Do you PERSONALLY know anyone, including yourself, who, for whatever reason, changed the name given to him/her at birth?

"Yes" ... my Mother.  Her birth certificate showed her name given at birth, but a year later when she was baptized, her baptismal papers showed another.  Granted, she didn't do that, but she never used her birth name during her ninety-one years of life. Neither did anyone else!!

  Many people who emigrate to countries, cultures or societies that differ greatly from their own opt to legally change either their names, the spelling of their names, the pronunciation of their names, or the meaning of their names so that they may better assimilate. In the US, the naturalization process for foreign nationals to become US citizens, there is a section on the application that allows for such a change. Doing so on the form saves the applicant the expense and paperwork necessary to petition a court to change his or her name. 

  I personally know someone who has done just this. 

When I married I started using my husband's name, eventually even at work, which actually I like better and I think sounds better than my own. 

no