Can't I Just Write My Own Story?

A name is a powerful thing. A name decides a first impression. Some people have a cute, creative story behind their name. Me? Not so much. My parents wanted a "M" name so I would be named after my mother's late mother whose name was Margaret. My parents allowed my oldest brothers to pick my name, one wanted Michelle, and one wanted Mara. My oldest brother looked up the meaning of Mara in hebrew and discovered it meant "bitter" in hebrew. This was his reasoning for me to not be named Mara. Obviously that was not successful.
My name thus far in my life has not bothered me one way or another. However, I am worried that my last name will affect my career later in life. If I stick with my current plan, which is to become a lawyer, I don't want anyone to be able to say my success is only because of who my parents are. My oldest brother, bless his heart, is a lawyer whose success, while well deserved, was enhanced by his parents success. I want my success to be individual. The ability to be old look back on my life and say I worked my ass off and it payed off.
On the same pattern I think Gogol found himself disconnected from his name because it was not actually his name. He knew from when he was little that his name was a last minute decision that was forced, it was not thoughtful and was not special to him. It also tore him between not only his two heritages but a third culture which he felt a relation to but distantly.
Getting to write your own destiny is a dream, a fairytale, but just sitting along for the ride is ridiculous.
I want to write my own story, not my destiny, but my story, it is influenced by everything else but I still get to make the decisions. Forget my name, forget the drama. Just live.