This is an issue that's quite common with people in our position but usually because of the Google effect. If that's not an issue for you then that does make things easier but you may not be totally out of the woods. If someone were to out you online eg on social media, there's little you can do about it and that could be a pain if you've built up a reputation with your work. Obviously, that's unlikely to happen if you only work with people you never meet as opposed to working with people local to those who are aware of your past. I am Googlable, so I do use a different name online (registered of course) and on LinkedIn for my freelance work and nobody (as yet) has even chased official references. If I were able to keep my name from being online at all, I personally would still use a different name anyway because you're starting from scratch, especially if the work you're looking to do won't be too dependent on references. Eg if you're a freelance digital artist, clients won't care you used to work in a bar. I hope that makes sense.
===== Fighting or Accepting - its difficult to know which is right and when.
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