It died with my daddy."
* ''Literature/TheCatWhoSeries'': When Polly's new cat is introduced in book #10 (''The Cat Who Talked to Ghosts''), he's named Bootsie, and turns out to be a real brat. His behavior, and Polly's towards him, improves once she renames him Brutus in book #19 (''The Cat Who Tailed a Thief'').
* ''Literature/RWBYRomanHoliday'': Neopolitan's original name was Trivia Vanille. However, as a child, she had an imaginary friend called Neo; once she realised that her "imaginary friend" was really the early [[MasterOfIllusion manifestation of her Semblance]], she embraced the alter ego as being a part of herself and took the name for her own. Her appearance is therefore a trifecta of her original self, her imaginary friend's appearance, and influences from her relationship with Roman.
* In ''Literature/TooBrightToSee'', trans boy Bug eventually picks his new name: [[spoiler:Tommy, after his late uncle Roderick's middle name, Thomas]].
* ''Literature/TheMermaidsMirror'': [[spoiler:When the mermaid Melusina went on land to live as a human woman, she started going by Lucy.]]
* ''Literature/TheMer'': Humans who transform into Mer are strongly encouraged to pick a new name to emphasize [[ThatManIsDead the deaths of their human selves]]. Shona's name means "God is gracious" because she's grateful to Him for her life under the ocean. Will named himself after the only thing he had left after the loss of everything from her former life. Val, previously named Elizabeth, gives herself a name short for Valiant or Valor.
* ''Literature/TheMermansChildren'':
** The merman's youngest daughter Yria has always been weak, and her siblings worry that she won't be able to survive a long journey. She takes after her human mother Agnete enough to pass for human, so they leave her on land with Father Knud to be raised as a human girl. The archdeacon renames her Margrete and arranges for her to be baptized.
** [[spoiler:In Dalmatia, all the merfolk take on new names when they convert to Christianity and gain mortal souls. Vanimen becomes Andrei, and Eyjan becomes Dagmar.]]
* A RunningGag in Creator/ChristopherAnvil's "The Trouble with Cargoes" stories: the boss of the shipping company renames ships based on how well or (usually) badly they've performed recently. Which is why his line has ships called ''Moron's Delight'' and ''Spittoon''.
* Creator/JacquelineWilson
** In ''Literature/LolaRose'', protagonist Jayni spends most of the book living under the alias of Lola Rose; she and her family are hiding from her abusive father. Even at the end of the story after he leaves for good, she decides to break with the past by continuing to be known as Lola Rose. It's also symbolic of a break from her father since her original name was a portmanteau of her parents' names (Jay and Nikki.)
** ''Literature/{{Cookie}}'' has a similar plot involving a girl and her mother fleeing from an abusive father. The heroine, Beauty, is a plain and overweight girl who has struggled to live up to her name; but when she and her mother start a successful cookie-making business, she becomes known as Cookie (also a play on her surname, Cookson) and decides that she is much happier to live under this name.
!!!'''By Work:'''
* ''Literature/TwentySixSixtySix'': Benno von Archimboldi [[spoiler: is named after Guiseppe Arcimboldo, an artist Hans Reiter read about while going through Anksy's diary. The ''von'' is associated with his Germanic heritage, but it's also a way for Reiter to remember Baroness von Zumpe.]]
* In ''Literature/TheAmyVirus'', protagonist Cindy Butt renames herself Cyan Beaut as part of the process of discovering her identity and rebelling against [[AbusiveParents her parents' abuse]]. [[spoiler:[[TheAtoner Her mother]] promises to make it official by allowing her to legally change it to that new one at the end of the story.]]
* In the ''Literature/ApprenticeAdept'' series, Serfs are allowed to change their name when they gain legal adult status (Stile chose his name from a piece of farm equipment that allowed him his first experience with horses) Serfs who win The Great Game and gain Citizen status are allowed to change them again (Rifleman does this, commemorating the trapshooting game that won him his Citizenship).
** Another example (in a roundabout way) is the way Werewolves receive their full, four-syllable name: They are given the first syllable at birth. They receive their second when they are officially made pack members (around five or six years of age - members of the same peer group all get the same second syllable). The third is granted by the Pack Leader at around nine or ten years old, after a First Kill (successful solo hunt). The fourth is received after a wolf's [[SexAsRiteOfPassage ritual first mating]] - traditionally both partners taking the other's first syllable as their last. It is apparently traditionally the first for both parties. A werewolf isn't considered a full adult Pack member until gaining the fourth syllable. Adept Brown's werewolf companion only had a three-syllable name because [[spoiler: She was a lesbian and refused to mate with a male.]]
* ''Literature/AtlasShrugged'': Michael Mulligan was given the derogatory nickname Midas for his greed, and went on to [[InsultBackfire legally change his name thereto]].
* In ''Literature/TheBalancedSword'', the Intelligent Toads are given one name when they are born and choose a second name with some personal significance when they become adults. One of the protagonists of the trilogy is a Toad named Poplock Duckweed, and his introduction shows the event which inspired him to choose the name "Poplock".
* In ''Literature/ABrothersPrice'', little Neddie was not born with that name. [[spoiler:She was adopted in order to save her from being executed with her family, as she was a toddler at the time. Her adoptive family renamed her.]]
* Two examples stand out in the ''Literature/ChaletSchool'' series, courtesy of serial [[TheNicknamer Nicknamer]] Joey Bettany / Maynard. Firstly, Eustacia Benson becomes known as 'Stacie' in ''Eustacia'' after [[BreakTheHaughty getting injured on a mountain]] and subsequently [[TookALevelInKindness taking a level in kindness]]. Secondly, in ''Theodora'', Jo gives troubled teen Theodora Grantley the nickname of 'Ted' to represent her wiping the slate clean by starting a new life at the Chalet School and putting her DarkAndTroubledPast behind her.
* ''Literature/{{Circleverse}}'':
** Street rat "Roach" chooses Briar Moss when he needs a legal name, Living Circle religious dedicates choose naturey names when they join a temple and academic mages invent some kind of typically fancy-sounding last name when they get their credentials.
** It doesn't always work out in the mage's favor though, such as with Frostpine, who chose the name because he thought frostpines were pretty trees. When he actually ''traveled'' to where frostpines grow, he discovered that he hated the associated climate.
* In Jeramey Kraatz's ''Literature/TheCloakSociety'', Misty wants to be The Mist. When she is certain she is not up to rescuing Gage, he appeals to her that it was beyond ''Misty'''s powers, but he thought that ''The Mist'' could do it. This inspires her, and she's able to pull it off.
* Creator/JimButcher's ''Literature/CodexAlera'' series:
** ''Captain's Fury'' has the moment when Tavi first publicly identifies himself by his true name instead of the nickname he's been known by since infancy. [[spoiler:And outs himself as the grandson of [[TheHighKing the First Lord]] Gaius Sextus and heir to the throne of all Alera, putting an abrupt end to the SuccessionCrisis that had been brewing since Book 1.]] This wasn't news to the readers, but it was quite an in-universe WhamLine for those who witnessed it.
