Susan's Place Transgender Resources

I'm trying to figure out what my female name should be and I'm just drawing a blank no one name is really sticking out to me. I keep thinking of names i like but none of them really feel like a good fit.  I kind of feel like i should have a name before I start hrt.  How did you guys and gals pick your new name?

I picked Stephanie because it is the female version of my name and also that is the name that I would have been given if I had been born a girl. So it was an easy choice.

I wrote down ten names each for the first, middle and last. I narrowed it down until I had one complete name that I liked.

I've been obsessed with the name Ashley for a very long time at least half my life. I've known a couple of Ashleys and while they were extremely attractive to begin with, they got "extra points" just for the name alone. In the last few I made up a fantasy girl named Ashley. She was pretty much me except a girl. Then the fantasy included being able to go a day as a girl. Then the fantasy including being a girl for a day occured more frequently. Then it became I can change gender at will. Now its full time I want to be a girl why the hell would I want to be a guy? Then I started to realize that Ashley was the fantasy of myself rather than the girl I was supposed to be with.

I have kept my first name as it is wonderfully unique and while on its own it can be unisex it is more know in my generation as a girl's nickname. It has also made transition easier for my friends as they only have to get use to pronouns and not a new name also.

My middle name will be (haven't changed it yet) the female version of my grandfather's middle name. He taught me values morals and how to be a good person, also his death is what made me realize I had to transition so this is a way for me to respect his memory.

I chose mine "Sylvia" due to its close similarity to my old one. First it was easier on my parents as I didn't change its essence.  Second it permited me to change my signature month before transitionning to full time. So no one questionned my signature later on.

I chose Allison because I have always liked the name ever since I saw The Breakfast Club. Every story I have ever written if there was a female character her name was Allison. It was just a natural fit for me.

Jaime was pretty easy for me. It was my nickname growing up but I started to become ashamed of it in junior high because it was too girly. That said, most of my family and friends from junior high through college know me as Jaime so it's pretty easy to just go back to it now. I'll have to pick a new middle name though because my current one is very masculine.

Francis Ann here. I'm not sure it just kind of fit long ago. It was cool when my first cosmo came in the mail addressed to Ms. Francis Ann_______. Good luck, it will come to you.

I was coming up with ideas for a new email at the very beginning of my transition. I decided to go with military phonetics for my initials. I loved Juliett so much that i just kept it when i did my name change.

I can't even count how many people have stopped to tell me that they love my name. Never had that happen even once with the name my parents picked.
As famous as my name is, it is exceptionally rare. The Romeo jokes get old pretty fast tho.

Dana here.  I tried Delaney for a month but had to spell it out a lot to people and repeat myself.  Dana is easy, is like Dave (people can correct midway if they go to say 'dave', I expect to be called Da... Na a lot to begin with.

Dana is from two characters... One from ghost busters, one from the L word.

My middle name, Laura, was the name I would have been called had the doctors not been all confused by the whole penis thing.  It was my grandmothers middle name.



Emmaline is the heroine in a novel I wrote.

I choose Bobbie which is both a male and female female name derived from Robert. Choose it because I am called Bobbie by my family and I like the name..

I somehow found the name Elis bcos it's not very common (I didn't want a common name as my female name was way too common, one of the many reasons why I dislike it) and it's slightly adrogenous as I'm not the most masculine guy in the world and not the most fem, so I wanted something to reflect that.

There was a character named Ashlotte in a video game (Soul Calibur 4), and I really related to her and I really loved her name, so I started using it as a username on some websites. When I realized I wanted to transition, I knew I would love to be called Ashlotte, but I didn't want such a weird name on my certificate. After that I looked on babynames.com for names I liked. I always loved the name Charlotte, so I put a bookmark on that and continued my search. Then I found a name that had a meaning that I really felt I connected with, and it was an Irish name. Ashling. Then I realized if my name was Ashling Charlotte, that could be abbreviated to Ashlotte as a nickname! Everything just fell into place, it was perfect. (still deciding whether to make it a 2-part name or a first and middle name)

Oops, scratch Dana.  I was talking about this thread and my wife confessed she hated it.  Though she was happy to support any choice of mine, she wanted to be honest rather than hide her feelings.

She is awesome.

My first choice was always Emma.  Her work friend is called Emma, so I automatically drew a line through it.  But she said she loved the name and it fitted me perfectly.  I am stunned!

Hi all.  Looks like I am Emma after all.

