How did you pick your new name?

[orangeskipper]

Hi Marly,

I like this name, especially after I saw Rachel Weitz's character in Runaway Jury. It's a fun movie, and one of the few where John Cusack excelled.

[angiegurl]

Angela just sounded good to me.  It resonated inside me and still does to this day.

[Marly]

Hi Marly,

I like this name, especially after I saw Rachel Weitz's character in Runaway Jury. It's a fun movie, and one of the few where John Cusack excelled.

Thanks! I didn't even think of that. Of course, she spelled her name Marlee, but I might  just change the spelling to that

[sweetbriar9]

Funny, my parents inadvertently gave me the shortened version of a Celtic female name (Oops). My favorite full version means "beloved", so that's an easy one. My middle name is actually Hebrew, the female version is pretty obscure but I found it, It means "strength", same initial. I think that keeping things mostly the same will help my parents and friends to keep from thinking that I'm trying to rebel or disconnect from them. Same person as before, nothing to see here folks......

[emanresU]

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.

(I'm over a year late in replying to this, but it's my first posting in here.)

Good golly Miss Molly ... this account so closely mirrors my own that it's almost uncanny.  I posted the full story more than once over on TGBoards but right now that forum has vanished off the face of the Earth (dead link) and there is just no indication whether they will be back online in five minutes or never.  I feel a little ... imposing ... posting it here because I know there are a lot of people from there over here, who have already read it, but here it is anyway.

Way back when I was 15 years old my aunt lived in the upstairs flat of our building so I used to visit her often.  She was the most awesome aunt so I spent a LOT of time up there.  One day we were watching the 1976 (OMG yes I'm that old!) Olympics on TV and a commercial came on with a teen girl with super long, straight, thick, gorgeous, silky blonde hair to her waist.  Marcia Brady was bald by comparison!  She was spinning around with that hair flying in the wind behind her.  My aunt made the comment "WOW look at that hair!"  And that was when I created my own version of your Ashley.  Memories are somewhat vague here; I picked the name Jessica for her because (as far as I've been able to piece together) I had recently read the book Logan's Run (long before the butchered movie version was released) and apparently I was obsessed with the name Jessica.  I never personally met anybody who had that name, or anybody who even came close to resembling that girl on TV - who, of course, became my dream girl Jessica. 

When I made the firm commitment to transition (I am still in the prep stages; have not begun HRT yet), I did a lot of deep reflection and I decided that the reason I never met anybody even close to my dream girl was because she doesn't exist out there.  She's me.

Sound familiar?  I think it always lends a degree of support when we run across another person - even one - who has almost an identical story to our own.  It's kind of sad that names like Ashley and Jessica have been so overused in recent years; I picked Jessica in 1976 when NOBODY had that name.

[SIGH] it is a cold, cruel world!  So, when things actually reach the point for me of legalizing a new name, it will be Jessica Christine - Christine being the feminine form of my current Christopher.

[SofiN]

Some of you have such amazing stories of getting your name!

Mine is a lot more simple. I actually am not 100% sure why but from an early age the name Sophie resonated with me and it just feels right.

I experimented with another name a few years ago but ultimately ended up back with Sophie.

For a middle name friends actually named me. Quite a few interesting suggestions came up but I loved Lily as a name when it was suggested. It sounds amazing to me when said together as Sophie Lily.

[BridgetYvonne]

I picked out my name (Bridget Yvonne) after Bridget Fonda, my favorite actress & Yvonne, her character Yvonne Biasi from, IT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU. Bridget Fonda & my GF Vikki are 2 of my favorite girls. Funny thing is that all 3 of us are same height/ weight 5/6 147. Ms Fonda & Vikki have the same measurements 34B-24-35. I was just told that I will stay VERY full 34A. I was told that, even though my Mom & my sisters are 'gifted' I started my transition after Puberty (24+)   

[Hyperduck_23]

HyperSlut_23: about 1 month ago

Someone else in another group asked a similar question about a month ago; I've just copied my response to that below for you as it's relevant.

I found the new name thing very strange indeed....I picked one I liked and just stuck with it. It felt weird for ages, but as time goes on and you start to hang associations off of your new name, along with getting used to responding to it, it feels increasingly right.

I did actually keep the nickname people used for me previously as my middle name, partially because I really like it (it's Dazzle), partially because loads of people use it and partially as a link back to the name my parents gave me & that I've been called my whole life; I'm not a 'new' person, I'm just a more correct, evolved version of myself and I felt that this approach reflected that. It also makes life generally easier for those around me, which in turn makes my life easier. And, you know, it's a wicked name!