--->[[spoiler:"I have been known as Tavi of Calderon, [...] but my ''name'' is ''Gaius Octavian''."]]
** In the penultimate book, ''Princeps' Fury'', Tavi is named Tavar by his Canim allies. It's a word in the Canim language that happens to sound like his real name, or at least his nickname, which is convenient. Later, he learns that it's the word for a small, very dangerous predator, similar if not identical to a wolverine.
** In the final volume, ''First Lord's Fury'', [[spoiler:Gaius Isana gives the traitorous Lady Aquitaine a more fitting name:]]
--->[[spoiler:For my husband's memory, for my child's future, for those whose blood is upon your hands, I defy you. I name you Nihilus Invidia, Invidia of Nusquam, traitor to the Crown, the Realm, and her people.]]
* Tendu of ''Literature/TheColorOfDistance'' have three sentient stages in their life cycles, bami, elder, and the optional enkar. As bami they chose a symbol to be their name, and with each stage it becomes more elaborate. A visiting human assigns words to these symbols so she has an easier time with names, and sees the bami Ani become elder Anito, and later the enkar Anitonen.
* In Creator/RobertEHoward's ''Literature/ConanTheBarbarian'' story "Literature/AWitchShallBeBorn", Salome reminds Constantius to call her Taramis since she is going for FakeKing.
* In ''Literature/ConfessionsOfFelixKrull'', when the protagonist becomes employed as a liftboy at the Hotel Saint James and Albany in Paris, the director tells him that from now on he will answer to the name Armand, to show him who's boss and because he considers "Felix" too intimate and pretentious.
* In ''Literature/TheCountOfMonteCristo'', Edmond Dantes takes on several different names. Lord Wilmore is the title he takes when performing acts of generosity and the eponymous Count is his new central persona as he gets his revenge. He only reveals his old name to his enemies just as he has defeated them, as the final blow.
* In Alexey Vinokurov's ''Literature/TheCountryOfThreeLands'', a goblin (whose race is viewed as AlwaysChaoticEvil) undergoes a HeelFaceTurn. As goblins are notorious for foul language, this one teaches himself to [[LastSecondWordSwap say "oh, blin"]] (sort of a milder equivalent of "damn" in Russian) whenever he wants to curse. He promptly gets nicknamed Oblin.
* In ''Literature/TheCrewOfTheCopperColoredCupids'', Sharpshooter changed his name to [[Literature/TheMostDangerousGameNight Zaroff]] as part of his StartOfDarkness.
* ''Literature/TheDalemarkQuartet'': At the end of ''The Crown of Dalemark'', the new king takes the name Amil, which is one of the names of the Undying spirit of the land who is mostly called The One. This represents the king taking on the burdens of The One [[spoiler:specifically rooting out the renegade mage and descendent of The One, Kankredin]].
* In Creator/SarahAHoyt's ''Literature/DarkshipThieves'', Thena tells Kit he doesn't have to change his name [[spoiler:when they marry]], but he insists.
* In the sequel novels (of questionable canonicity) to Creator/HarryHarrison's ''Literature/{{Deathworld}}'' books, the battleship recovered in the short story is renamed from its original Imperial name ''Nedetruebla'' ("indestructible" in [[UsefulNotes/EsperantoTheUniversalLanguage Esperanto]]) to ''Argo''. In the second story arc of ''Return to Deathworld'', Jason figures out what the name ''Argo'' refers to and freaks out, considering their current mission directly parallels the ancient myth (even his first name fits). In a later novel, [[spoiler:the ship is destroyed by sabotage]], indicating they probably should have kept the original name.
* In ''Literature/DinnerAtDeviantsPalace'', the cult gives a new name to every member when they join, to help separate them from their own life. Inverted at the end, when the character called Sister Windchime renounces the cult and changes her name back to Barbara.
* In ''{{Literature/Dinoverse}}'', the lieutenant raptor of a [[RaptorAttack pack]] gets named Junior since he's always hanging with the slightly smaller "boss". When he falls down a hole with only one of his sickle claws intact, the [[TheNicknamer same character]] changes his name and starts calling him Hook.
* Agnes Nitt from Terry Pratchett's ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' series renamed herself Perdita to sound more mysterious. She actually wanted to be "Perdita X Dream" but even she realized her down-to-earth Lancrian peers wouldn't take her seriously that way; they were already referring to her as "Agnes what calls herself Perditax". It got complicated when "Perdita" became more and more of an independent split personality with each book, but at first it was just Agnes calling herself Perdita.
* This is significant in ''Literature/{{Divergent}}'', as characters changed their names to abandon their old faction identity:
** The main character Beatrice becomes known as Tris instead of Beatrice. While this is a nickname, it's meaningful because it is significant in the character adopting a Dauntless rather than Abnegation identity.
** Four decided to call himself Four because [[spoiler: he only has four fears in the fear landscape. His original name was Tobias, but as he was abused by his father that's also one reason he wanted to abandon that identity]].
* ''Series/DoctorWho'' [[Franchise/DoctorWhoExpandedUniverse Expanded Universe]]: Done by a ''species'' in ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoNewAdventuresOriginalSin Original Sin]]'', after losing an extremely unpleasant war with [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters the Earth Empire]]. The two Hith met in the course of the book are named "Homeless Forsaken Betrayed And Alone" and "Powerless Friendless And Scattered Through Space".
* The original name of the girl Dodger rescues in ''Literature/{{Dodger}}'' is never given. The Meyhews call her Simplicity, although she says to Dodger "I think I am not very simple". By the end of the book, she's [[spoiler: Serendipity]].
* In Richard Powell's ''Literature/DonQuixoteUSA'', the main regiment of the San Marcan army, known at the start of the book as the Regiment of the Thirteenth of September, changes its name every time the government changes leaders. According to the Generalissimo's second-in-command Carlos, very few dates remain unused.
* ''Literature/DragonJousters'': At the end of ''Joust'', Vetch abandons his serf name and takes back his original name of Kiron.
* Creator/AnneMcCaffrey's ''Literature/DragonridersOfPern'': In ''Dragonsdawn'', Tarvi Andiyar changes his name to Telgar, which was originally his wife's surname. He never admitted how much he loved her until she was dying and made the change to honor her sacrifice to help the Pern colony.
** Later in the timeline this is in the backstory of all male dragonriders, who replace part of their name with an apostrophe. So when Lytonal became a dragonrider he became L'tol. After he survived his dragon's death he became Lytol.
* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'': Harry Dresden has a penchant for nicknaming things, groups, and individuals.