Just in time for my name change interview.

Quote from: Emmaline on August 27, 2014, 07:51:25 AM
Oops, scratch Dana.  I was talking about this thread and my wife confessed she hated it.  Though she was happy to support any choice of mine, she wanted to be honest rather than hide her feelings.

Perhaps Zuul, then? No, I see you settled upon Emma. "There is no Dana, only Emma"? Nah, doesn't flow. ;)

My name is gender neutral, so I'm gonna keep it. May change the spelling. May choose one of the less common feminine versions of my middle. My cousin has the common one.

Lol.  You are right.  I should pick Zuul now!

I actually picked my new names pretty quickly. I picked Erica because it is age appropriate, edgy and I just liked it being not to common. I picked my middle name Patricia to say thank you to a very special friend in my life who really has made a wonderful impact and difference in my life and I wanted my middle name to have real meaning and significance. I kept my last name as is.

So it was pretty easy for me and I never waivered once I settled on the names.

Good luck :)

Wrote down 20 names, asked for opinions, took them into account and ended up with Oliver.

It took me years to pick a name I could settle on. If you look at my real name it is obvious.

My mum suggested Francesca to me but I didn't settle on it right away. I wrote down one name for each letter of the alphabet to try and choose both my first and middle names. I ultimately settled on Francesca as my first name with Paige as my middle name.

My middle name is more likely to be a girl's name. I might choose it if I can ever be a girl.

My parents had names picked out for both a boy and a girl so when it came to it I just took the name they would have given me had I been born male. It just felt right to do so.

It was pretty close to my male name, Lucia that is, so I'm sticking with that, now my middle name, is up for grabs, maybe Mayra, yea that's it,  ::), see if I don't change it in a week.

Years back I was gonna be a Sophie as I've always loved that name but when we had a daughter I was allowed to name her and she got it.  When the ex wife was still being nice she helped me choose a name and she maybe rightly said keep the same initial as that makes signatures easier to do but outright banned me from using Sophie :) so we went through all the S names we could come up with and eventually got to my name. I arbitrarily added my middle name Jane as I wanted to choose one myself and then that felt right as it rhymed with pain which the wife said I was :) A pain that is  ;D

Hugs

Sorcha :)

I went through a few names before choosing Melissa, which was just a few days ago. The funny thing is that it was the first name I wanted to use, but some people in my life didn't like it or didn't want me to use it.

It is a name that has been with me since I was 6 or so years old. It was the name of my first "girlfriend", who was the sweetest and most beautiful thing I had ever seen. She moved away a few years later and I could not stop thinking about her for the next 20 years. I can't remember much about her now, but the name is still in my mind and it feels like home.

Melissa

My mom and my great grandma! My great grandmother's name was Alice, and I'm a huge fan of Alice in Wonderland. And my middle name, Terre, which is also my mom's middle name. It sounded fancy so :)

I don't know how I ended up choosing Christopher (I just liked it I guess) but I still have no ideas for my middle name. I don't want short names (like Jack, Jason and so on and so forth) so I'm having a tough time choosing  :D

I decided on Ashazti because it was similar to my real name, Ashley. I wanted to still have a part of it so my friends could still call me Ash. Both my first and middle names are also from characters I created in online games... I just thought them up. Soroya is my middle name. As for my new last name, I adopted my old middle name.

i've gone thru a few...but I always like the name Suzanne it has stuck for about 4-5 years now .  I always likde it as I thought it was pretty and feminine :)  .

So, I wanted a name that reflected my where I came from. I did not however want my fathers last name because I don't really get along with that side of my family (nor my father) so I got to thinking perhaps it would be a good idea to reflect this in the first name.

My mother had a very unusual name, I took the letters that made up that name and rearranged them to form a much more common name (Vera). It is simple, easy to pronounce and remember, and it fits. So I have stuck with it. I will say most other Veras I meet are older or Eastern European though.

I was going to choose something really plain for my middle name, but I have changed my mind, so my middle name is now going to be Euphemia after the Christian saint who lost her life for refusing to do something she didn't believe in (make sacrifices to the god Ares). While I am an atheist the story always resonated with me, that someone could have the determination to die rather than go against their beliefs and I wanted to honor that in my name. I have yet to meet anyone who wasn't eastern othadox named Euphemia but whatevs it is my name and I love it.

My new last name is a simple common one, that sounds well with the rest of my name and also has the same initials as my previous one as I have leaded there are advantages to having a last name that starts near the top of the alphabet.

