How To Make A Fresh Start: Change Your Name:
Have you made any New Year resolutions yet? If yes, how long do you think you’ll keep to them? In an article for the Guardian on 5th January, the freelance journalist Ellie Hunt expressed her determination to complete the first draft of a novel – and then admitted that this is something she’s been trying to achieve since 2017. Nevertheless, she proclaimed, 2022 will be different: she’ll definitely do it.
According to YouGov, 16% of those they questioned in Britain say they’ve made resolutions for this 
year compared to just 11% in 2021. Top of their list is doing more exercise and improving their fitness (49%), followed by balancing their diet (41%), losing weight (40%), saving more money (39%), enhancing their professional prospects (19%) and logging on less to social media platforms (16%). Only 14% aim to redecorate or renovate their homes and even fewer (12%) to spend more time with their families. YouGov has also observed that, despite the cliché that most people anyway break the promises they make to themselves, 38% of men and 26% of women claim that they kept at 
least some of the resolutions they made for 2021.
On 15th June 2020, “Glamour” magazine’s contributing editor, Josh Smith, asked his readers if they’d ever fantasised about acquiring a new identity. Although this is not one of the aspirations featuring in the YouGov survey, according to the BBC News correspondent, Caroline McClatchley, an increasing number are choosing to emulate the precedent already set by generations of movie and music personalities by changing their given or family names or both.
Michael Caine
Lady Gaga
Elton John
As was highlighted in the 2019 film “Rocketman”, Elton John was originally “Robert Kenneth Dwight” but felt he needed (in the words of Josh Smith) something “jazzier” to advance his career. Likewise Lady Gaga (formerly Stefani Joanne Angelina), the actors Michael Caine (Maurice Joseph Micklewhite), Charlie Sheen (Carlos Irwin Estevez) and Helen Mirren (Ilynea Lydia Mironoff), Rihanna (Robyn Fenty), the American rapper Jay-Z (Shawn Corey Carter), Whoopi Goldberg (Caryn Elaine Johnson), Jennifer Anniston (birth-name:”Anastassakis”) and a host of others. Marilyn Monroe began life as
“Norma Jean Mortensen” and Meghan Markle’s first name is “Rachel”.
Julia Creswell, the author of the “Bloomsbury Dictionary Of First Names” and several other books on this topic, takes the view that there’s nothing wrong with assuming a new name , even one identified with a celebrity or a sports star, unless its done for criminal purposes, such as an intent to deceive or defraud and (so she told McClatchley), it’s a way individuals can “emancipate themselves from the past”.
King George V
Rihanna
The Guardian’s information manager, Richard Nelsson, has noted that this was precisely why on 17th July1917, in response to the strong anti-German feeling in the country during the First World War, King George V issued a proclamation transforming the British Royal family’s name from the German “Saxe-Coburg and Gotha” to the English “Windsor”, Prince Louis of Battenberg was given the title of “Marquis of Milford Haven” and Prince Alexander of Teck became “Earl of Athlone”.
The UK Deed Poll Office (DPO) emphasises that switching to another personal designation is likely to be a legal matter, hence to use it for your passport, driving licence and bank cards you’ll need to obtain the appropriate documentation. This can be done online and currently only costs £18.50. If the order is placed before 3pm Monday-Friday, confirmation will be emailed the same day and the certificate then sent by post accompanied by guidance as to how it should be signed and witnessed.
Among the many reasons for applications, states the DPO, are: people not liking their given name, to correct its spelling, to create a double-barrelled surname (such as “Taylor-Smith”), to anglicise their name in order to have a better chance of getting a job, to reflect their new gender, political opinion or religious conversion, to prevent being found by a former partner (or perhaps creditors) or to be known by a celebrity’s name (for example Shakira, Madonna or Ronaldo), although if you then use it to sell a product, this will constitute an “infringement of intellectual property and copyright law”.
Other possible restrictions include anything in the wording which the DPO considers to be defamatory, 
libellous, profane, associated with criminal gangs or activity, could cause public offence or contains numbers, symbols and punctuation marks, mononyms (such as “Adele”, “Cher” or “Bono”) but apostrophes (as in “O’Reilly”) are allowed. Furthermore, adding a noble, aristocratic, religious or academic title (Lord, Lady, Sir, Doctor, Professor), can be rejected if you can’t provide proof that you have the right to use it, but there’s no limit on the number of times you can alter your name. You can do so whenever you wish, on payment of the stipulated fee. However, you must then use only your new name, until or unless you opt to change it yet again.
The procedure is available to all UK residents, including non-British citizens, although the DPO advises anyone in that category to contact their embassy to verify what has to be done to have the name change legally recognised in their country of birth.