How did you choose your male name?

[Elwood]

I am having major conflict with the name Daniel. I'm quite partial to it. I like how it can be Daniel, Dan, or Danny. It's really a sweet name and is flexible. It's a strong Christian name (I'm not Christian, by the way, but I do like traditional-sounding names) and it's meaning really caught my attention. "God is my judge." That's what it means. But why can't I have the name?

I also like the name Danny. But I already have a cousin Daniel, and that would be odd if he ever found out. And plus, I don't really like 'Dan', so I don't think I'd like that too much.

Even if my brother was named Daniel I'd want the name Daniel. That's how much I really like this name...

Elwood - I understand what you mean about not wanting to take someone else's name.  I have to admit that I'm a little uncomfortable with the fact that there is a very famous FtM already named Jamison (Jamison Green).  But I haven't found any other names I liked that fit my criteria (as outlined above).

It's true that people who know you, may very well jump to the conclusion that you named yourself after Dan Aykroyd (and what's really so wrong with that?), but I think if you usually go by "Daniel" or "Danny" instead of "Dan", that would minimize the perception.

Yeah. See, this name really works. I'm thinking I should stick with it, finally tell my parents, "It just felt right, and that's all I should really have to say."

Well, for many years of Aykroyd's young live, he went as "Danny." Dan just happens to be his "stage name," the name he's chosen to be recognized by on film. And of course his family would sometimes call him Daniel. So he really interchanged all three names depending on who he was with and what he was doing. I'm sure people still call him "Danny." I know I would, lol.

There's really nothing wrong with my naming myself after an actor. I realize that. My step-dad was named after an actor. But seriously, I don't want my family to get any funny ideas. They think I want to become him. I love blues, I'm an actor, I love motorcycles and old cars, science fiction and cop shows. So they think I'm just taking 3 steps closer to being more like him by transitioning. They don't get it. I was always me, and when I found out about how much I had in common with him, I really became a fan. Not the other way around... Srsly who would want to grow up to be a fat lard has-been like Danny? D:< Lol... Though I will admit he was absolutely amazing when he was young.

[kestin]

My full name is Kestin Sarah Stewart, I was so thrilled when I found a some guys around the world had the same first name as me! So I don't feel any reason to change it... have never met another person IRL with my name either. People always think my name is Kerstin, even though it's pronounced as its spelt 'keh-stin', 'kes-tin'... it's reeeeally simple ^^ So I wonder how people might interpret my name once I pass as a bio-guy? Christian? lol. And I'll be all "Nah, I'm an atheist."

Will definitely change my middle name though XD I want to change it to my stepfathers name, Philip. Cause he really was the first good male role model I had in my life.

My dad is a d*ckhead

[Lutin]

I've been tossing up names recently for if I ever start T (unlikely, but you never know...), and I found this thread and didn't really want to start a new one, so hope that's alright...

Anyhoo, yes, I've been thinking about names, and I've had a couple of favourites for *ages*, but it'd be hard explaining them to the external world.

Firstly, I've always liked the name Remus. It has nothing to do with HP, or with my user name Lutin having a typo. (Lutin is French for "elf", as in "an androgynous being" ).  I've always loved Classical mythology, and I grew up on Song of the South. Used to badger Mum to tell me Uncle Remus's Br'er Rabbit stories all the time when I was a baby goat . And I don't know how to explain it, but it just seems to 'fit'. I can *see* me being a Remus, if that makes sense.

Also love the name William. My brother and I were talking a few years ago about names, and what we would have wanted to have been called if we'd been the opposite sex and whatever, and I said I'd always liked the name William, and immediately Mike (le bro) said "What, as in, William Turner from Pirates?" - "*No*, William, as in, Blake, Butler Yeats, Byrd, Dufay, Shakespeare, the Conqueror, Wordsworth....." Hmmm.... At least it gave me some idea of what I'm up against.

Mais oui. (I'd been wondering how people came up with/decided on names for a while, actually. This has really helped ).

And, for the record, Kestin's a lovely name. Never heard of it before, but it's really nice. Sort of reminds me of a kestrel.

[trees]

kellan is my legal first and middle name smashed together.  i wanted to respect my mother's decision to name me, at least for the time being. long after i figured the name out, i asked her if she wanted to help me pick something else and she told me that she already picked a name for me.  kelly is unisex name so i don't really hate it for being read as female, i've just never associated myself with it :] 

when i go on t and my physical appearance changes and/or i relocate, i might decide to change my name again.  until then, it's kellan.  kellan also goes better with the last name i want.  i wanted to change my last name before i wanted to change my first name. ultimately, i've found a really good sounding name that's respectful to my mother.  sometimes i don't quite feel like my chosen name, it's mostly cos i'm still in the town i grew up in and i'm just not very fond of names sometimes.  i hardly ever refer to anyone by their name, without any effort.

