We often find saints commemorated as \\"St. so-and-so, in Baptism so-and-so.\\" This is true of St. Vladimir who is fully commemorated as \\"Equal of the Apostles Great Prince Vladimir, in Holy Baptism Basil, the Enlightener of the Russian Land.\\" His worldly name is sanctified with his glorification, paving the way for all of the Vladimirs we (or at least I) come into contact with every day. St. Olga was baptized as \\"Helen.\\" Having a patron saint is for our benefit. They unceasingly pray for us and we have their lives as an example to emulate the best we can. I do not believe that not legally changing one\'s name in any way cheapens one\'s baptism/chrismation. As a priest, I would not deter anyone from doing so, but I would also not insist upon it either. I have not legally changed my name and do not see a reason to as only a handful of people know me, let alone call me, anything other than Fr. Gregory.
With regards to Peter, \\"Cephas\\" is the masculine version of \\"cepha\\" (kefa) the aramaic word translated in Greek as \\"petra\\" (masculine - \\"petros.\\" See Jn. 1:42), and Paul, or Pavlos, comes from the Latin \\"Paulus\\" meaning \\"small\\" and \\"humble.\\" One thing we in the modern world tend to forget is that names mean something. It is likely that Paul changed his name not just because he became a follower of Christ, but as a kind of penance for his persecution of the early Church and to reflect his status as \\"doulos Christou Iesou\\" - \\"a slave of Christ Jesus\\" (Rom. 1:1).
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