Name change transition and confusion

[Sophie Lou]

I started going by "j" instead of Jim in November.

I started going by Sophie about 3-4 weeks ago.

IM 37, so I guess it just gonna take some time, but I hesitate before I say my name sometimes, because I have to think of what to say. Sometimes my new name feels like a stranger and other times not.

im only out to some, so most of the world still knows me as Jim. For whatever reason, it makes more sense to me when I see my new name in print. Saying it in my head or hearing others call me it there isn't the same acceptance yet

[Jeneva]

Maybe you haven't found the "right" name?

I did the J think at work briefly till I came out, but I knew what name I wanted for years. 

Maybe you just need longer with the name to internalize it?

Having to switch back and forth and remember who gets what name can't be helping either.

[Megumi]

When you find your name you'll never have to put any thought into saying it or responding in any manner when someone uses your old name either by accident or if they were trying to get the attention of a person that has the same name that you use to. Just like Jeneva I knew at a very young age what my real name was and always used it internally so once I did come out after turning 30 I just let the old name drift off into the great fog.

[Ara]

I don't have the same experiences as those above.

I've been going by my preferred name for two years.  Now I should point out that my family still use my old name (mostly because I don't give a stuff about them) so there's a reason I still have a connection to it, but it does certainly take a while to get used to a new name.  I repeated it in my head over and over again.  I had pretend conversations when I was alone to get used to it.  I used my Facebook and other social media to get used to seeing it written. 

Even now, I can slip up!  It happens.  Names are hard.

Just because you don't get it straight away doesn't mean you have chosen the wrong name.  It gets easier with time, of course.

[mac1]

As a boy (especially) and later as an adult I have been uncomfortable with my middle name and have avoided letting people, except wife and immediate family, know it as it is typically viewed as a girl's name (Allison). However, if I could transition I might actually like it as my name.

[Katie J]

I'd chosen my name from a pretty young age, even though I didn't start going by it until recently. I remember asking my mom what I would have been named if I was born a girl (which was Katelyn Alyssa, and she would say that she would've called me Katie) and I remember feeling an instant connection to it. It still takes a lot of getting used to but creating new social media pages using it and having some of my close friends who know use it really helps. I still hesitate to tell people my name though just because I don't fully present feminine but have really started presenting more androgynously leaning towards feminine.

[Ms Grace]

Our birth name - like it or loathe it - has been with us all our life. It is what has been used to "describe" us since before we could sit or speak - so taking on another name can be a bit disconcerting at first, even if we like it. If you're using that name in tandem with your birth name depending on the circumstances it might seem confusing but believe me, once you start using that name full time, when people start calling you by that name, when you see that name in writing and on documents you become that name pretty easily. It's one of the reasons I decided to use my transition name as part of my forum name - it really helped me get used to seeing it, using it and having people call me Grace... it seriously helped big time.

[katrinaw]

I too have used the same name since adulthood through all the phases of Dysphoria.. It is the same by initials as my birth name that will make it easier during and after official name change, easy for signing as my signature will not change

L Katy 

[rosinstraya]

A friend showed me my name in his phone contacts.....he'll get used to calling me by that name as well pretty soon!