I've suggested before that if you're worried about what the judges in your area think of transgender people, and you don't have anything against you that would be genuine reasons for a judge denying a name change (such as large amounts of debt or past criminal convictions), that it may actually be better to not directly mention that you're changing your name because you're transgender (and to instead give a reason like "this name better fits my personality" or "I've been known informally by this name for awhile and want to make it legal"). The reason I suggested the idea was because instead of it being an issue of whether the judge is "giving permission" to change your gender it becomes merely an issue of whether one can adopt a name that is typically used for the opposite sex. While some courts are happy to deny a TG to be legally recognized as the proper gender (e.g. in cases of bathroom usage or marriage), most courts will stay away from the issue of what constitutes a "male" or "female" name since the effects of the outcome would not be confined to the trans community (it could affect any new parents with a baby to name if the government were to intervene in this manner deciding what names are appropriate or not). Remember there have been many name changes requested, and granted, that involved a new name far more bizarre than taking on a name more commonly used on the opposite gender. (This post is written from the perspective on how name changes are done in the U.S., so in other countries where the procedure is different this may not apply.)
