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Ambition does not always come from fortunate constellations. It sometimes requires desperate efforts. To be happy with one’s name is not evident for everyone, and not everyone is lucky enough to “make a name for themselves,” by repairing their relationship with their name. My goal is to show how two analysands who shared the double ambition of becoming qualified teachers and passing on knowledge, have tried to compensate for a difficulty related to their name. While one of them, who suffered from a fate neurosis, never felt up to the task and systematically failed the “agrégation” (a competitive examination in the French public education system) the other, who did not like the name he had inherited from his stepfather, never dared sit an exam for the Éducation nationale. Indeed, the fact that his mother held back all knowledge about his birth prevented him from acquiring the necessary information for the exam. In such cases, the analyst must help the patient grasp the reality of their desire, without offending their ambition.