Paolo "Razor" Greco <drbwana@tin.it> supplies a snippet allowing for admins
to change the names of players.

Usage: Namechange <oldname> <newname>
Will cermanently change the name of a given PC and saving him afterward.
This is based on a snipped posted on circlemud mailing list by Someone I
Don'T Remember.
Written in italian language for CM3.0bpl14 whith xapobj, dgscripts, some
weird class & race system, but doesn't matter.
If world go bleak for this snippet, that's YOUR fault.

ACMD(do_namechange){
  struct char_data *vict;  char *oldname;
  int i,j;
  char arg1[MAX_STRING_LENGTH];
  char arg2[MAX_STRING_LENGTH];
  char tmp_name[MAX_STRING_LENGTH];

  half_chop(argument, arg1, argument);
  half_chop(argument, arg2, argument);
 
  if ((!*arg1) || (!*arg2)) {
    send_to_char("Usage: namechange <character> <new name>\r\n", ch);
    return;
  }
 
  if (!(vict = get_player_vis(ch, arg1, 0))) {
    send_to_char("They aren't here.\r\n", ch);
    return;
  }
 
  if (GET_LEVEL(vict) > 5) {
    send_to_char("You can't change the name of someone over level 5.\r\n",ch);
    return;
  }
 
  if (find_name(arg2)>-1)  {
    send_to_char("There's already somebody with this name.\r\n",ch);
    return;
  }
 

  if ((_parse_name(arg2, tmp_name))||strlen(tmp_name) < 2 ||
       strlen(tmp_name) > MAX_NAME_LENGTH || !Valid_Name(tmp_name) ||
       fill_word(tmp_name) || reserved_word(tmp_name)) {
    send_to_char("Illegal name, retry.\r\n", ch);
    return;
  }
 
  for (i = 0; i <= top_of_p_table; i++)
    if (player_table[i].id == GET_IDNUM(vict))
      break;
  
  if (player_table[i].id != GET_IDNUM(vict)){
    send_to_char("BUG: error in player table!!!!",ch);
    log("BUG: error in player table for %s with idnum %d",
      GET_NAME(ch),GET_IDNUM(ch));
    return;
  }
  
  oldname = strdup(GET_NAME(vict));
 
  //player_table[i].name = strdup(arg2);
  for (j = 0; (*(player_table[i].name + j) = LOWER(*(arg2 + j))); j++);
  
  strcpy(vict->player.name, CAP(arg2));  
 
  sprintf(buf, "(GC) %s has changed the name of %s to %s.", GET_NAME(ch),GET_NAME(vict), arg2);
  mudlog(buf, BRF, LVL_IMMORT, TRUE);
 
  save_char(vict, vict->in_room);
 
  send_to_char("Ok.\r\n",ch);
  send_to_char("Your name has changed.\r\n",vict);
}