[PolarBear]

I'm very much undecided about my male name. I like Vincent, but I also like taking the name my parents would have given me, which is Michiel (the Dutch version of Michael). However... I don't really like the name Michiel, so that would mean using a variant of it for daily use. Mike, Mick, Mitch...
Or... I could take a name which starts with Mar, as my female name starts that way. Mark, Martijn, Martin (but a friend of me is called Martin, and I don't want to 'steal' his name), Marten...

Oh, I don't know. I would like to keep my initials though, so that means Vincent is off the list. If anyone knows of a nice name starting with an M, let me know. 

[alexkidd]

I wanted to be called Luke for a long time, but ended up chosing the name Alex.

I like Alex for alot of reasons, its a gender-neutral name, it reminds me of Alex Kidd and it suits me.


Polarbear, I like Mark, Marcus, Max all sound very cool

[ConfusedMichelle]

I wanted to be called Luke for a long time, but ended up chosing the name Alex.

I like Alex for alot of reasons, its a gender-neutral name, it reminds me of Alex Kidd and it suits me.


Polarbear, I like Mark, Marcus, Max all sound very cool

I love the name Brady.  Every Brady I've ever known is GORGEOUS too lol.  My bio-name is Alex though, which I don't mind going by and will respond to.  I just like Brady.  However, my family still calls me Alex and my boyfriend usually just says "Hey B, can you come here for a sec?" or "See ya later, B" lol that caught on with friends so I guess I'll have to get my name legally changed to the letter B.

[trapthavok]

I'm probably jumping ahead a few steps since I haven't even begun crossdressing yet (I will by the end of August at the latest) but I am already thinking about different names. At first I liked the name Jack, but it just didn't seem to suit me and didn't go with my last name at all. When I was in Kindergarten I used to sign all my papers as (birthname) Max (lastname), pretending that Max was my name as well I suppose. I don't know why I liked the name so much back then, but I don't think it suits me now.

I've always had a unique name and have yet to meet anyone with the same name as me so I wanted to keep with that idea. Then I pulled forth my lifetime love of greek mythology and combined it with my desire for a unique name. I saw a skate vid of this kid named Odin once (I know, norse) and thought it was the coolest thing ever so I'm going to have to say Eros is my current fav for a name right now. I'm not going to be corny enough to be Zeus, and I really like the name Eros anyway. I feel like Eros really fits me, so I might go with that if things pan out.

This is gonna be really funny since I already posted in here while I was still in my "can't make up my mind about my name" stage.

I really did like Eros for a while, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized I couldn't go around telling people my name was "Eros" in the business world, among other things....It just doesn't sound like an adult's name. It sounds like one of those names you pick for yourself as a kid (almost like my "Max" thing above).  After a while I really didn't like it and it really sounded corny.

I was still bent on trying to get a unique name though so I kept flipping through different name websites and I found one that ranked names on a chart by popularity. I was getting agitated by this point, scrolling through the chart when I came across Nathaniel and stopped. It's a nice name, I don't have any "I admire this person" reasons for it...I was hell bent on picking a name that couldn't be mocked, but stopped caring once I found Nathaniel (which still gets mocked with the Nathaniel Hawthorne thing) but it really fits me and I don't care. I like the abbreviations too, Nathan, Nate...All my (GLBT) friends call me Nate cause they're lazy I guess (haha) but I love Nathaniel above all, and it goes great with my last name, etc. I still get called "Tai" by my family and some of my other friends, but I can deal with that for a little while longer since it's an abbreviation of my real name and it sounds andro enough to keep me happy for a while.

End process.

[noxdraconis]

I'm probably jumping ahead a few steps since I haven't even begun crossdressing yet (I will by the end of August at the latest) but I am already thinking about different names. At first I liked the name Jack, but it just didn't seem to suit me and didn't go with my last name at all. When I was in Kindergarten I used to sign all my papers as (birthname) Max (lastname), pretending that Max was my name as well I suppose. I don't know why I liked the name so much back then, but I don't think it suits me now.

