As a child growing up in Australia , Louise Pain hated her surname.

"People used to tease me; I was called things like 'Pain in the a*s,'" she told DW. "I remember actively hating my surname when I was a child and wanting to change it."

The jokes have followed her throughout her life, even after she moved to Germany . But one thing did eventually change: Pain's feelings about her own name.

Names are not only a fundamental part of how we identify ourselves — they can, beyond teasing, also influence how other people treat us . So, what happens if we dislike our own name , or if it is perceived negatively by those around us?

"A person's name is vital to their sense of identity," psychoanalyst Mikita Brottman told DW.…