What are the potential downsides of changing my name from something very unusual to something very common? (job, career)

[lafemmeviolonista]

I don't know which sub-forum to put this question into, so sorry if this isn't the right place. Mods, feel free to move this if it's better suited for another sub-forum.

I have an extremely rare name - with my first name only and the city I live, anyone can use the internet or a public records search to find where I live. I’m the only person who has my name in the country so anyone with my first and last name can find out what city I currently live in and tons of other info.

What are the potential drawbacks of changing my name to something very common?

Some add'l info:

-I've been a victim of stalking and I want to prevent future occurrences.

-I changed my name once before, when I was 18, but that was before I had trusts and properties, etc, so I know it will be more complicated this time around.

-I'm technically financially independent but I will probably want to work a regular job again within the next few years. I suppose having a generic name could be a slight disadvantage (planning on doing something entrepreunerial or computer programming related, so online freelance-y type of stuff). On the other hand, if I am going to change my name, I figure I should do it now before launching a new career.

-I have explored a lot of other ways of protecting my privacy: I regularly request removal of my info from the sites that aggregate it, I use a nickname these days so that the only people who know my legal name are health care providers and anyone else who has to see official documentation. Still, it's a hassle, and I'd prefer that anyone who had or will have my legal name to not be able to track me down easily. With a generic name, I will get lost in a sea of "Jane Doe"s and it'll be hard for someone to know which of them is me. I've thoroughly researched this from various books on privacy.



Anything I'm not thinking of?