It's a fairly recent thing; I'd pretty much decided that at some point (depending on finances etc) I would get rid of my original name. I had been going to change my first name to Leah and retain my original first name as a middle name, and then the voice in my head was like, "you still hate that name so why would you do this?". So Chaya it is. :D I ♥ it too, though explaining the pronunciation is going to be a bitch. (The C is silent, as in most Yiddish or Hebrew names. Odd how I reject my father but not his heritage XD)

Court costs would run me about $130-$135--not that much in the grand scheme of things, but when you make the miniscule profits I do, it's a huge amount of money. Indiana law requires publishing your intent to change your name in the local paper; fortunately, it's a small town, so it's fairly cheap, but that's still MOAR MONEY. Also, I'd kinda like to pay down my debts first so it doesn't look like I'm trying to dodge creditors. :\ Indiana law does allow common-law name change, but it's a lot more watertight to go ( ... )