CapriUni: I don't know about the effect on personality, but a change of name can certainly affect someones attitude to life. Someone I know had a bad stutter and, like most stutterers, found saying his own name one of the hardest things to do. [This is because you say your name when you meet new people, which is a comparatively stressful situation especially when a teenager as you are very concerned about the impression you make on others]

When he married, they took the wife's surname rather than his, jettisoned all that anguish and is far happier as a result.

A serious response to a light-hearted thread - sorry about that!