Now there are people that use my middle name and people that use my new first name; either is fine with me and I'm feeling good about the choice I made. Took a while to get the hang of the new first name, though, but it grows with you as you move forward through your transition, which has been a very pleasant side of the experience, in my opinion.

[emanresU]

I like Dazzle!!!  It's completely different, and you don't have the whole world moving at once to use it like a flock of obedient sheep who all think they're being different - in exactly the same way at exactly the same time.

[alex10]

I picked Alex as ive always liked the name, and its unisex which was important to me as my dad is religious and doesnt really understand being transgender, so it was easier to ask him to call me an androgynous name than a "male" name

[pretty pauline]

Mine was very simple, I just added 3 extra letters,  ''i n e''  changed my name from Paul to Pauline, it's a feminine version, my parents told me if I was female at birth I would have been called Pauline, when I did eventually transition to female, I transition from Paul to Pauline, very simple.

[Lady Sarah]

I am intrigued by the number of women here that chose "Sarah". Could it be just a coincidence?

[WarGrowlmon1990]

The only reason my parents named me "Nicole" is because they liked my nickname Nikki so much. Turns out they should've just named me Nikki, cause that's what I'm legally changing my name to. I'm still struggling with finding a middle name though.

[Layla_UK]

I personally went for Layla because I found myself fond of the name. I tried it out for characters in games and enjoyed people referring to me by it. When I eventually get a legal change, I'm thinking of Sophie as a middle name as that would had been my name if I were afab.

[yewboy]

My family is of Scottish decent and I was looking for a name rebirth/renewal meanings.

Ewan (pronounced Owen) is the Scottish spelling. It means 'born of the Yew'. The Yew tree symbolises rebirth, resurrection and longevity.

[mothman]

I'm not completely sure about my name, but I started calling myself Moth back in 2013 (I'm ftm but i was nonbinary back then). I'm scared that it's a bit feminine but eh, whatever. It's more natural to me than my birth name. bugs4lyfe  I may start going by "Aidan", apparently if i was a boy that's what they wouldve named me

[Jacqueline]

I'm not completely sure about my name, but I started calling myself Moth back in 2013 (I'm ftm but i was nonbinary back then). I'm scared that it's a bit feminine but eh, whatever. It's more natural to me than my birth name. bugs4lyfe  I may start going by "Aidan", apparently if i was a boy that's what they wouldve named me

Sorry to interrupt this thread. I want to take a moment and welcome Moth to the site.

I'm not sure that it sounds feminine. It's kind of a great nickname. Aidan is a very cool name too.

I also want to share some links with you. They are mostly welcome information and the rules that govern the site. If you have not had a chance to look through them, please take a moment:

Things that you should read

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Once again, welcome to Susan's. Look around, ask questions and join in.

With warmth,

Joanna

[ButterflyMelissa]

Hi there
Melissa has always been the more "natural" name for me...it just popped up. I saw it first in the credits of a family series on TV, it got stuck
Melissa

[darth_lauren]

I realize this is an older thread but there seem to be no qualms about it being resurrected, so I'll go ahead and add my two cents.
My birth name can't be feminized, and it's also not a very common name which is something I never really liked about it. So I had to start from scratch, and I wanted a name that was a bit more commonplace. I went through several names I liked and tried them online, but they all seemed a bit pretentious to me. Eventually I settled on either Erin or Lauren. In the end I went Lauren, after two different friends at different times that I thought maybe I had a crush on, although now I'd characterize the feeling as more platonic admiration (that, plus I really liked their names). It feels right. Even being pre-transition and mostly closeted, I find myself more and more referring to myself internally as Lauren, and when I look in the mirror, the person looking back at me is Lauren and it feels like that's always been her name. It makes me happy.
Not sure about my middle name, though. My current one is very masculine and will definitely have to go, but I don't really have any ideas. Thought about Michelle, being the traditional option, but my dad and brother both have Michael as a middle name so it would be a little weird.
I likely plan on keeping my last name, but there's a possibility that may change as I really don't know how my family will take my coming out/transitioning. We'll see how it goes, I guess.

[AshleyC]

My mom told me a story a long time ago about how they, and their doctor, thought I was going to be a girl for most of the pregnancy, and my name was going to be Ashley. After the doctor assigned me a different gender, my mom's friend tried to convince her to keep the name because it would "teach me to fight." haha

Seemed only fair that if my parents had a lady name for me, that I use it