** In ''Literature/DeathMasks'' when Harry first encounters the Archive, he doesn't just recognize this five-year-old as a powerful and dangerous force to be reckoned with, but also a child. She has no given name because her mother, the previous Archive, never gave her one before something happened that put her into a coma. This means she has been the Archive all her life, rather than inheriting the mantle in her adulthood with her own developed personality and mind to maintain her own person. So Harry calls her Ivy and treats this powerful being like any other girl, like allowing her to play with his cat. The name is the first step in Ivy slowly developing her own distinct personality separate from the Archive's massive amount of information (namely all knowledge either written, typed or now printed) as well as personal memories of all previous Archives.
** The shadow of the Fallen Angel Lasciel resides in Harry's head for several books. Eventually [[spoiler:after years of enduring her and not giving in to temptation to take up her Coin, he asks the shadow a question: how long has anyone else ever lasted against a shadow? She realizes with some hesitancy no person has lasted more than a month or two before taking up the coin. He further notes that if his mind is malleable enough to turn to evil, then as the shadow lives in his mind, she is just as malleable. He argues that she is distinct and now different from the True Lasciel and her absorption into Lasciel upon his claiming the Coin is equivalent to her death. So, he nicknames her Lash. This pebble starts a rock slide to the point she eventually turns on Lasciel, renouncing the Fallen and willingly gives up her existence to save Harry's life from a powerful mental attack]]. All from a nickname Harry gives.
** Archangel Uriel pointedly warns Harry against using the nickname "Uri" for him again. The "el" ("of God") part of his name is a very important part of Uriel's identity. Thus, the possible changes using the nickname could invoke would not be positive ones.
* Creator/UrsulaKLeGuin:
** ''Literature/{{Earthsea}}'' has many examples, as the power of a name is a prominent theme in the books.
*** In a world where knowing a thing's true name allows you to control that thing, it's common practice for a person to have one name as a child, then have a rite of passage into adulthood in which that name is discarded and replaced with two others, their secret true name and a public name which everyone will call them from then on. The protagonist of ''Literature/AWizardOfEarthsea'' starts off with the name Duny; he is given his true name, Ged, by the mage Ogion and calls himself by the name "Sparrowhawk".
*** In ''Literature/TheTombsOfAtuan'', the rite turning Tenar into the priestess involves taking away her name; henceforth, she is Arha, the Eaten One. [[spoiler:Ged restores "Tenar" to her, a significant plot event.]]
--->'''Ged:''' You must make a choice. Either you must leave me, lock the door, go up to your altars and give me to your Masters; then go to the Priestess Kossil and make your peace with her — and that is the end of the story — or, you must unlock the door, and go out of it, with me. Leave the Tombs, leave Atuan, and come with me oversea. And that is the beginning of the story. You must be Arha, or you must be Tenar. You cannot be both.
** In ''Literature/AlwaysComingHome'', people in the Valley tend to have three names throughout their lives; as children, as adults and as old people. The mother of Stone Telling was Willow as an adult, and once she broke up with Terter, demanded to be called by her childhood name, Towhee. It was considered an extremely wrong action which her daughter never accepted, and upon her death, she was mourned as Ashes. Stone Telling herself also had a fourth (or rather, second) name while living among the Dayao.
* In ''Literature/EccentricNeighborhoods'' Don Álvaro had originally named his oldest daughter "Milagros" (Spanish for "miracles"). He ends up naming her Clarissa [[note]]derived from the Germanic name Clarice, itself derived from the Latin ''clarus'', meaning bright, clear or famous[[/note]] because she is so intelligent. The rename also sets her apart from her sisters' [[ThemeNaming names which are based upon poetry or mythology.]]
* ''Literature/TheEmpiriumTrilogy'': Corien renamed himself after he escaped the Gate. He hates his original name, Kalmaroth, seeing it as an indelible reminder of his former failure during the Angelic Wars.
* ''Literature/AnEncounterAndAnOffer'' has a fae boy being renamed to [[NamedAfterSomeoneFamous Arthur]], after being taken by Sir Kay as a squire. He, however, has no idea why.
* In the AfterTheEnd series ''Literature/{{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.
%%* In Melanie Rawn's ''Literature/TheExiles'', Series, many characters hide their true name and heritage to avoid persecution.
* In Robertson Davies' ''Literature/FifthBusiness'' Boyd Staunton becomes Boy, an icon of youthful success, while Dunstable Ramsay starts calling himself Dunstan, after Saint Dunstan, and [[spoiler: Paul Dempster ditches his old identity to become Magnus Eisengrim.]]
* ''Literature/TheFifthSeason'': Fulcrum students are given rock-themed names when they graduate, both as a nod to their DishingOutDirt powers and as one of many ways they're {{dehumaniz|ation}}ed. [[spoiler:Damaya]] requests the name Syenite, after a stone that [[{{Determinator}} becomes stronger under heat and pressure]] rather than break.
* ''Literature/ForestKingdom'': It's revealed in book 4 (''Beyond the Blue Moon'') that Prince Rupert renamed himself Hawk after Robert Hawke, a comrade in arms whom he respected.
* ''Literature/FoxDemonCultivationManual'': Rong Bai's original name was Tu Shan Bai. He changed it to Tu Shan Rong Bai in honour of his mother, but removed one radical from her name. The "Rong" in Rong Sang's name is written 榕, while the "Rong" in Rong Bai's name is written 容 without the tree radical (木).
* In Creator/GeneStrattonPorter's ''Literature/{{Freckles}}'', Freckles refuses to give the name given him at the orphanage. [=McLean=] offers him his own father's name.
-->''"I will tell you what we will do, my lad," he said. "My father was my ideal man, and I loved him better than any other I have ever known. He went out five years ago, but that he would have been proud to leave you his name I firmly believe. If I give to you the name of my nearest kin and the man I loved best—will that do?" ''
** Later, he learns his original name, at birth, as part of discovering his family. Then Angel's father talks to him:
--->'' Under Freckles' earnest eyes the Man of Affairs answered soberly: "I think I have, Mr. O'More."\\
\\
That was the first time Freckles heard his name from the lips of another. One second he lay overcome; the next, tears filled his eyes, and he reached out his hand. Then the Angel's father understood, and he clasped that hand and held it in a strong, firm grasp. ''
* In Alex Gino's ''Literature/{{George}}'', George is a transgender girl who starts calling herself "Melissa" (which is reflected by the narrative referring to her as "George" until she sees herself as "Melissa" in the mirror) after she finally gets to dress up as a girl.
* In Creator/VictoriaForester's ''Literature/TheGirlWhoCouldFly'', at the end, Conrad [[spoiler:is told by his father that he has to stop calling himself Harrington and no longer associate with his parents. He agrees.]]
%%* In Creator/WilliamAlexander's ''Literature/GoblinSecrets'', several of Graba's "grandchildren" have taken new names.
