She was born Emma Richardson.
But earlier this year she changed her surname to Mango.
Emma, 24, is one of between 30,000 and 100,000 people in England, Wales and Northern Ireland who change their monikers every year.
The acupuncturist who lives in Chester rejected Richardson in July after years of contemplating a name change.
She said: “I’d never really been keen on Richardson and when I was at university began to think seriously about getting rid of it.
“I decided on Mango pretty early on, so didn’t have to think hard about what to change it to.
“My family were not keen, apart from my nan who is a Richardson.
“She was all for it and said she wished she could change her name too.
“My friends and partner really like my new name and I got used to it very quickly.”
When selecting her new mantle Emma said she wanted her choice to “reflect the person she wanted to be”.
She said: “Mango has a much nicer ring to it than Richardson.
“It’s soft and gentle and cool-sounding.
“Mango is an Italian name but is not that common over there.”
Meanwhile Sarah Naomi Young said she changed her name by deed poll on her 30th birthday to Esme-Anastazia Freyja Lannister Young.
Esme of Hough Green, Chester said: “I liked the name Esme.
“It’s not a reference to Twilight. (Vampire movie series.)
“It’s more of a reference to the fact it means loved and is also the shortened name of Granny Weatherwax, a fictional character from Terry Pratchett’s Discworld.
“I picked Anastazia because it means reborn and in a poetic sort of way, changing my name has helped me overcome issues I had being Sarah.
“Freyja because she is the goddess of love, beauty, war and death in Norse mythology.
“She also has a chariot pulled by two cats and I am a bit of a crazy cat lady.
“Lannister is a reference to Game of Thrones.”
In the popular television series the House Lannister is one of the Great Houses of Westeros.
Esme continued: “I decided to keep my original surname as it felt wrong to change it.”
Deed poll is a legal document allowing applicants to change names and get all official documents and records changed to show the new moniker on passports, driving licences, bank accounts, credit cards and medical records.
People can change their names provided they don’t intend to deceive or defraud.
Anyone applying must be aged at least 16-years-old.
Deed polls are not part of Scottish law.
Anyone whose birth is registered in Scotland, or who was legally adopted in Scotland can apply for a recorded change of name through the General Register Office.
Deed polls can be issued by solicitors or applicants can do it themselves online.
However, many people turn to companies to help them such as Deed Poll Office, based in Warrington.
Fees vary and range from £14 for a single name change with some companies to £130 at others for a “family package” of one adult and two children.
According to Deed Poll Office the most common reasons for a change include changing a name to that of a partner’s on marriage/civil partnership or reverting to a maiden name post-divorce/break-up.
Children’s names are often changed to the same surname of their mother’s/ father’s/step-father’s or to a double-barrelled name.
Others like Emma and Esme are motivated by simply not liking their birth name.
Often those with a name that is difficult to spell or pronounce decide to change their names to something simpler.
Changing a name for religious reasons is also common.
For example adopting an Islamic name, or for Sikhs adopting a family name.
Sikhs traditionally all have the same surname, Singh for men or Kaur for women.
A spokesman for Deed Poll Office said: “We’d estimate that the number of people changing name by deed poll is between 30,000 and 100,000 people per year.
“It’s difficult to know the reason why people want to change their names.
“We don’t ask our clients why they want to change their name, but they often tell us anyway, so we do have a good idea.”
