- Assassin's Creed:
- At the end of Assassin's Creed Origins, Aya renames herself Amunet "the Hidden One". Amunet is also the Egyptian goddess of air and invisibility. The name means "the female hidden one" or "one who is hidden".
- In Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, after losing both of her children in one night and exiling herself from Sparta, Myrrine started going by Phoenix, symbolizing her intent to rebuild her life from ashes.
- Battle for Wesnoth: Midway through the Secrets of the Ancients campaign, Ras-Tabahn tells Ardonna about how Alduin mages would get a new name when they complete their studies. Since Ardonna is a free mage now, she decides that she is not the ordinary girl Ardonna anymore and gives herself a new name: Ardryn-Na.
- In Andrew Schultz's Bright Brave Knight Knave, you meet a man drinking named Losing Lou. After you give him a pep talk, he renames himself to Turning-to-Learning Lou and writes an entire book on cocktail napkins.
- Kingdom Hearts:
- In Kingdom Hearts II, we learn that the real Ansem the Wise renamed himself DiZ, or "Darkness In Zero" after going into exile following Xehanort doing research on the heart and destroying Radiant Garden, which was renamed Hollow Bastion. Xehanort himself infamously took Ansem's name after banishing him.
- The Nobodies in Kingdom Hearts II also get a meaningful rename: their real/former names anagrammed and an "X" added to it. It's then revealed as a further meaningful rename in that Big Bad Xemnas was influenced into adding not an "X", but a "χ" (Greek letter for "chi", or, "key"), in reference to the "χ-blade".
- In The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky - The 3rd, Kevin's decision to change his Dominion title at the end of the game is meaningful on its own, and not only because it's the first time in the history of the Gralsritter than anyone has done that. What he changes it to is even more meaningful as his new title is adapted from Rufina's own.
- Chrono Trigger: While all player characters are subject to Hello, [Insert Name Here], most of them gained meaningful renames as part of the plot:
- Marle's real name is Nadia and she came up with the pseudonym when she introduced herself to Chrono so she wouldn't be recognized as the princess.
- Robo was (re)named when the party first met him. He was originally Prometheus and then gained the name/alias R66-Y as a infiltration unit for Mother Brain.
- Frog's original name is Glenn, but he acquiesces to being nicknamed as such by Lucca.
- Magus, true name Janus, is either a pseudonym or a title he gained.
- Garnet in Final Fantasy IX takes up the new name Hello, [Insert Name Here] (Dagger by default) early on in the game both to conceal her identity and to represent the beginning of her casting aside her previous identity as a sheltered princess. Later on in the game, it's revealed 'Garnet' is one as well since her real name is Sarah and she was adopted by the Queen.
- In Super Lesbian Animal RPG, Melody, a trans woman, explains to her girlfriend Allison why she chose the name she did when she transitioned. She thought of a "melody" as being the centerpiece and most important part of a song, and wanted a name that gives her confidence in who she wants to become, not just in becoming a woman but also becoming an important part of her adventuring guild with her friends.
- In Wing Commander, Marcus Chen was formerly a reckless pilot known as "Ripper"; many of the pilots who emulated him ended up dead. He eventually became a more cautious pilot, and for setting an example to others, became known as "Bossman".
- In Dungeon Keeper, like the Lord of the Rings example above, the cities all have Sickeningly Sweet names before you capture them and transform each into Mordor, along with an appropriate rename.
- In World of Warcraft, some Forsaken (playable undead) have decided to change their name to reflect the fact that they have drastically changed. But the best example is the black dragon Neltharion, who changed his name to "Deathwing" in The War of the Ancients after his betrayal of the other dragonflights.
- In an inversion, Thrall got his name from his upbringing as a slave. After becoming Warchief of the Horde, he eventually (in Burning Crusade) travels to his homeland and learns that his original name was Go'el. He decides to continue using "Thrall" as his name as a constant reminder of the suffering his people went through, even rebuking a shaman who addresses him by his birth name. In Cataclysm, he changes his name back to Go'el due to his role/destiny as a shaman first (and not the Warchief), no longer a slave to the influence of others.
