As I mentioned in a similar thread... I'm strongly against the idea of name changes.

The only way to tell "who is who" in-game is by their name. If people's names change at 2.0, everyone will be totally anonymous again. It'll be like a total game reboot rather than a large patch. People's reputations will be gone, and you'll likely lose contact with some friends or LS mates.

I just can't see an advantage to allowing name changes. Race, sure, knock yourself out. But your name is your identity, and it shouldn't change.