Rachel Dolezal -- the white former NAACP leader who believes she's black -- is doubling down with a legal name change to Nkechi Amare Diallo.

The 39-year-old filed to adopt the West African moniker in Washington State ... according to Daily Mail. Nkechi is short for Nkechinyere in the Nigerian language of Igbo, and translates to "gift of god."

Her new last name, Diallo, comes from the Fula people of West Africa and means "bold" ... which seems all too fitting for the artist formerly known as Rachel.