* In the ''Literature/HarryPotter'' series, Voldemort assumed his name upon becoming the BigBad and casting away his connection with his {{Muggle}} father, whose first name of Tom he shares. Voldemort actually comes from an anagram of his full name "Tom Marvolo Riddle" to become "I am Lord Voldemort". In order to retain this anagram, his name tended to be changed in various languages.
* The cast of ''Literature/{{Haunted 2005}}'' are mostly OnlyKnownByTheirNickname, and the nicknames in question come from the stories they tell, most of which are linked to their secret crimes and shames. "The opposite of superhero names."
* It's a part of [[MagicalNativeAmerican Tayledras]] culture in the ''Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar'' series that individuals may change their [[NameThatUnfoldsLikeLotusBlossom descriptive "use-names"]] after life-changing events. Songwind, one of the heroes of the ''Mage Winds'' trilogy, changed his name to Darkwind after a terrible accident led him to abandon magecraft. Persons adopted by the Tayledras also take new names, especially if they want a clean break from their past.
* In ''Literature/HisDarkMaterials'' Lyra's original surname is "Belacqua", but Iorek gives her the surname "Silvertongue" when she manages to deceive Iofur, an Armored Bear, which is supposedly [[LivingLieDetector impossible]]. For the rest of the series, having been betrayed or abandoned by both birth-parents (neither of whom ever really acknowledges her as such in person), she identifies herself as Lyra Silvertongue.
* In Abbe Prévost's ''Histoire d'une Grecque moderne'', the [[GorgeousGreek Greek]] [[BeautifulSlaveGirl concubine Zara]] is set free and decides to reclaim her heritage by changing her name to Théophé, representing her Hellenic origins.
* ''Literature/HiveMind2016'': People who come to the Sea Farm as driftwood often take new names to indicate their new life. [[spoiler:When she comes back from the Hive, Celandine takes the name Tressa, meaning 'third', to indicate that this is the third part of her life.]]
* ''Literature/HonorHarrington'':
** The renaming of Haven [[spoiler:from the People's Republic of Haven to the ''Republic'' of Haven]] signifies a seismic shift in that particular entity's politics and government [[spoiler:and completes Haven's gradual HeelFaceTurn]]. As a result, Manticorans [[spoiler:force themselves to switch their [[NicknamingTheEnemy nickname]] from "Peeps" to "Havenites"]] -- the [[spoiler:Peeps]] were a [[spoiler:PeoplesRepublicOfTyranny (albeit with quite a few sympathetic characters trying to make a change),]] whereas the [[spoiler:Havenites]] -- not just individual people, this time, but the nation as a whole -- were a [[spoiler:WorthyOpponent in a GoodVersusGood scenario]] that only ended when [[spoiler:Eloise Pritchart decided to throw a SpannerInTheWorks of the [[BigBad Mesan Alignment]]]] and [[spoiler:took off for Manticore to kickstart the Grand Alliance]]. ''Phew.''
** The planet originally exploited by Manpower Incorporated and called Verdant Vista eventually rebelled and renamed itself Torch, becoming a star nation of freed genetic slaves, i.e. a beacon of freedom. Notably, the Mesans continue to call it by its original name.
** Treecats who have adopted humans regard the human name they're given as an important part of the bond, though they keep their original names for use among 'cats.
*** Since [[NameThatUnfoldsLikeLotusBlossom treecat names]] are descriptive it's possible for a treecat's name to change multiple times during their life. A notable example is Singer of Sorrow, her name was changed to that after the rest of her clan was wiped out in the Yawata strike leaving her the SoleSurvivor.
** Also, the Star Kingdom of Manticore later becomes [[spoiler:the Star Empire of Manticore, after the newly-discovered Talbott Cluster petitions Manticore for annexation, increasing the number of systems in the former Star Kingdom by several times. At this point, the Star Empire's total population is about 41 billion sentient beings (including humans, treecats, and Medusans). Queen Elizabeth III Winton is now known as both Queen and Empress.]]
* In ''Literature/TheHorseAndHisBoy'' at the end Shasta changes his slave-name back to his birth name Cor after he is discovered to be the long-lost Prince of Archenland.
* ''Literature/HuntersMoon1989'': Todds change their names to reflect their mate's family name. For example, A-ran changed his name to A-ho after coupling with O-ho.
* ''Literature/{{Hurog}}'': In ''Literature/DragonBones'' Ward invokes this trope when he renames his father's fierce and dangerous stallion from the evil-sounding "Stygian" to "Pansy", and endeavours to change the horse so that the new name fits. Ward is good with horses, and the stallion's "viciousness" was more due to mistreatment than anything else, so this trope works.
* In ''Literature/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.
* ''Literature/InvisibleMan'': "It is time Ras the Exhorter become Ras the DESTROYER!"
* ''Literature/IronDruidChronicles'': Atticus says that he chose that name to remind himself of people he aspires to be like, specifically Atticus Finch from ''Literature/ToKillAMockingbird''.
* In ''Literature/TheLionKingSixNewAdventures'', Scar from ''WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994'' is revealed to have renamed himself as an adolescent when he got his eponymous scar. Scar's name was originally "Taka", which translates to either "want" or [[TheUnFavorite "garbage"]] in Swahili.
* In ''Literature/TheMachineriesOfEmpire'', [[spoiler:Kel Cheris]] discards her faction name and returns to her family surname at the end of the first book to show that she is no longer aligned with her faction.
* ''Literature/MalazanBookOfTheFallen'':
** Many characters choose to abandon their old names with their old lives. Among [[BadassArmy the Malazan Army]], this is actually a requirement, and the soldiers' new names are usually chosen by their drill sergeant based on their personality (Tarr, Bottle, Truth), a quirk (Blend, Limp), as a joke (Kindly, who is not), or an event (Braven Tooth, who broke one off in a bar fight).
** Subverted with Fiddler. In ''Literature/HouseOfChains'', he renames himself Strings in order to sign up with the Malazan military again. Nobody who's ever even heard of him buys it, so he eventually goes back to Fiddler.
** Smiles was nicknamed thus by her squad's drill sergeant ''because'' she never does so and instead tries to kill everyone with her stare.
** In ''Literature/MidnightTides'', Silchas Ruin gives Scabandari the name "Bloodeye" while the latter boasts about how no one can oppose them in this new world. Silchas explains how that's due to the blood that now stains Scabandari's vision, implying there's more to it than just the battle they just fought, and Scabandari certainly has left a trail of blood and devastation behind. He is not too pleased with his new name but nonetheless proceeds to [[InTheBack knife Silchas in the back]], leading many readers to suspect that Silchas knew of the coming betrayal.
* ''Literature/TheMazeRunner'': Everyone who enter the Glades are given new names [[NamedAfterSomebodyFamous taken from famous real-life people]], mainly those from the scientific field. A few of them have their names revealed in the prequel novels; Tessa's birth name is "Deedee", while Thomas' is "Stephen".
