Well, I used to hate my name, too. I mean, 'Melanie' is very common. And I've met several other Melanies, which I found confusing. And then the meaning ('the black' or 'the dark'). It made me feel like the black sheep in the family.
And then, there are seveal ways to make my name into something hideous. At least in German. And I hated them all. One of the worst inventions was from my brother, who called me 'Mel' for some time. I mean, do I look like Mel Gibson? Certainly not. Wrong gender...
To top it off, my mother didn't even think of granting me a second name, so I can't even choose. Well, I learned to cope by using 'Mellie' most of the time. My mom doesn't like it overly much (thinks it is too childish), but then she doesn't have to live with it.
