Is it okay? But I'm not talking about marriages or due to convictions in the past... Just... for whatever reason. Odd enough, the way my name is laid out, and the way I look, I should be a Langley. XD
In the US you can go to the courts and apply for a name change, not sure of the processes, but I have seen and heard of people doing it, for example I seen one just yesterday someone legally changed their name to Janet the Planet for some strange reason and there as been a few others.
I have known two people go through this process, both as an act of disassociation from other members of their family. It is a very involved process, not only do you have to go through all the forms, legal processes etc, but subsequent to the deed poll being granted, you need to apply for new bank accounts, new passport, new driving license etc, basically all documentation you own in your old name has to be reissued in your new name, so its a long process.
Personally I don't see what the big deal is with wanting to change a persons name, but there are a lot of strange things I don't understand, but seems to be thats a lot of crap to go though just for a name change.
My family name is very infamous around where I live. Mainly because my uncles are crooks. They used to own businesses locally and would take advantage of their customers and/or do shoddy work. I have enough of a reputation locally though that it doesn't affect me too much. My father did tell me that if I ever met a local girl, that I should make sure who her real grandfather is before I do anything. Apparently my Grandfather has quite a few illegitimate children in the area...
My maternal grandfather somehow "acquired" someone's identity when he deserted the Taiwan army and came to the United States. Therefore, my uncle changed his last name back to the original family name.
