Susan's Place Transgender Resources

I'm debating on a middle name. They both represent my pappy who died. I like John but I think it sounds weird with Alex in front of it. Opinions?

Alex John S~
Alex Coleman S~

Quote from: Alexthecat on May 31, 2014, 03:35:48 PM
I'm debating on a middle name. They both represent my pappy who died. I like John but I think it sounds weird with Alex in front of it. Opinions?

Alex John S~
Alex Coleman S~

Would you consider going with Alexander? 

Alexander John

I think that sounds really nice.  Alexander would be your formal name, but you could just go by Alex.

I've thought about it but I wouldn't want to write that out all the time. Wouldn't I need to every time I need to sign for something?

Nah, you can use the nickname for your signature (and most things). Mainly the full name is just for things that specifically ask for it, like official forms. I do like the sound of "Alex Coleman Something" though.

I second that going with Alexander would make it easy to use John as your middle name, and you can go by Alex and sign things that way, too. Since I'm not legally able to change my name yet, I've been signing everything with my initials for years and never run into any problems.

I do like the initials AJ over AC. I've also thought of just not having a middle name.

I like John.

I also like john and think it sounds ok with just Alex

I think John is really good, actually. You could always do the initial thing too when you sign for something - Alex J Smith, Alexander J. Smith. And as someone else said, you can go by AJ if you felt so inclined.

Saying it as Alex J sounds better to me than Alex John. Though Alex is Alex due to my cat. She was never an Alexander.

Alex Coleman definitely has a nice ring to it, but so does Alex J. I also never had any issues back when I was using a shortened version of my birth name.

And I'm sorry for your loss, but I think it's great that you're representing your grandfather with the name change. :) Best of luck!

I honestly think "Alexander Coleman" seems to sound the best here. I like the name John but, the syllables don't match up well for my liking. Alexander which is 4 syllables is complimented well with Coleman being 2 syllables. Alex John is more of a 2,1 pattern. 4,2 seems a lot more appealing to me but, it's really all up to you! :^) Choose what fits best!

Quote from: Rengar on June 02, 2014, 07:41:37 PM
I honestly think "Alexander Coleman" seems to sound the best here. I like the name John but, the syllables don't match up well for my liking. Alexander which is 4 syllables is complimented well with Coleman being 2 syllables. Alex John is more of a 2,1 pattern. 4,2 seems a lot more appealing to me but, it's really all up to you! :^) Choose what fits best!

How does that work when my last name is one syllable?

It comes down to, which name do you like. You are the one who has to live with it.

Quote from: Alexthecat on June 03, 2014, 05:37:36 AM
How does that work when my last name is one syllable?

Changing my vote!  ha  If it is one syllable last name, I would go with Alexander Coleman.

Alexander Coleman Smith

Alexander Coleman Schmidt

Alexander Coleman Smite

etc.

Sounds great!

I think Alexander Coleman is a regal name, I like it, especially with a monosyllabic last name. I don't like John so much probably because I don't like to shorten things, so I like Johnathan but, not really john, but Johnathan seems kinda fussy as a middle name. Just my opinion.

I also feel kinda strange about middle names being the same as possible first names (few people have Coleman as a first name, many have john) but it is kinda silly for me to even bring it up because I picked my middle name as Elizabeth which is totally a first name being use as a middle. Though my names were chosen with a few nods to where I came from, much like what you are doing so I didn't have many choices.

Quote from: Alexthecat on June 03, 2014, 05:37:36 AM
How does that work when my last name is one syllable?

It's better to count syllables in a pattern like 4,2
Alexander Coleman Doe rolls off the tongue better than Alexander John Smith
But it's your name you're choosing. If you're dead set on Alex John then go for it! :^)

Quote from: Rengar on June 04, 2014, 01:14:55 PM
It's better to count syllables in a pattern like 4,2
Alexander Coleman Doe rolls off the tongue better than Alexander John Smith
But it's your name you're choosing. If you're dead set on Alex John then go for it! :^)

I disagree. I have hear such statements before but Alex John name doesn't sound bad at all.

I knew I wanted the initials AJ for family reasons and thought about carrying the tradition of john through(my dad and eldest brother both have john as a middle name). In the end though I decided against Alex john and settled on James as a middle name as I thought it wasn't such an abrupt sound after the Alex. I think Coleman goes really well.

As far as syllables, mine go 2,4,2. Just thought that was funny.

I like Alexander Jonh, but I think the syllable thing helps people remember your name a bit better, if you're going to use your full name. I do, because I like my full name now.