Name Changing

Several years ago I read a post on a forum about an adoptee changing her name after reuniting with her birth family. At the time, I thought the idea was absurd. I couldn't wrap my head around changing your name to match people you don't even know. Since then I have reunited with my birth family, and my bio father was already deceased. The thought has crossed my mind briefly to change my middle name to his last name instead of my maiden name. I am also a big believer though, that where you came from is important, good or bad. What you have been through makes you who you are. And however much, I may not like my maiden name, it is part of who I am. My friend was physically and emotional abused as a child by her mom and her mom's boyfriend. She was placed in foster care and was never adopted. She was raised to believe her bio dad was the man from her mother's previous relationship. Recently she took a DNA test in order to find her father. The test confirmed that the man from her childhood who took part in the abuse was her biological father. She has started the legal process of changing her last name to something other than his. I completely understand her doing so and sympathize with her. How do you feel about changing your name to match or to no longer match that of your birth family?