10 men who changed their names for gain

1. Edward Austen Knight, Jane Austen's brother. Born Edward Austen, he was legally adopted by distant, childless cousins (Thomas and Catherine Knight). Under the strict stipulations of the Knights' will, he legally changed his surname to Knight in 1812 to inherit three expansive country estates.
2. Lord Byron: The famous poet's mother-in-law, Lady Judith Noel, died in 1822. Her will required that he change his surname from Byron to Noel in order to inherit half of her massive estate. He obtained a Royal Warrant to do so, briefly signing himself "Noel Byron".
3. Sir William Harcourt, Chancellor of the Exchequer. Born William Vernon, this prominent 19th-century statesman legally altered his name to Vernon-Harcourt. This allowed him to inherit the vast, historic Nuneham Courtenay estate in Oxfordshire when the male line of the Harcourt family went extinct.
4. Hercules Brabazon Brabazon, renowned English Artist. Born Hercules Brabazon Sharpe, the famous Victorian landscape painter changed his surname to Brabazon in 1847. He did this to satisfy the strict conditions of his uncle's will, instantly inheriting the beautiful Oaklands estate in Sussex and a massive financial fortune that funded his lifetime of art and travel.
5. William Edward Nightingale. Born WIlliam Edward Shore in 1815, upon turning 21 years old, he legally changed his surname to Nightingale. This was a strict requirement to claim a massive industrial fortune and multiple estates left to him by his eccentric, wealthy great-uncle, Peter Nightingale.
6. Davies Gilbert. Born Davies Giddy, he was a prominent mathematician and President of the Royal Society. In order to inherit the substantial estate of Thomas Gilbert of Sussex (whose niece and heiress he had married), Giddy took his wife's family name.
7. James Smithson. The wealthy English chemist and mineralogist was born James Macie, but changed his surname to Smithson in honour of his father, the Duke of Northumberland. When he died in 1829, he left his immense fortune to his nephew on the condition that he change his surname to Hungerford. Because the nephew died without heirs, the money was famously used to establish the Smithsonian Institution in the United States.
8. Richard Chandler Alexander Prior. Born Richard Chandler Alexander, this 19th-century English physician and botanist legally changed his surname to Prior in mid-life to inherit a substantial fortune.
9. George Spencer-Churchill. In 1817, George Spencer, the 5th Duke of Marlborough, was required to legally add the surname "Churchill" to his own, becoming George Spencer-Churchill. He did this by Royal Licence to preserve the immense wealth, estates (including Blenheim Palace), and legacy of his great-grandfather, the legendary military commander John Churchill. This is why his direct descendant was named Sir Winston Churchill.
10. Sir Arthir Conan-Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes. Born Arthur Cnan Doyle, his life changed drastically due to his wealthy, childless great-uncle, Michael Conan. Upon his great-uncle's death, Arthur was left a substantial inheritance, but it came with a explicit legal stipulation: he had to officially preserve the family legacy by carrying the double-barrelled surname. Arthur legally adopted the compound surname, becoming Arthur Conan-Doyle and causing great cnfusion all around.