* In Creator/GeneStrattonPorter's ''Literature/MichaelOHalloran'', Mickey renames Peaches to Lily.
-->''"Lily!" he repeated. "Little snow white lily! Peaches is a good name for you if you're referring to sweetness, but it doesn't fit for colour. Least I never saw none white. Lily fits you better. If you'd been a dog, I was going to name you Partner. But you're mine just as much as if you was a dog, so I'll name you if I want to. Lily! That's what God made you; that's what I'm going to call you."''
* In Creator/EdgarRiceBurroughs's ''Literature/TheMonsterMen'', Professor Maxon and von Horn dub Number 13 "Jack". It doesn't stick. When he gets called "Bulan" by the Malays, however, it does.
* ''Literature/MonsterOfTheMonthClub'': Sparrow Earth thinks of her, her sister's and her daughter's respective renamings as meaningful, to represent the family's lifestyle as "children of the Earth". Rilla's less convinced.
** Sparrow Harmony Earth was born Donna Knox, went by Donna Pinowski when she was married, and returned to her maiden name after they split up. Book 3 reveals that "Sparrow" was her husband's nickname for her because she was rather flighty and reminded him of a sparrow in flight.
** Poppy Harmony Earth was, after a string of marriages that each ended in turn, Sally Knox Bailey Hailey Hobbs Street.
** Rilla Harmony Earth used to be Rilla Pinowski.
* ''Literature/TheMoonAndTheSun'': After the Turkish slave Odelette is [[SlaveLiberation freed]], she changes her name to Haleed and becomes a practicing Muslim.
* In Creator/JaneAusten's ''Literature/NorthangerAbbey'', Catherine's younger sister Sally changes her name to... Sarah, for what young lady of common gentility will reach the age of sixteen without altering her name as far as she can? Or dropping one's childhood's family pet name might count as DownplayedTrope.
* In the ''Literature/OldKingdom'' series, Touchstone used to be Torrigan, but took the name of a fool after (in his eyes) accidentally helping the betrayal of the royal family. Also, the first book's Big Bad took the name Kerrigor after becoming one of the Greater Dead; his original name was Rogir, [[SdrawkcabName short for Rogirek.]] Chlorr of the Mask took her name after betraying her calling as [[spoiler:an Abhorsen, her real name was Clariel]].
* ''Literature/TheOtherworld'': In ''Industrial Magic'', Hans chose his name because he felt ‘John’ wasn’t an appropriate name for a vampire.
* In Creator/JohnMilton's ''Literature/ParadiseLost'', the narrator comments that fallen angels have lost their names and will get new ones among humanity.
* In ''Literature/{{Psmith}}''[='s=] EstablishingCharacterMoment, he explains to Mike that he [[MyNaymeIs added a silent "P" to his name]] because the name "Smith" [[MrSmith is far too common]]. By that time it's already clear that Psmith is ''not'' a common [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} kind of guy]].
* ''Literature/TheQuestOfTheUnaligned'': In the world of Caederan, those who are aligned to one of the four elemental magics must change their name to reflect that alignment (i.e. Lahana becomes L''[[PlayingWithFire aesh]]''ana.)
** [[spoiler: After Alaric transforms Laeshana from an [[PlayingWithFire aesh]] to a [[LightEmUp orah]], there is some debate as to whether she should change her name to Lorahna. She technically doesn't have to, since orahs are elementally unaligned and unaligned names don't need to reflect anything in particular.]]
* In Creator/GKChesterton's ''The Return of Don Quixote'', at the climax, Michael Herne reveals [[spoiler:that the Severne family are not the ancient noble house they claim to be, having gotten their hands on the title recently and in a legally dubious manner, and their real name is Smith, even though he is in love with the Honourable Rosamund Severne. He leaves, certain he has lost all. Later, he learns that she no longer goes by Rosamund Severne; if he wants to find her, he should ask for "Miss Smith".]]
* ''[[Literature/RedMoonRisingHolt Red Moon Rising]]'': When Rae and Temple are taken into the Kihuut, they are renamed Mayrikafsa and Kalashava.
* In Feist's ''Literature/TheRiftwarCycle'', the boy Pug is given the name Milamber once he graduates as a Greater Path magician. Interestingly enough he mostly goes by Pug still. The rename was supposed to be meaningful, the fact that it didn't really stick is also meaningful...
* In Creator/StephenHunt's ''The Rise of the Iron Moon'', when Lord Starborn casts off a newborn ship, Commander Black offers her the name Sprite of the Stars; Coppertracks insists, as a steamman, that she be Starsprite.
* Literature/TheShadowhunterChronicles:
** Thanks to his TangledFamilyTree, Jace changes his surname no less than three times. He was raised believing he is the son of Michael Wayland, so he goes by "Jace Wayland" at the start of the series. The first book's ending reveals that he is the son of Valentine Morgenstern, so he (reluctantly) becomes "Jace Morgenstern". Then the third book reveals he isn't after all and is actually the son of Stephen Herondale. For some time afterward, he goes by his adopted family's surname, before settling on "Jace Herondale" in the sixth book as a way to preserve the family name.
** By tradition, mundanes who undergo Ascension take a new Shadowhunter surname. Sophie Collins takes the name "Ashdown" (though she doesn't keep it for long as she marries Gideon Lightwood and changes to his surname shortly afterwards), while Simon becomes "Simon Lovelace", which also doubles as a DeadGuyJunior as he honors his late friend, George Lovelace, who did not survive the Ascension.
** After she escaped from the Circle's uprising and her husband, Valentine, Jocelyn Morgenstern changed her name to "Jocelyn Fray", Fray being the portmanteau of her maiden name, Fairchild, and Tessa Gray's surname, as Tessa helped her settle down in New York. Years later, her daughter, Clary, would change her surname from Fray to [[NomDeMom Fairchild]], as she wants to reconnect with her Shadowhunter identity but not with a father she hates.
** It is stated that warlocks have a tradition of changing their surnames upon being recognized as one. The names are often connected to darkness or evil things, symbolizing their demonic ancestry. However, we have yet to learn any of the old names (even Magnus' is unknown since he loathes to talk about his past).
** The Jace Herondale of Thule changes his name to Janus upon entering this world. (Janus is the Roman god of doorways.)
* In ''Literature/SkulduggeryPleasant'', mages can control a person to a certain degree if they know the person's given name and they don't have a taken name yet. Because of this, everybody chooses a taken name, and most of them are pretty cool.
* In Creator/MichaelFlynn's ''Literature/SpiralArm'' novel ''On the Razor's Edge'', Donovan renames Five as "Pyati", producing much emotion not only for Five but for all his new attendant magpies. [[spoiler:At the end, he tells them he will give them all names, and they beg for their dead comrades to receive them posthumously; when he agrees, they are in tears.]]