I've always loved 3 names:

Stephanie
Emily
Tiffany

I had to scratch Emily off the list immediately as one of my closest girlfriends (and an ex-gf too) is named Emily... So I just thought it would be weird.

Tiffany is a great name... but I also find it to be a bit of a "stripper/porno" name.. haha So that prevented me from choosing it as something to go by for the rest of my life.. I only want to do this name change thing once.

So Stephanie it is..

My best friend hated the name I had chosen (Tracey) and the next day she suggested Devlyn. I fell in love with that, turns out her daughter was going to be Devlyn or Shannon and they went with Shannon. So my friend actually named me.

I've had a hard time deciding and I am still deciding. "Kate" is a placeholder but it's growing on me, at least as a middle name or variations thereof (Kaitlin, Catherine etc).

Growing up I always loved the name Alice, but it seems soooo boring now. I also liked Kimberly (I love it actually) but I hate the shortened version "Kim."

Then there are indian names because I'm ethnically indian (as in East Indian, not Native American). I often wondered if I should choose one of those instead. My kids have an Indian first name followed by a Christian middle name. Manisha Koirala is one of my favorite Bollywood stars but the presence of "Man" in it could lead to problems if I'm in a situation where I'm outed. Decisions, decisions. It's hard.

I'm still trying to decide upon a name.. I'm between Delphine, Divinia, or Kareena... Perhaps others.. I'm pretty obsessed with the origins of names and want my name to have a history and meaning that I connect with.. My birth name is pretty boring. I'm also trying to find a name that begins with a D as I have all of my artworks monogrammed and it'd be less confusing.. although my work is relatively new, so I've also considered just using whatever name I can connect with regardless of the first letter. I've yet to ask my parents what my name would have been had I been born with the correct parts. That sounds like a good idea! :)

When I was a kid I had asked my mom what my name would have been if I were born a girl, she said Sarah.  Never forgot that conversation, so it felt right to go with it.

Quote from: ImagineKate on October 10, 2014, 06:59:59 AM
I've had a hard time deciding and I am still deciding. "Kate" is a placeholder but it's growing on me, at least as a middle name or variations thereof (Kaitlin, Catherine etc).

Growing up I always loved the name Alice, but it seems soooo boring now. I also liked Kimberly (I love it actually) but I hate the shortened version "Kim."

Then there are indian names because I'm ethnically indian (as in East Indian, not Native American). I often wondered if I should choose one of those instead. My kids have an Indian first name followed by a Christian middle name. Manisha Koirala is one of my favorite Bollywood stars but the presence of "Man" in it could lead to problems if I'm in a situation where I'm outed. Decisions, decisions. It's hard.

I can understand wanting to avoid "Man" in your name, but what about shortening it to Nisha? I think that sounds nice, and would probably be fairly original.

My name (Aaryna) was my first character's name in Asheron's Call.  It was based on a woman's name from Beastmaster. It was in AC that I finally learned what it felt like to interact socially as a female.  I used the name for a lot of my online life which is the only place I could be genuine.  Ten years later when I finally figured out I needed to transition, I had discovered that this name I literally made up actually existed with that spelling and there are several girls in the world that have it.  So I kept it.

I chose the middle name Michelle in honor of my father Michael who never got the chance to know the real me because I was too angry and afraid to tell my parents.

Its a silly origin for a name.  I occasionally regret it for the attention it gets.  But I enjoy being Aaryna too much to care. 

Quote from: Daisy Jane on October 19, 2014, 10:02:02 AM
I can understand wanting to avoid "Man" in your name, but what about shortening it to Nisha? I think that sounds nice, and would probably be fairly original.

Nisha is actually very common. But it's nice.

I never really liked my given name so I always went by some nickname or another. Once I came out to a few people I got asked what I would change my name to and I sorta cheated really. I'm an enormous Iron Man fan so I started toying around with some way to use Anthony(Tony) as either a first or middle name and I ended up recalling that I really liked the name of a character that was on a tv show way back so I put the two together and came up with Anthony Nikolas and whether someone calls me Tony or Nick is totally cool! It's so strange actually liking my name for the first time in 36 years.

Well I once considered the name Crystal, I just loved it and it had a mystique around it. But I thought a little different and may attracted unwanted attention.

And so I decided I would keep my last name, so great that was one name I didn't need to worry about. I have children and wanted us to remain a family even by name.