- Technically, the rename of Neltharion to Deathwing is the result of a Stable Time Loop, as it was first accidentally uttered by a time traveler. Then again, this time traveler (along with two others) have also made changes to the timeline, so it's not exactly a stable loop. By the same token, Neltharion's artifact Dragon Soul is renamed to Demon Soul by the same time traveler after its true purpose is revealed.
- To honor the memory of those who were killed by the Scourge, the remnants of the High Elves renamed their race the Blood Elves.
- In Mass Effect, the quarians incorporate their assigned ship into their names; for young quarians, their first assignment and name change is part of their Rite of Passage. This comes up in Mass Effect 2 when one of your allies is reassigned to your ship without her knowledge as part of a plot to try her for treason, and is renamed "Tali'Zorah vas Normandy"; when the trial is over, she keeps the name.
- In Mass Effect 3, you can speak to a Quarian engineer who was mortally wounded fighting the Geth to allow his crewmates time to escape. After he dies, Tali renames him for the planet he died on: Dorn Hazt vas Rannoch.
- Krogan must complete the Rite in order to enter adulthood and gain a place in krogan society. When Grunt completes the Rite, his name is changed to Urdnot Grunt, marking him as having earned a place as one of Clan Udrnot's warriors. Those Krogan who become their clan’s shaman surrender their name completely and are only addressed as Clan-name Shaman.
- Metal Gear:
- Metal Gear Solid: With Metal Gear REX in Liquid Snake's possession, Liquid intends to fulfill Big Boss's dream of a world which had a place for soldiers. Thus renaming Shadow Moses to Outer Heaven.
"From today... call this place... 'Outer Heaven'."- Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain: Big Boss, after finally embracing the name "Big Boss" in the previous game, once again drops it and dubs himself Punished (Venom) Snake after losing his Mother base and MSF troops, as well as his left arm, to XOF and Cipher. However it turns out that Venom was actually one of the real Big Boss' most trusted soldiers who was surgically altered to look like him. By the time that Venom learns this, his deeds have enhanced the legend of "Big Boss" and eventually agrees to serve as his "phantom", turning the legacy of Big Boss as the world's greatest soldier into a secret legacy shared by two men. Venom would keep up his appearance of Big Boss until Solid Snake killed him in the original Outer Heaven, whereupon the original took the name back for the sequel.
- In Blaze Union, it's explained that both Gulcasa and Emilia were forced to use fake names by Gulcasa's mother in order to masquerade as humans. Over the canon route of the game, both of them discard those names as a way to cast off their weaknesses and be true to the way they were born. In Gulcasa's case, it's a powerful statement of will, and also his real name has a much harsher sound than his former name "Garlot"; Emilia's name means "to excel" whereas her fake name meant "beloved", which fits her drive to stop being looked at as the Tagalong Kid instead of someone actually capable of making a difference.
- Fable II's example can be summed up in three words: Call me Hammer.
- At the end of Jak 3: Wastelander, Jak asks the Precursors to call him by his real name, Mar, when they offer him to come with them. It doesn't stick, and come Jak X: Combat Racing he's (obviously) back to his old name.
- Bravely Default has a meta example. The title screen features the full name: Bravely Default: Where the Fairy Flies or Bravely Default: Flying Fairy. After Airy is revealed to be the Big Bad, the title screen changes slightly: some letters are removed, spelling "Airy lies" or "Lying Airy" instead. Could double as an Interface Spoiler if another player stumbles upon it by accident.
- Final Fantasy XIII: Lightning, original name Claire Farron (Eclair in the Japanese release), chose her new alias after the premature deaths of her parents, and the heavy responsibilities (getting a job, maintaining a household, raising her 12-year-old sister) that came with them. It's also indicative of her emotional detachment, which began as a way of being strong for Serah, but has since wrecked their relationship. Probing a bit deeper reveals that "Lightning" was originally her Guardian Corps callsign, but her detachment meant that "Claire" soon became who she used to be, to the point that even her sister Serah calls her by Lightning.