* In ''Literature/{{Stargirl}}'' by Jerry Spinelli, Stargirl is constantly renaming herself. She compares it to outgrowing a shirt and finding a new one that fits.
* The titular princess in ''Literature/TheStoryOfADisfiguredPrincess'' was initially named "Kamilah", meaning "perfect child", fitting because she's a princess with restrictions but, after mutilating her face and fleeing to a distant village, she renames herself "Barabel", meaning either "outcast" or "stranger", as she leads her life as something of an outcast and, due to no one recognizing her as a lost princess (one the account of her scarred face) and when she initially moves to a new place, she was a stranger.
* ''Franchise/StarTrekExpandedUniverse'':
** In ''Literature/TheFinalReflection'', all Klingons have a RiteOfPassageNameChange when they choose the career path they will follow in adult life. This is not the only meaningful rename the Klingon protagonist has; by that point in his life, he'd already been renamed once after being adopted out of the orphanage where he spent his childhood, and he subsequently changes his name again following his adoptive father's disgrace.
** In the [[Literature/StarTrekShatnerverse Shatnerverse]] novel ''The Return'', when Kirk and Picard prepare to mount an assault on the Borg homeworld in the Defiant-class USS ''Monitor'', accompanied by Spock, [=McCoy=], and the senior staff of the recently-destroyed ''Enterprise''-D, the captain of the ''Monitor'' has the name on the ship changed to ''Enterprise'' for the mission, musing that it won't show up in the history books but he felt it was appropriate.
* ''Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse'': In the short story ''Literature/{{Orientation}}'', Emperor Palpatine orders the training vessel ''Defiance'' to be renamed ''Obedience'' after the execution of its commander for defying and attempting to assassinate him.
* ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'':
** When the Rebel Alliance then the New Republic captured imperial warships. Accuser -> Emancipator, Adjudicator -> Liberator, Avarice -> Freedom (three examples are captured Imperial Star Destroyers).
** When a certain character cements their FaceHeelTurn...
--->[[spoiler:"Caedus. My name is Darth Caedus."]]
* In ''Literature/StarWarsThrawnAscendancyChaosRising'', we meet a young but promising Chiss from an obscure family. His name is Kivu'raw'nuru, or Vurawn for short. His superior has him apply for a merit adoption into the powerful Mitth family. After he is accepted, his new names is Mitth'raw'nuru, or Thrawn. After the end of his probation period, the suffix "odo" is added to his name. In the story, we also meet a female cadet with the core name Ziara. Who's this Ziara, you might ask. Well, maybe her full name might provide a clue: Irizi'ar'alani. Eventually, after she makes admiral, her affiliation to the Irizi family is removed, and she becomes simply Ar'alani. Had Thrawn stayed in the Chiss Expansionary Force and actually made admiral, he would likewise have been known as Raw'nuruodo.
* In Creator/RobinMcKinley's ''Literature/{{Sunshine}}'', it's eventually revealed that Sunshine's birth name is Raven Blaise. When her mother cut ties with the Blaise family, she and everyone else stopped using "Raven" and began calling her [[ThePowerOfTheSun Rae]]. By the time the events of the novel occur, she goes by "Sunshine" more than anything else, even within her own family... which is particularly significant since in this setting, a person's [[IKnowYourTrueName true name]] is the one they're known by rather than the one they were given at birth, and [[spoiler:some very old vampires can't even say ''words'' related to sunlight]].
* In ''Literature/SurvivorDogs'', pups are given names based on physical traits or behaviors (such as "Nose" or "Squeak"). When they're older they're renamed by either [[HumansByAnyOtherName longlegs]] or themselves during a NamingCeremony. For example, Lucky was born "Yap" and Lick renamed herself "[[spoiler:Storm]]".
* ''Literature/TechnicHistory'': The human poet Christopher Holm is [[GoingNative adopted]] by a [[TheClan "choth"]] of [[BirdPeople Ythrians]] under the name of Arinnian.
* In ''Literature/ThingsFallApart'', Nwoye takes a new Christian name after he converts. He chooses "Isaac". This is rather significant given [[SacrificialLamb what happened earlier]] to his adopted brother.
* In Creator/PoulAnderson's ''Literature/TimePatrol'' story "Gibraltar Falls", Manse explains at the end that [[spoiler:Feliz can't return to her own era under her own name, that's recorded history that she never did; she can, however, change her name and shift to a different one. Thomas offers "Mrs. Thomas Noruma".]]
* Creator/JRRTolkien's [[Franchise/TolkiensLegendarium Middle-Earth stories]]:
** In ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', Minas Morgul and Mirkwood forest both had other names before they were taken over by Sauron's team.
** When Minas Ithil[[labelnote:trans]]Tower of the Rising Moon[[/labelnote]] became Minas Morgul[[labelnote:trans]]Tower of Black Sorcery[[/labelnote]], the fortress-town of Minas Anor[[labelnote:trans]]Tower of the Setting Sun[[/labelnote]] on the other side of the Anduin was also renamed to Minas Tirith[[labelnote:trans]]Tower of Guard/Watch[[/labelnote]]. Tolkien also mentions that Mirkwood (originally "Greenwood the Great") was given a new, third name (Eryn Lasgalen: "Wood of Greenleaves") after the events of ''Lord of the Rings''.
** And people tend to acquire all sorts of names in all his works. Even objects get Meaningful Renames: when the [[AncestralWeapon sword Narsil]] gets reforged, Aragorn renames it Andúril.
** Aragorn's rename that was initiated to hide his identity from the Enemy, 'Estel' ('high hope' in Sindarin), is especially meaningful as he was foreseen, given the fact that Sauron was coming back and the Elves were leaving, to either be the last man of his line or the one to restore it to its former glory. The foresight came at the first from his grandmother Ivorwen, who also saw him wearing a green stone that would be the source of his other Meaningful Rename - Elessar Telcontar (Elfstone Strider). The stone itself was foretold to rightfully belong to one who would bear its name, and Aragorn's position as the HopeBringer is [=Lampshaded=] many times in the story.
** Especially CosmicPlaything Túrin's frequent renames; he hopes they'll be meaningful and he'll escape his fate; it doesn't work. Usually, his new name is a reflection on the latest tragedy to happen to him: i.e. Neithan (the Wronged), Agarwaen (the Blood-Stained), Turambar (Master of Doom). The final name gets an ironic echo--Master of Doom, by Doom mastered. (Typically, readers refer to him as Túrin Turambar when speaking of him.)
** The BigBad of ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'', Melkor, is given the name Morgoth ("the black enemy") by Fëanor after he steals the Silmarils and killed Fëanor's father. Similarly, Sauron's name before he went evil was (probably) Mairon. ("Sauron" is Elvish for "the Abhorred".)