So my first name I decided needed to be short, easy to remember (for me and others) and I also wanted to keep the same initial as I had before. So I came up with Bree.

I've liked Hailey for a long time and it has a nice ring to it I think. :angel:

For me this was a process. One that is still slightly ongoing.

For years I identified with a male name not my own. In part because I had a very, very, very old form name. Imagine being born in the 80s with a name last popular in the 20s. Irony is, the name is 100% androgynous and indicates  nothing about gender. Probably about as gender non specific as name's come.

So, for years I used the feminized version of my choice male name; Alex, I used Alexis. I chose a middle name that began with the first letter of my real name (referred to from here out as a name artifact). After some research I learned that 90% of people who change their name leave some indication as to the original name, whether it be initials or some variation of their old names they almost always leave name artifacts.That little factoid about name changes to me (a psychology student in transpersonal studies) made me think about why I kept any artifacts and or remnants of my old name.

What was the underlying cause became a big personal journey for me.

I had left them because of familial reasons was what I ended up realizing. My first name is My grandfathers (paternal) first name, my grandmother's (maternal) shortened name people called her, my fathers middle name, and half of my sisters first name. My middle name was my fathers first name, and surnames are surnames. I was unhappy with my middle name but was generally okay with my first  name.

Then my father committed suicide, blaming my transition on his choice. He cursed me up until his passing and wanted nothing to do with me.

That decimated any desire to leave even a single name artifact (named somewhat after him and my grandfather and the artifacts came from that tie) related to him, not even a last name. Since his name artifacts are  in all three of my given names. My birth name is his birth name reversed....and it is his last name.

Call it father issues if you want. I called it liberation from the negative feelings I carried from our time together and a way of being truly reborn and moving on.

It was only compounded when my affluent and well off grandparents did some deplorable things as well, basically disowning 60% of the family for reasons varying from "not doing well enough on their own", to "was a druggie in their teens and will never change". Despite my transgender status I was about the only one on my side of the family spared, and only because I am doing well enough to pay for all my surgeries oop if I have to and own a yacht..... basically superficial reasons.

Again family issues, but a series of them that left me absolutely disgusted with carrying those names.

So I did some soul searching.  Big time soul searching. Who am I? What cultural values do I prefer? What familial values do I prefer? If I could be anyone, in name, carry any identity in those words who would I be?

I looked to which cultures I most identified with, studied their name etymology, and then built my name much as I would for a daughter. I looked at most popular and least popular names. I looked at how names are derived from words. I studied who I was and who I wanted to be.

I found a word that meant little girl, in the language of a culture I not only identify with but am actually descended from; but not just any context of a little girl, one who has not yet finished puberty or who is stuck in puberty. An indication of my transition and a word that I actually found enthralling the first moment I saw it.

I took said word and namified it. What do I mean, it was not appropriate to be a name itself, but a slight derivation left me with a very feminine first name. Having studied name etymology had left me able to easily turn that word I liked into a name. And now a new name exists, one derived from that word. I have a lovely unique first name that sings with my soul.

For a middle name I sought out highly used names in the country that I had derived it from. This gave a commonality to my name with the region from which I was naming myself. But not just any name I wanted a name with an honourable tone, a bearing of a certain type and a strength to it. So I studied strong female names of that area and found the one that I most resonated with. The name of a Queen I have actually respected for my entire life.

Finally, I chose a last name regionally appropriate. It fit with the tone I wanted my name to carry, but it was derived from another area and an adopted name in the region I was building my name from. Since I have yet to fully change my documents it is of no concern, I will continue to evolve this one until it is absolutely me.

I ended up with a complete change of initials. A complete change of name. But I have sought a meaning for every part of it.

First name- Built by me with a word that describes in many ways what I will always be. Not Kamiki, Kami is a nym used to help keep me stealth, I cannot post my chosen. It is too unique overall.

Middle name- Regionally appropriate and one I find very attractive. Also carries with it a nobility as it is the name of many a Queen of England and her current Queen. A woman who I have held a great deal of respect for my entire life.

Last name- English derived, currently one of Danish origins and English adoption, but am considering another; the only part of my name I am not certain is locked is my last name, it does not yet resonate with me the way other parts do.

But yes, for me it was a process.

Kami


Edited for clarity.

I picked my name before I even knew I was trans.