I've always had a unique name and have yet to meet anyone with the same name as me so I wanted to keep with that idea. Then I pulled forth my lifetime love of greek mythology and combined it with my desire for a unique name. I saw a skate vid of this kid named Odin once (I know, norse) and thought it was the coolest thing ever so I'm going to have to say Eros is my current fav for a name right now. I'm not going to be corny enough to be Zeus, and I really like the name Eros anyway. I feel like Eros really fits me, so I might go with that if things pan out.

This is gonna be really funny since I already posted in here while I was still in my "can't make up my mind about my name" stage.

I really did like Eros for a while, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized I couldn't go around telling people my name was "Eros" in the business world, among other things....It just doesn't sound like an adult's name. It sounds like one of those names you pick for yourself as a kid (almost like my "Max" thing above).  After a while I really didn't like it and it really sounded corny.

I was still bent on trying to get a unique name though so I kept flipping through different name websites and I found one that ranked names on a chart by popularity. I was getting agitated by this point, scrolling through the chart when I came across Nathaniel and stopped. It's a nice name, I don't have any "I admire this person" reasons for it...I was hell bent on picking a name that couldn't be mocked, but stopped caring once I found Nathaniel (which still gets mocked with the Nathaniel Hawthorne thing) but it really fits me and I don't care. I like the abbreviations too, Nathan, Nate...All my (GLBT) friends call me Nate cause they're lazy I guess (haha) but I love Nathaniel above all, and it goes great with my last name, etc. I still get called "Tai" by my family and some of my other friends, but I can deal with that for a little while longer since it's an abbreviation of my real name and it sounds andro enough to keep me happy for a while.

End process.

Actually, there is nothing wrong with the name Eros.  You just have to be suitably Mediterranian in looks and with a proper last name to go with it like something Italian, Greek, or even Spanish.  In that area, a name like Eros will not get a second glance.  I am Thanatos and nobody bats an eye at that when I introduce myself.

[Patroklos]

Originally, I chose Milo because my birth name also begins with M. Also, because Milo is the old English transliteration of the Roman name Miles, "soldier". I chose it because I dream of being a Marine but can't join the military but also because it sounds.. "cute", or quirky or whatever. People tell me that it really suits me but I'm kind of.. over it.

Gah. You guys are making me re-think all of my decisions about transition and it's making me unhappy. lol

[Jack Daniels]

I choose Jack Sarin because Jack Daniels is copyrighted. J/k  > Well Sarin is a nerve agent(which means if it gets in you, you wll die a painful death, right after you vomit,drool,urinate,and fecate all over yourself), So... Its a suiting name for me, I just hope my music will have such an effect on people and the best thing about the name is most people dont know what it means.

[trapthavok]

Yeah, good point, but I feel like Nate fits me a whole lot better than Eros. I never got the same connect with Eros as I do with Nathaniel. It just feels right for me somehow.

[JonasCarminis]

i asked my mom what she thought of the name chester the other day.  haha she was like "it sounds kindof dorky..."  and i was like "well, incase you havnt noticed, i am kindof dorky"  she says she likes the name joshua.  so ive been thinking about that for a middle name, or maybe a first name with chester/chet as my middle.  idk.

[Lachlann]

You look like a Joshua to me. Middle name or first name.

I've been entertaining what to use for my actual full name as Monty is more of a nickname. I'm thinking maybe Montague. Theres a lot of French people where I am and the meaning relates very nicely to my last name too.

[Elwood]

i asked my mom what she thought of the name chester the other day.  haha she was like "it sounds kindof dorky..."  and i was like "well, incase you havnt noticed, i am kindof dorky"  she says she likes the name joshua.  so ive been thinking about that for a middle name, or maybe a first name with chester/chet as my middle.  idk.

My friend has a dog named Chester.

[icontact]

Was wondering, are you guys keeping your last names? Since nobody's seemed to mention last names...

I definitely intend to change both my first and last.

[gravitysrainbow]

Free, I'm undecided about my last name. It's pretty common, so it's unlikely to out me after I change my first name. I think it'll depend on how my family reacts once I start transition.

[icontact]

Also, thoughts about religious names?

Cause I reallyreally like the name Asher, it's the first name I felt any real connection with. But it's a Jewish name, and I am neither Jewish nor look Jewish. It fits so nicely with Daquan as a last name too.

[Lachlann]

I'm keeping my last name because I like it a lot.

I wouldn't worry about ethnic names or religious names. People name their kids whatever they like nowadays.

[Nero]

Was wondering, are you guys keeping your last names? Since nobody's seemed to mention last names...

I definitely intend to change both my first and last.

Keeping mine. At first the idea of changing it was tempting as it is unusual and unpronounceable. But I won't. Means too much to me.