How did you pick your new name?

[QuestioningEverything]

I'm trying to figure out what my female name should be and I'm just drawing a blank no one name is really sticking out to me. I keep thinking of names i like but none of them really feel like a good fit.  I kind of feel like i should have a name before I start hrt.  How did you guys and gals pick your new name?

[Stephanie2]

I picked Stephanie because it is the female version of my name and also that is the name that I would have been given if I had been born a girl. So it was an easy choice.

[Miss_Bungle1991]

I wrote down ten names each for the first, middle and last. I narrowed it down until I had one complete name that I liked.

[awilliams1701]

I've been obsessed with the name Ashley for a very long time at least half my life. I've known a couple of Ashleys and while they were extremely attractive to begin with, they got "extra points" just for the name alone. In the last few I made up a fantasy girl named Ashley. She was pretty much me except a girl. Then the fantasy included being able to go a day as a girl. Then the fantasy including being a girl for a day occured more frequently. Then it became I can change gender at will. Now its full time I want to be a girl why the hell would I want to be a guy? Then I started to realize that Ashley was the fantasy of myself rather than the girl I was supposed to be with.

[immortal gypsy]

I have kept my first name as it is wonderfully unique and while on its own it can be unisex it is more know in my generation as a girl's nickname. It has also made transition easier for my friends as they only have to get use to pronouns and not a new name also.

My middle name will be (haven't changed it yet) the female version of my grandfather's middle name. He taught me values morals and how to be a good person, also his death is what made me realize I had to transition so this is a way for me to respect his memory.

[Myarkstir]

I chose mine "Sylvia" due to its close similarity to my old one. First it was easier on my parents as I didn't change its essence.  Second it permited me to change my signature month before transitionning to full time. So no one questionned my signature later on.

[allisonsteph]

I chose Allison because I have always liked the name ever since I saw The Breakfast Club. Every story I have ever written if there was a female character her name was Allison. It was just a natural fit for me.

[Jaime006]

Jaime was pretty easy for me. It was my nickname growing up but I started to become ashamed of it in junior high because it was too girly. That said, most of my family and friends from junior high through college know me as Jaime so it's pretty easy to just go back to it now. I'll have to pick a new middle name though because my current one is very masculine.

[FrancisAnn]

Francis Ann here. I'm not sure it just kind of fit long ago. It was cool when my first cosmo came in the mail addressed to Ms. Francis Ann_______. Good luck, it will come to you.

[Juliett]

I was coming up with ideas for a new email at the very beginning of my transition. I decided to go with military phonetics for my initials. I loved Juliett so much that i just kept it when i did my name change.

I can't even count how many people have stopped to tell me that they love my name. Never had that happen even once with the name my parents picked.
As famous as my name is, it is exceptionally rare. The Romeo jokes get old pretty fast tho.

[Emmaline]

Dana here.  I tried Delaney for a month but had to spell it out a lot to people and repeat myself.  Dana is easy, is like Dave (people can correct midway if they go to say 'dave', I expect to be called Da... Na a lot to begin with.

Dana is from two characters... One from ghost busters, one from the L word.

My middle name, Laura, was the name I would have been called had the doctors not been all confused by the whole penis thing.  It was my grandmothers middle name.



Emmaline is the heroine in a novel I wrote.

[warlockmaker]

I choose Bobbie which is both a male and female female name derived from Robert. Choose it because I am called Bobbie by my family and I like the name..

[Elis]

I somehow found the name Elis bcos it's not very common (I didn't want a common name as my female name was way too common, one of the many reasons why I dislike it) and it's slightly adrogenous as I'm not the most masculine guy in the world and not the most fem, so I wanted something to reflect that.

[Ashlotte]

There was a character named Ashlotte in a video game (Soul Calibur 4), and I really related to her and I really loved her name, so I started using it as a username on some websites. When I realized I wanted to transition, I knew I would love to be called Ashlotte, but I didn't want such a weird name on my certificate. After that I looked on babynames.com for names I liked. I always loved the name Charlotte, so I put a bookmark on that and continued my search. Then I found a name that had a meaning that I really felt I connected with, and it was an Irish name. Ashling. Then I realized if my name was Ashling Charlotte, that could be abbreviated to Ashlotte as a nickname! Everything just fell into place, it was perfect. (still deciding whether to make it a 2-part name or a first and middle name)

[Emmaline]

Oops, scratch Dana.  I was talking about this thread and my wife confessed she hated it.  Though she was happy to support any choice of mine, she wanted to be honest rather than hide her feelings.

She is awesome.

My first choice was always Emma.  Her work friend is called Emma, so I automatically drew a line through it.  But she said she loved the name and it fitted me perfectly.  I am stunned!

Hi all.  Looks like I am Emma after all.

Just in time for my name change interview.

[Dee Marshall]

Oops, scratch Dana.  I was talking about this thread and my wife confessed she hated it.  Though she was happy to support any choice of mine, she wanted to be honest rather than hide her feelings.

Perhaps Zuul, then? No, I see you settled upon Emma. "There is no Dana, only Emma"? Nah, doesn't flow.

My name is gender neutral, so I'm gonna keep it. May change the spelling. May choose one of the less common feminine versions of my middle. My cousin has the common one.

[Emmaline]

Lol.  You are right.  I should pick Zuul now!

[Erica_Y]

I actually picked my new names pretty quickly. I picked Erica because it is age appropriate, edgy and I just liked it being not to common. I picked my middle name Patricia to say thank you to a very special friend in my life who really has made a wonderful impact and difference in my life and I wanted my middle name to have real meaning and significance. I kept my last name as is.

So it was pretty easy for me and I never waivered once I settled on the names.

Good luck

[Blue Senpai]

Wrote down 20 names, asked for opinions, took them into account and ended up with Oliver.

[JadeFla]

It took me years to pick a name I could settle on. If you look at my real name it is obvious.