Pretty much, I'm pretty huge into games, and I've also always wanted to have kids, so whenever I played games I kept names in mind. Usually girl names because they're just prettier and there's just sooo many awesome ones out there. Certain names I liked, however, I realized I couldn't use for a daughter since they were difficult to pronounce, longer than normal, or just not common, and I would fear bullying and such.

In any case, at one point I was playing a game and had to name my avatar character. Since I was able to pick the female character and give her my birthday and attributes and stuff, I decided to give her a name I really liked but one I wouldn't use on a daughter. So I brought back that mental list. I settled on the name of one of my favorite characters from the Fire Emblem series, Nephenee, because the name started with the same letter as my original guy name, it sounded really cool to me, and I could shorten it for nickname purposes (Neph or Nephy, for example, which is how my friends call me now.)

Suddenly, I was using this name in every game where I had an avatar player represent me, and with games having such an online presence, that's how people began to know me online. And then once I finally admitted to myself I was trans ... I briefly considered name possibilities before nearly immediately settling on that same name, because it just ... it felt like me. Like my name.

Later on I decided to add a middle name that would help me keep my initials, and also so that if anyone found my name hard to pronounce or too foreign or anything like that, I'd be able to default to something relatively more familiar. And with those parameters in mind I chose my middle name Bailey.

Justin, for my guy days.  It's a modification of my rather feminine middle name.  I also use a different last name, which is something similar, but different, to my real last name.

I googled "baby girl names."  I kept scrolling and scrolling...  It can be tough picking out a name for yourself!  Not everybody has a good story about how they picked their name.  My method of choosing a name was to think about people that I know(like coworkers/classmates) calling me that name and if I liked the way it sounded.  To me, I like "Claire" just because it is classy and sounds like a good name. 

I searched for gender neutral (since this was a very confusing thing for me at the time) tree names and found one that I liked. My name is now Sequoia and I kept my given middle and last name.

I just skimmed through hundreds of names, picked the top ones I liked, and then tried them on irl to see how they felt. So far what happens is that I like the name at first but when I use it I don't like it as much. I may just stick with my birth name at this rate, but when I think about keeping my birth name I feel unsatisfied. So Im just gonna keep at it until I find something I like.

I had a name fairly picked out and ready, but then I stumbled upon this topic, and now I'm thinking, I still really like Skye feel like it represents me very well and reminds me of one of my favorite colors. However now that I'm thinking a bit more maybe Miranda, maybe Kenzie, one of the more interesting ones would be Ferrin, sort of a modification to my username I'm so comfortable with online.

Waaaay back when I was 18 (my God, 40 years ago) I felt like I needed to define and compartmentalize the feminine me and decided to pick a name. I happened to be reading The Count of Monte Cristo and loved the name Julie. Sounded girl-next-door yet feminine to me and, best, was French and therefore classy. Staying with the French theme I picked Michelle as my middle name since I've always loved it and the combination sounds good. Odd that both are feminized male names, but they feel right. Looking forward to the first time my wife gets irritated with me and uses both my first and middle name... :)

I picked Leah because my middle name was Lee and i kind of liked that name. It means meadow and i love meadows and fields. (It also means cow but i don't focus on that part)

dreams.  from around 12 or so, ive always been female in my dreams and though ive never known anyone with this name before or heard it anywhere, it was the name i went by every night when i would fall asleep.  then i started using it online on video games, and now more people know and call me by this name, than my birth name.

I have always loved the name Elijah. Its just so.... me

Everyone has such interesting origin stories (yes, I did read every single post :) )!

As for me, I picked Erin for 3 reasons.
1.) The one side of the family that I can trace comes from all over the UK and Ireland as I think having a name from there would be neat.
2.) I had a friend named Erin who died when I was 15 (Went to her funeral on my 16th birthday) so it's in memory of her.
3.) When I first got to college I had a teacher named Erin, and if it wasn't for her I probably wouldn't be about ready to graduate; and without having the resources I've had on campus (therapists and things) I probably wouldn't be transitioning.

As for Laura (my middle) I won't lie it's from Laura Jane Grace. I've been an Against Me! fan since high-school (I'm 25). Watching her come out was a huge, huge inspiration. If one of your heroes is going through the exact same freaking emotions as you are, and doing something about it; what's your excuse for not?

...Oh funny post script to this. While I was trying to figure out how to come out to my Mom, I thought I'll ask her what she would have named me had I been born a girl. I'd have that info, I could be all sneaky and come out. She flat out told me she had my genetics tested in utero, "and knew I'd be a boy" so she didn't even think about it. haha.. It took me another few months to actually come out to her after that plan didn't work.