** Many of Tolkien's bad guys are renamed or otherwise lose their names. Sméagol becomes "Gollum". Gríma becomes "Wormtongue". The Nazgûl are nameless, at least in the core books. Sauron's ambassador has forgotten his own name, and just calls himself "the Mouth of Sauron". Even Saruman ends up as just "Sharkey" (which Tolkien conjectures is from the Orcish ''Sharkû'', "Old Man").
** Several hobbits have been mentioned in the backstory who have adopted a new family name, apparently as a result of becoming leaders or patriarchs. For example, Gorhendad Oldbuck, who led the colonization of Buckland, renamed himself to Brandybuck, and his descendants like Merry use that family name. Samwise Gamgee, likewise, becomes Samwise Gardner by the end of the timeline, which seems to be the result of his work to reforest the Shire, his becoming the master of Bag End, and being the mayor of the Shire for many decades and a known friend of the King.
* ''Literature/TortallUniverse'':
** In ''Literature/SongOfTheLioness'', "Claw" is a meaningful rename for [[spoiler:Ralon of Malven]], since he looked like someone did that to him between his first appearance and his attempt to become Rogue. (It's from when a maid threw acid in his face when he tried raping her mistress.)
** Numair Salmalín of ''Literature/TheImmortals'' used to be [[Literature/TheNumairChronicles Arram Draper]] — people assumed/joked that it was because he decided that [[AwesomeMcCoolName the name wasn't cool enough]] for one of the most powerful mages in the world, but actually he changed it to hide from [[EvilOverlord the Emperor of Carthak]], who was [[BringHimToMe hunting him]] after he [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere left the Empire]]. (''And'' because it sounded cooler.)
* In ''Literature/TheTraitorSonCycle'', after his FaceHeelTurn, [[spoiler:Nita Qwan]] return to his old name Kevin Orley, which symbolizes his long-forgotten grudge against the Muriens family (the resurgence of which is what motivates his Turn).
%%* In Creator/RuthFrancesLong's ''Literature/TheTreacheryOfBeautifulThings'', Jack calls Jenny "Jenny Wren". If he had thought a little more about folklore, he might not have.
* Literature/TruemanBradley was born Truman. He changed the spelling after he decided to become a detective because a detective exposes truth.
* ''Literature/{{Uprooted}}'': People receive a name in the LanguageOfMagic from a magical artifact when they're formally accepted as new Wizards or Witches. {{Defied|Trope}} by Agnieszka, who refuses a name change because her personal identity is strongly rooted in her home community even after she trains in magic.
* Creator/LoisMcMasterBujold's ''Literature/VorkosiganSaga'': In ''Literature/CaptainVorpatrilsAlliance'', Ivan thinks, at the end, that Miles's children will be old enough to call him Uncle Ivan by the time of his return, and shudders to think of how [[SignificantNAmeShift his identity can be changed]] without his doing anything. Then he reflects on the possibility of "Da" -- which is easier because he would do it.
** Also in the same series Miles at one point reflects that he's not eager for the day that he is greeted as "Count Vorkosigan, sir?" This will signify that his father is dead, and he's the new counts. Happens at the end of "Cryoburn,"
* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'':
** In Creator/DanAbnett's Literature/{{Ravenor}} short story "Playing Patience", Patience's name was assigned hers by the orphanage in which she lived, as were her sisters', Providence and Prudence. At the climax, she concentrates on her true, original name to keep herself together. Ravenor tells her to keep that name secret and safe, and she chooses to be "Patience Kys".
** In Aaron Dembski-Bowden's novel ''Soul Hunter'', Talos's slave is named Septimus -- and we hear how Primus, Secundus, etc died. When Eurydice is captured, Septimus immediately dubs her Octavia. After Talos [[NiceToTheWaiter rescues her]] from AttemptedRape, she accepts the name.
* ''Literature/WarriorCats'':
** Cat names consist of two parts. The first part stays the same forever, while the second part changes. Kitten names all end in kit (eg Hollykit or Snowkit), apprentice names end in paw (eg Sandpaw or Dustpaw), warrior names can end in anything (eg Tigerclaw or Lionheart), and leader names all end in star (eg Bluestar or Tallstar). The clan leader can also rename elders to fit with any battle scars they might have earned, etc... E.g., a cat who lost an eye becomes One-eye. A leader can also change a young cat’s name, the only known instances being because of deformities (i.e. Deadfoot, Lostface, and Crookedjaw).
** The protagonist of the first several books starts off as a pet cat named "Rusty". When he joins Thunderclan he is renamed to "Firepaw", due to his red pelt color. Eventually that too is changed to "Fireheart" and then "Firestar".
* ''Literature/WarWithNoName'': All the animals pick new names after the [[AnthropomorphicTransformation Change.]] For instance, Sebastian calls himself Mort(e), and Jenna becomes Wawa.
* In ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'':
** The Laurel Crown of Illian is renamed the Crown of Swords after [[spoiler:Rand conquers the country, to reflect his military focus]].
** The city of Aridhol became Shadar Logoth, or Shadow's Waiting, after it was inhabited by [[FogOfDoom Mashadar]], following its original inhabitants' corruption by [[HumanoidAbomination Mordeth]].
** The thirteen Forsaken, ancient servants of the Dark One, are {{Appropriated Appellation}}s from epithets used against them when they betrayed the Light: Moghedien the Spider, Sammael the Destroyer of Hope, Ishamael the Betrayer of Hope, Lanfear the Daughter of the Night, and so on. Lanfear is an exception in that she chose her own name -- which says a lot about her character.
** Ishamael is a notable Forsaken as he goes through several names that reflect his evolution into [[TheAntichrist Nae'blis]]. First, he's Elan Morin Tedronai, renowned philosopher. Upon swearing service to the Dark One, he became Ishamael, Betrayer of Hope. After deluding himself into thinking he ''was'' the Dark One he became Ba'alzamon, Heart of the Dark. Finally, recognizing that he wasn't the Dark One but completely embracing nihilism, he becomes Moridin, which simply means "Death".
** Also rather notable is the introduction of Faile in the third book, which starts rather well when [[AtrociousAlias she introduces herself as "Blade", unintentionally taking after a horse]] one of the heroes was riding.
** The Seanchan frequently rename as they change their social status. Particularly Egeanin, who is disgraced and becomes Leilwin, and Tuon, who had a different name as a child and becomes Fortuona when she ascends to Empress.
** Similarly, in the last book Mat is given the name 'Knotai' and Min 'Darbinda', though they continue using their original names outside of the Seanchan court.
** Padan Fain goes through a lot of names as well. At first he's just Fain, even after merging with Mordeth's spirit. Later he goes by Ordeith (Wormwood) and Jeraal Mordeth, but still mostly thinks of himself as Padan Fain in his own POV. In the later books, though, as Mordeth's personality becomes more deeply integrated into him and his dark powers expand, he decides he needs a new name. [[spoiler: In the last book, having transcended humanity completely and become a creature of raw dark power loosely attached to his mortal body, he/they/it renames him/their/itself Shaisam]].