- In Touhou Project, Sakuya Izayoi was given that name when she entered Remilia Scarlet's service, and her original name has not been mentioned. Sakuya can mean "Flowering Night", "Last Night", and "Night of the New Moon". Izayoi can mean "Sixteenth Night" and "Not progress forward at all". All of these relate to her Time Master abilities.
- This is the case with Yukari Yakumo as well. The kanji in her given name simply means "purple", however the reading means "edge" or "boundary". Her family name on the other hand hints at the connection to her human doppelganger in the outside world, Maribel Hearn. Both are named for a late 19th-early 20th century author named Lafcadio Hearn, who changed his name to Koizumi Yakumo after becoming a Japanese citizen.
- Tales of Destiny: Leon Magnus, twice. His original name was Emilio Gilchrist/ Katrea, but he changed it due to hating his father and wanting to distance himself from him. His second rename, Judas, is given to him after he's brought back from the dead. It also counts as Faux Symbolism, as he betrayed his original friends before his death.
- In The Third Age total conversion mod for Medieval II: Total War, based on The Lord of the Rings, when Gondor captures Minas Morgul, the name changes to Minas Ithil (its original name).
- A meta example with Final Fantasy XV. At E3 2013, the trailer for the long in Development Hell Final Fantasy Versus XII ended with this line:The legend meets its match. But, the world is ever changing... For the fifteenth coming.
- Dragon Nest: Rose renames herself as Rosalinde after she did a Face–Heel Turn and becomes a member of the Dragon Cultists.
- Mangle from Five Nights at Freddy's 2 was originally known as "Toy Foxy." However, after being dismantled by toddlers over and over, the company decided to just leave them as a 'build-it-yourself' attraction. The result of this decision is how Mangle earned their name. And it shows.
- Five Nights at Freddy's 3 introduces us to Springtrap. A hazardous mechanical mascot costume hybrid formerly known as "Spring Bonnie." His lethally faulty springlocks are what led to him being decommissioned and renamed, as he was clearly deemed a trap by the staff.
- In The House in Fata Morgana, Michelle renames themselves Michel to signify that they're actually male.
- In Dark Souls, Gwyn the Lord of Sunlight becomes Gwyn Lord of the Cinder after sacrificing the Lord Soul that granted him his powers over light and becoming kindling for the First Flame. The name change highlights How the Mighty Have Fallen. In Dark Souls III, Aldrich is introduced as the Saint of the Deep. When he is fought as a boss proper, he has taken on a new title Aldrich the Devourer of Gods — fitting since he has devoured Gwyndolin and is using him as a "face". The same game also has Alva the Wayfarer, a character known only in lore in Dark Souls II, show up as an invader named Alva Seeker of the Spurned. This is because he lost his beloved witch Zullie and has been seeking her by invading other worlds.
- Bloodborne is the first Soulsborne game to have these title-changes occur to boss subtitles in the middle of the boss fight, as in the DLC Ludwig the Accursed returns to being Ludwig, the Holy Blade when he has a Restoration of Sanity. Elden Ring has this happen several more times, with the God-Devouring Serpent becoming Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy, Godfrey, First Elden Lord becoming Hoarah Loux, Warrior, and Malenia, Blade of Miquella becoming Malenia, Goddess of Rot. Outside of boss fights, there's Godrick the Golden (last of the Golden Lineage) becoming Godrick the Grafted (because he dismembered hundreds of people and stuck their limbs on himself), and Godwyn the Golden becoming Godwyn, Prince of Death upon being half-killed during the Night of Black Knives.
- In The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Ganon, the Big Bad of the whole Zelda series, is almost consistently referred to as "Calamity Ganon." Not "the calamity, Ganon," but "Calamity Ganon" as a whole proper noun. Previous incarnations of Ganon(dorf) were given fancy extra titles such as "Prince of Darkness," "Great King of Evil," and "Dark Lord," but this incarnation of Ganon is considered to be such a destructive entity that "Calamity" has come to be considered part of its proper name.