I did your survey ^

Quote from: catastrophe1993 on November 18, 2014, 10:44:44 PM
I did your survey ^

Yay! You're awesome :D

lol. Thanks

I picked mine because I wanted I wanted to keep my birth initials (AS) and my first name to sound similar to the one I already had since it was in honor of my great grandfather. My "real" name also began with Ar- and my middle name with S so I became Arden Sage. :)

Quote from: AshaztiSR on September 27, 2014, 01:36:05 PM
I decided on Ashazti because it was similar to my real name, Ashley. I wanted to still have a part of it so my friends could still call me Ash. Both my first and middle names are also from characters I created in online games... I just thought them up. Soroya is my middle name. As for my new last name, I adopted my old middle name.

Actually, I've decided to go with Soroya and make Ashazti my middle name... my therapist and I have been discussing the fact that I always tend to put everyone else first.. and at times to the point I'm harming myself. I need to put myself and my happiness first and just learn that I won't be able to please everyone. Soroya was the name I had chosen for my avatar in SL, where I finally realized who I was. I respond to this name already and really is what my heart feels is right! :)

I was so boring... I picked the female version of my name ... from Andrew to Andrea. I guess I'm just a kind of vanilla person ... I didn't want to go too far outside the lines. It fits well and it was easy for my family and friends to adapt to ... I guess it was the right choice after all. And as a bonus, people can call me Andy / Andi and I don't get offended because it's a nickname for either Andrew or Andrea :)

I asked my mom what she was gonna name me if I was a girl & she said "Jasmine" & I told my family & they were all " Omg, that name totally fits you! You totally look like a Jasmine" & I've asked other people & they've said the same . Give or take like 1-3 people max but most say it fits sooo yeah :)

I asked my mum what she would have named me, if I was born a girl, she said "Ashley" but I don't really like the name much, but one name I've always liked is sakura, it's Japanese, it means cherry blossom, or hatsumi, which means beginning of beauty, but I knew that would be weird if I had a Japanese name, so I looked online for similar name meanings n found Clhoe, it means green shoot or fresh blooming.
not so long ago I was questioning what name to pick, but this one seems to really stick, especially with it's meanings like I've freshly bloomed, as female, like I'm totally a new.

Daria and Quinn were sisters on a show called Daria in the late 90s.  Daria was this loner nerd, a writer who had a very cynical view of the world around her, very much like me.  Quinn was the pretty and popular girl I always secretly wanted to be growing up.  Sure, Quinn could be shallow and conceited, and Daria could be mean and spiteful at points, but the thing is... I'm kind of all of those things.  I am the cynical writer and pop culture critic who also longs to be seen as the pretty and popular girl that everyone adores.  I also love Tegan and Sara, and their last name is Quin.  I add the second N because it looks right to me.

Quote from: IAmDariaQuinn on January 11, 2015, 07:59:57 PM
Daria and Quinn were sisters on a show called Daria in the late 90s.  Daria was this loner nerd, a writer who had a very cynical view of the world around her, very much like me.  Quinn was the pretty and popular girl I always secretly wanted to be growing up.  Sure, Quinn could be shallow and conceited, and Daria could be mean and spiteful at points, but the thing is... I'm kind of all of those things.  I am the cynical writer and pop culture critic who also longs to be seen as the pretty and popular girl that everyone adores.  I also love Tegan and Sara, and their last name is Quin.  I add the second N because it looks right to me.

I love Daria!

But I always kinda felt more like a Jane kinda girl. :)

As for my name, I've spent much of my life hunting high and low for a name, as I always hated my birth name but nothing seemed to fit.

When my mother told me that she + my father had expected a girl, I was gonna take that name, but then.... It turned out that the masculine form of that name ended up being used for my brother, so I thought it'd be kinda weird to use that.....

I'm not even sure when Ally (Alisen) came to me, but when it did, it felt kinda like home.
I nicked the unusual spelling from a Canadian actress who was on an old TV show called Mysterious Ways. Not even sure if I liked the show, but I definitely liked the name! :)

There is no way to find the right name! Just dedicate yourself to looking up names online, and say them out loud with your last name. When you find the name, you will feel it!

I wanted to keep my initials the same and also have a similar-ish name so that when i finally do change it, it would be easier for people. Also I like my initials. I still debate between Abraham and Abram, but either way I want to go by Abe. I've always liked names that shorten into easy nicknames.

