Name change - less daunting if it's similar, or entirely different?

[K8]

I've been Kate for four months.  When I hear my old name in public I still automatically react to it, turning to see who they are talking to.  If someone calls out "Kate" in public, it takes a beat for me to react. 

Maybe that transition of automatic response would be easier if you keep a name similar to your old one.  (But I never liked the old one anyway.)

- Kate (Hey, Kate!)

[Cindy]

Hi Kate,

As you know I'm not full time as yet. When someone uses my 'male' name I respond. But I also respond to Cindy if someone uses it to a third person. Weird, and starting to get me noticed

Cindy

[Teknoir]

Maybe that transition of automatic response would be easier if you keep a name similar to your old one.

Ok, not transitioning experiance (I've taken the totally new route), but similar.

I had a partener with a very similar name to my birth name (both varients of Chris). They went by the short version, I took the long version to differentiate (I previously used the short version). You'd think if someone yelled out "Hey Chris" we'd both turn around... but no. Not after the first few months, anyway  .

You'll adapt over time, and that reponce lag will get shorter and shorter.

Heh, at the moment I've got 3 names to respond to (Birth name, short birth name, actual name). Looking forward to when I can stop responding to the first two .