What's in a name?

[BlackWolf]

Hey all,

I recently did a presentation on Gender Identity Disorder for my entire Psychopathology class. During the presentation, my professor asked me about names. She asked if it was common for transisitoning people to choose names that began with the same letter as their birth name? She said that she had run across this many times so she thought it might be something that happens a lot.

So, I was curious. Is this true for you? Does your choosen name begin with the same letter as your given name? How did you decided on which name fit you best?

For me it was difficult, I was considering going by the male form of my given name. Since, my uncle calls me that all the time. I decided to steer clear of that and just began by writing down names that I really liked. Some how I landed on the name James Nicholas. It happend just by chance. James starts with the first letter of my last name, which is what I go by here on campus, but I think that's just a coincidence. 

[Sarah Louise]

Sorry, Sarah Louise is no where near the name my birth name.

[Northern Jane]

I kept my initials (family tradition) but I picked my name when I was 5 because it was the most beautiful name I ever heard. It just happened to work with the initials. 56 years later I still love my name (which isn't Jane! LOL!)

[kyril]

I want to keep my initials but I haven't managed to find a name that 'fits' within that constraint - it doesn't help that I want to go by my first name post-namechange but have always gone by my middle name until recently.

My given first name starts with A and I've been using Alex as my informal chosen name for a while now, but I keep finding myself drawn to other names, Evan and Ryan being a couple of the ones I think fit me better.

[Elijah3291]

nope my name is very different from my birth name.. which reminds me.. how come people keep their birth name so secret here? I'm not ashamed of it.  My birth name is Maggie.  I chose Elijah for my new name.

and fortunatly my middle name is very very masculine, or well unisex so I dont need to change it.

I could have chosen Max, or Matt, or something.. but I dunno.  I chose Elijah becuase all of my favorite names start with E.  Edward, Edmund, Edwin, Elijah.

[LordKAT]

Some keep birth name and new name secret. Some like their privacy and some simply don't want to have any association with a name that is not theirs even if it was given to them by their parents (or whoever).

[Samantha_Peterson]

Only my last name is the same. I'm pretty sure Samantha and Paul bear no resemblance to each other.

[Nero]

Yep, that was my number one criteria when choosing a name.

[mr_marc]

I kept my last name the same.
And my first name begins with the same letter as my former name, but they are nothing alike.
My middle nae began with L and it now begins with A :]

[Osiris]

Both my first and middle name have several letters from my given name, and the same initials. While my given name didn't suite me there were things I liked about that and that influenced my choice.

[JessieMH]

Jesse to Jessie... nope no connection.

More out of convenience of not having to learn a new name I guess, add the I and it becomes slightly more feminine.

[NDelible Gurl]

I have not picked out a name for my legal change. I think I'm going to just write down a list and choose one that strikes my liking. I hope to go legal very very soon before I leave for Uni. I'll start on that process next month after my finals are over.

[Nathan.]

Nathan does not begin with the same letter as my given name did and that's what I wanted, not sure why but I didn't want my name now to be like the one before.

My middle and last name are the same except I changed my middle name to the male spelling of it.

[Janet_Girl]

My name nowhere close to the old male name.  However Janet has the meaning as the male name.

Even my last name is not the same as my birth.

[BlackWolf]

hmm... I guess it kind of surprises me that some have changed their last name as well as their first. I have kept my last name the same. I still want the connection to my family (or at least that's the way I see it). My first name (Nicole) has become my middle name (Nicholas) and obviously I have a different first name now. 

[Christo]

So, I was curious. Is this true for you? Does your choosen name begin with the same letter as your given name? How did you decided on which name fit you best?

yep same letter.  Chris/christopher is the masculine version of my birth name.

[Rock_chick]

I was going to stick with Jamie...it's pretty unisex anyway and then use the name I would have been given if i'd been born in the right body as my middle name, which was Arwen Eleanor. But somehow it didn't seem to sit right...probably because Jamie has always been my boy name. In the end I ended up deciding on Helena Jamie after my friend Marianne blurted out that she thought I looked like a Helen...hehe.

Possibly an unusual way to choose your name, but it feels right and I like it...which is all that matters in the end. I'll keep my surname unless something drastic occurs with the parental units.

[Parker Lane]

Haha I think my given and chosen name are on
opposite sides of the alphabet, lol. 

[aydan_boy]

I go by Dan/Danny mostly. Nowhere close to my actual name. I've gone from S.C.G  to D.G

[Laura91]

Sorry, Sarah Louise is no where near the name my birth name.

same here.