As for my middle name I'm still debating.

My online alias used to be Rose, so I just picked Ross because it's very similar and denotes that I'm still the same person, just a little change in identification! :P

I dropped the ny from Danny and substituted an i.  Danny is my legal birth name not Daniel.  Dani fit for me because it allowed expression of the real me, at the same time keeping the respect for my parents naming me intact.   Dani

Well, I picked my name based on the fact that I wanted to keep my Initials: ABR. I did not like the "female" version of my name so I looked at "a" names that I liked until I Amanda. I like the sound of it and it meaning: Worthy of Love. My middle name however, I could not find a "B" name I liked. My ex suggested Marie and I liked it. Not only that but I can honor my grandmother whose's name is Mary. I respect her very much as she has done a lot for me

I use the name that I have seen myself as since I was younger, but I don't know exactly where it came from. As for a middle name depending on how things go with my parents after I come out to them, I would consider their suggestions. Otherwise I am leaning toward one of two names, even though it would make my initials ELF.

Quote from: ErinReign on January 17, 2015, 11:21:37 PM
I use the name that I have seen myself as since I was younger, but I don't know exactly where it came from. As for a middle name depending on how things go with my parents after I come out to them, I would consider their suggestions. Otherwise I am leaning toward one of two names, even though it would make my initials ELF.

I think it would be really cool to have the initials ELF, I know one of my Exes was teased in school because her initials were RAG. Mine is VEB, which makes me want another middle name so I could be VERB  lol.

Quote from: Hikari on January 18, 2015, 03:33:27 AM
I think it would be really cool to have the initials ELF, I know one of my Exes was teased in school because her initials were RAG. Mine is VEB, which makes me want another middle name so I could be VERB  lol.

Yeah being out of the K-12 system makes it fine, just a humorous little thing. VERB would certainly be initials you could have fun with however infrequently they show up.

I started by looking up female first names online, and picking a list of about 20 I liked. Then, I showed those names to family members, co-workers, and friends. Co-workers immediately nixed most of the list, and then declared several of the remaining names to be stripper names (which they were totally right about).

Ultimately, every single person I showed my list of names to picked the same name. Everyone thought "Zoey" was perfect for me. I liked the name, and more than that, it was perfectly normal while not being super common. I couldn't think of anyone I knew at the time named Zoey, but I had known some who weren't much younger than me. I liked that it was short, friendly, and kind of cute without being over the top. It was a name that fit who I really am, without making anyone wonder about me.

My family started calling me Zoey, and I realized that hearing them call me that made me feel something I had never, ever felt when people called me by my birth name - it just felt right. People have been calling me Zoey for about 8 months now, and I still feel a little shiver of happiness sometimes when people say it. I haven't made it my legal name yet, but I'm sure I will. I'm very comfortable with it in a way I have never been with a name before.

As for a middle name, I'm just going with the one my mom was going to give me if I had been seen as female when I was born. I'm probably keeping my current last name. Originally, I had wanted to go with something interesting and flashy for a last name, but my mom is really adamant about wanting me to have the same one as her and my sister. The more I look around at last names online, the more sure I am that I actually like and want to keep my last name the way it is.

I thought I had a name down, and I have been using it in therapy and other places (Renee).

But after talking with my mom we decided on another. We kind of settled on Rhea. It kind of fits better with my original country and girls who were named that around when I was born. So I will go with that instead. I'm not even sure I want a middle name. Two is enough.

Then again everything is subject to change... Legal name change is being put off for a few months due to travel plans and I don't want my passport and IDs screwed up.

Haven't replied to this since I posted it but I think I've figured out a name for myself. I've been really liking the name Jillian, I really like names that can be shortened so I could go by Jill or Jillian depending on the day. I still have yet to tell anyone (other then therapist) that name as I still feel way too male to take on a female name. :( Maybe I'll start using it once I start getting gendered female but as of right now I still get called sir 100% of the time.