* In ''Literature/WhileTheClockChimes'', Tatti becomes friends (with hints of PuppyLove) with Brush, a poor cleaning boy at the invisibles' palace. After [[spoiler:the invisibles are defeated and run away]], she decides to ask her brothers to think up a prettier name for him to mark the start of his new life.
* In ''Literature/{{Wicked}}'', Gregory Maguire has [[Literature/TheWonderfulWizardOfOz Glinda]] give up on trying to make people call her by the Gillikinese name Galinda [[spoiler:as a kind of symbol of mourning after Doctor Dillamond's death]].
* In ''Literature/WideSargassoSea'' by Creator/JeanRhys, a retelling of the story of the MadwomanInTheAttic from ''Literature/JaneEyre'', the protagonist is actually called Antoinette; she gains the name "Bertha" seen in ''Jane Eyre'' as a result of her husband imposing it on her in an attempt to control who she is. On the converse, on a meta level, Rhys's changing the original Bertha's name to Antoinette has a similar effect of changing the character into something she wasn't in the first place, in this case a rounded character portrayed sympathetically and based on her own experiences instead of a random maliciously insane plot device.
* ''Literature/WitchWorld'': In ''The Jargoon Pard'', in the opening, two mothers give children names that their lives may be well-set before them. One does it to claim the boy, since she knows they were switched.
* ''Literature/{{Worm}}'' has several examples:
** The supervillain [[spoiler:Madcap]], who upon capture cuts a deal with the authorities to become a superhero called [[spoiler:Assault]] (a move which ticks off [[spoiler:Battery]] for several reasons);
** The superhero [[spoiler:Armsmaster]], who after [[spoiler:being targeted for 'recruitment' into the Slaughterhouse Nine -- a gang of mass murderer supervillains --]] chooses to [[spoiler:escape house arrest with Dragon]], change his name to [[spoiler:Defiant]], and [[spoiler:go hunting the Nine]];
** The supervillain [[spoiler:Skitter]], who, reacting to [[spoiler:the prophecy of the end of the world]], negotiates a deal with the authorities to surrender and become a probationary superhero called [[spoiler:Weaver]];
** The superhero [[spoiler:Weaver]] gets renamed [[spoiler: Kephri, after mind-controlling almost every Parahuman to fight Scion.]][[note]]Kephri is an Egyptian sun god, and fits the Endbringer naming convention[[/note]]
** The supervillain [[spoiler:Glaistig Uaine]] becomes TheAtoner following [[spoiler:the death of Scion]] and takes up the name [[spoiler:Valkyrie]].
* Inverted in ''Literature/YoungWizards'': Nita ''changes'' the [[{{Satan}} Lone Power's]] TrueName to allow a possibility of redemption, [[spoiler: which it takes a few books later]].
* In the second story arc of the ''Literature/GuardiansOfGaHoole'' series, Nyroc, formerly the prince of TheRemnant of the [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Pure Ones]], changes his name to Coryn to separate himself from his former life and become an owl of good following his flight from his family.
* Throughout the novel that started it all, only two people refer to the youngest Corleone as "Michael": his father and his wife. To everyone else he's "Mike," except his mom, who calls him the even more diminutive "Mikey." And then he executes (pun intended) his master-stroke in the penultimate chapter. The next time he meets his ''caporegimes,'' they address him as "Don ''Michael,"'' [[Film/TheGodfather the new Godfather]].
** Less portentously, Vito Andolini changes his name to that of his hometown, Corleone, when he immigrates to America. He does this to make it harder for his Sicilian would-be killers to finish their vendetta, but also "...to preserve some tie with his native village. It was one of the few gestures of sentiment he was ever to make." (Averted in the film, which had his name changed by a careless immigration clerk on Ellis Island.)
* Mary Yoo from ''Literature/MiracleCreek'' was known as Meh-hee-yah in Korea. When she moved to America as a preteen, her mother helped her pick out the name Mary, the closest approximation she could think of. Her first months and years in America were so traumatic that she started thinking of the two names as different people - Meh-hee-yah was an outgoing girl who got in trouble for chatting too much and could argue her way out of most punishments, while Mary was quiet, obedient, and alone.
* Georg Jewell from ''Literature/{{Shtum}}'' was born Georg Friedman, but changed it at age ten after his whole family died in UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust. [[spoiler:He picked his name from two sources: "Jonatan's Jewel," his brother's beloved piece of Bohemia glass, and the Jewelly Sanatorium for Autistic Children, where Jonatan spent his final months.]]
-->'''Georg''': I was somebody else, so I should change my name and what else could it be?
* ''Literature/Green2009'': Green is involuntarily named "Emerald" by the court where she is enslaved- she eventually chooses the name "Green" for herself.
* ''Literature/TheBalladOfBlackTom'': Tommy starts going by Black Tom after the death of his father Otis, saying, "My birth name has no more power over me. It died with my daddy."
* ''Literature/TheCatWhoSeries'': When Polly's new cat is introduced in book #10 (''The Cat Who Talked to Ghosts''), he's named Bootsie, and turns out to be a real brat. His behavior, and Polly's towards him, improves once she renames him Brutus in book #19 (''The Cat Who Tailed a Thief'').
* ''Literature/RWBYRomanHoliday'': Neopolitan's original name was Trivia Vanille. However, as a child, she had an imaginary friend called Neo; once she realised that her "imaginary friend" was really the early [[MasterOfIllusion manifestation of her Semblance]], she embraced the alter ego as being a part of herself and took the name for her own. Her appearance is therefore a trifecta of her original self, her imaginary friend's appearance, and influences from her relationship with Roman.
* In ''Literature/TooBrightToSee'', trans boy Bug eventually picks his new name: [[spoiler:Tommy, after his late uncle Roderick's middle name, Thomas]].
* ''Literature/TheMermaidsMirror'': [[spoiler:When the mermaid Melusina went on land to live as a human woman, she started going by Lucy.]]
* ''Literature/TheMer'': Humans who transform into Mer are strongly encouraged to pick a new name to emphasize [[ThatManIsDead the deaths of their human selves]]. Shona's name means "God is gracious" because she's grateful to Him for her life under the ocean. Will named himself after the only thing he had left after the loss of everything from her former life. Val, previously named Elizabeth, gives herself a name short for Valiant or Valor.
* ''Literature/TheMermansChildren'':
** The merman's youngest daughter Yria has always been weak, and her siblings worry that she won't be able to survive a long journey. She takes after her human mother Agnete enough to pass for human, so they leave her on land with Father Knud to be raised as a human girl. The archdeacon renames her Margrete and arranges for her to be baptized.
** [[spoiler:In Dalmatia, all the merfolk take on new names when they convert to Christianity and gain mortal souls. Vanimen becomes Andrei, and Eyjan becomes Dagmar.]]