- In Fallout 4, the raider gang known as the Forged operate out of an iron foundry and have a fondness for flame-based weapons. Their leader Slag even forces all initiated members to change their names to something associated with fire, heat or burning. When someone refused, Slag threw him into the iron furnace.
- Nathan Drake, the protagonist of Uncharted, was born Nathan Morgan. He and his brother were forced to go on the run as teens and took the surname Drake to honor their mother (a historian) who believed that Sir Francis Drake had heirs.
- In Persona 3, the group of shadow-hunters the protagonist works with are known as the Specialized Extra-curicular Execution Squad (S.E.E.S.). Near the end of the game, after they decide to face the supposedly unbeatable entity Nyx, who will bring about The End of the World as We Know It, against the advice of Ryoji, who will unwillingly bring forth Nyx, the Fool social link (which represents the bond with your party members) is maxed out, and the Judgement social link is initiated, re-christening the group as the Nyx Annihilation Team.
- Final Fantasy Tactics has a case of this, though only if the player checks the Chronicle option repeatedly as the game progresses. Ramza starts the game with his regular name of Ramza Beoulve, but after Chapter 1, he changes his name to his mother's surname, Ruglia, to distance himself from his family after everything that happened in the first chapter and his disgust with his brothers. Later, he returns to his name of Beoulve when he stops hiding from the past and follows his own path. Interestingly, both cases of this come with a Significant Wardrobe Shift.
- Sega of Australia initially was tasked with creating the SEGA Reborn series, a group of reboots that would be connected through a hub world. While SEGA of Australia shuttered and the project was shelved, one of the games, Golden Axe Reborn, had their prototype released for SEGA's 60th anniversary under the name Golden Axed.
- Destiny has a few, most of which are hidden in the lore:
- Most of the original Awoken underwent something like this when they were reborn in the Distributary. For example, the human Uldwyn Sov became the Awoken Uldren Sov.
- Most Guardians undergo this, though they may not be aware of it, as they are resurrected with no memory of their past. Unless the Guardian finds some evidence to point to their previous name, most take a new one.
- All three of the Hive's rulership did something similar when they made their pact with the Worm Gods. The clever Sathona became Savathûn, the martial Xi Ro became Xivu Arath, and the curious Aurash became Auryx. Auryx would undergo a second one when he learned the power to Take, becoming Oryx.
- One of the first Risen to be called a "Guardian" was called Rezyl Azzir, but towards the end, he took another name. After an encounter Xyor, the Unwed, Azzir became a monster that slaughtered villages and permanently killed other Guardians, and took the name Dredgen Yor, which meant "Eternal Abyss" in a forgotten language."Same meat, same bone, but so very different."
- The lore reveals that the Emissary of the Nine has undergone several of these. She was born as the human Nasya Sarwar, and when reborn as an Awoken in the Distributary she became Nasan Ar. After returning to the solar system and heading to Earth, she died and was resurrected as a Guardian, taking the name Orin. Finally, she sought out the Nine and was turned into their Emissary, surrendering her old identity and self completely.
- In Overwatch, it was revealed that the character Jesse McCree actually had the birthname Cole Cassidy, but took an alias when he became an outlaw. After officially rejoining Overwatch, he decided that the first step of letting go of his criminal past would be to take back his original name. Real-life reason
- Bioshock Infinite: it eventually comes out that the Big Bad, Zachary Comstock, was not born with that name. He took that name after being baptized and "reborn" as a new man. His birth name was Booker DeWitt, and he is an Alternate Timeline version of the Booker the player is playing as.
- The King of Fighters XV: Krohnen's backstory establishes him as having changed his name from K9999 after cutting ties with his former employers NESTS. When Ángel calls him by his old name, he gets particularly snappy:"Ángel, the name's Krohnen. Next time you screw that up, you'll regret it."
- Shantae: Risky's Revenge: The little girl to the left of the Scuttle Town save room after getting the second magic seal and the town being owned by Ammo Baron:I'm changing my name to AMMO BARON JUNIOR! My mom protests.