I chose my first name (Kahlan) because she is my favourite main character in my all-time favourite fantasy series (Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series). I wanted something unique and I found I always related to her a lot. I've never second-guessed it.  ^-^

I also decided to change my two middle names and my last name. I wanted a fresh start. I looked up female names online, as well as their meaning. I find the name blends together very smoothly (to me anyways) and it just suits me. :) I didn't want the female version of my old name, and I didn't find my new name fit well with my family name (along with the fresh start I was looking for). I'd prefer not to share it in an open post, but I'd love to share it privately if anyone would like to know my choice. :)

<3

The first incarnation of my female self was

Nurai (1.0) - Just being a transvestite in general. (I got the name from a person i went to school with. I thought their name was cool)
Karyna (2.0) - Began to identify as female but not really sure. (I liked the name Karina)

Finally

Monika (3.0) - The real me, this is when i confirmed my true gender. Ever since i realized who i truly was this name just stuck with me. (My aunt, my dad's only sister is named Monica. But i spelled with a K so i can create my own identity with it.)

For me, I just always thought I was a Jennifer. Unfortunately, my closest female friend is named Jennifer, and that was just going to be odd. So, I was just playing with names in my head, and was thinking of Jesse James (James is my legal name) which then became Jessica Jaymz because everyone needs a stripper name.

The name I'm using, and will be changing mine to is Jessica Jaclyn Hanna Reimer. Jaclyn because it has the same meaning as James, and I like it, and think it's pretty, and it lets me be JJ. Hanna because my Mom likes that name for me, so I'm honouring her with it.

I thought about using a name I had made up for the daughter I never had (I'm 100% infertile) Lyrren, but it doesn't sound right with Jessica to me. And it would be bitter sweet.

- Jess

Quote from: Jessica Jaclyn Reimer on January 24, 2015, 11:05:03 PM
I thought about using a name I had made up for the daughter I never had (I'm 100% infertile) Lyrren, but it doesn't sound right with Jessica to me. And it would be bitter sweet.

It's a similar situation I had with another name I considered, "Dominique".  I remember watching Dominique Morceanu's floor exercise during the 1996 Olympics, the year the team won the gold after Kerri Strugg made that vault landing with the broken ankle.  Anyway, I saw Morceanu, and was instantly drawn to her.  I even taped the floor exercise, for some odd reason.  And I'd find myself watching it over and over for almost two years, afterwards.  There was just such a grace to it.  I thought at the time that it was just an attraction to her.  We were around the same age.  I think I may have been, at most 6 months older than her.  But I loved that name, so much, I decided a long time ago that if I ever had a daughter, that's what I'd name her.  In a lot of ways, as a promise, that I'd do everything I could to give her the opportunities to be more than "just a girl", but to be a champion.  In whatever she wanted to be.  That you didn't have to let something silly like gender hold you back from being whatever you wanted to be.

In the few minutes I thought over the name, i knew it'd be unfair to keep it for myself.  If I ever do have a daughter, which could happen... had a son, after all... I'd still want to make that promise to her.  Because, I want her to have all the opportunities I never had, to have the whole world open to her the way it never was to me.

I could never be Dominique.  I wouldn't dare take that away from another girl.  No matter how much I wish I had it for myself, it just wouldn't be right.

I learned very young that my parents were so sure I was going ot be a girl that they only picked out a girls name for me Mary.  But with my birth defect they thought Mary would not be correct for what they were told was a baby boy.   So now I get the chance to fix my birth defect and at the same time become who they expected at my birth.  Also Mary is a very pretty name.

It was the name of this girl I thought was beautiful when I was still in denial and trying to be a straight man.

Then I realized that I actually want to be her.  :icon_boogy:

I had several names I liked, picked from baby name websites.  I then researched which ones were used when I was born, thought the SSI name index.  Ultimately, I decided on a feminized version of my current legal middle name.  My family has had several variations of Al's and I wanted to keep that up, but I prefer the Ah-Lawn-a pronunciation.  Alana, isn't a common name, but it's use in my birth year was on the increase and is in the top 400 names. 

Likewise, I have an aunt Jane and think it goes well with my new first name, and reversing my initials from JA to AJ. 

-Alana

About three months before I realised I was trans, I was talking with some fellow classmates of mine and we were jokingly discussing what our names would be in the opposite gender (based on closeness to our existing names). I couldn't really think of any names close to mine aside from Aaron, which I didn't think suited me, but then one of my closer friends suggested Andrew and I loved it. Little did I know that six months later, it'd be my legal name! So now my first & middle names are Andrew Michael, both very similar names to my birth name. After already deciding on Andrew, I looked it up, and it turns out it means "man" or "warrior," from Greek origins. Guess I sure know how to pick 'em!

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.

When I had long hair as a teenager my grandfather would jokingly refer to me as "Collina" (Col-een-a) and my girlfriend's name around that time was Nicole.  Naturally, my middle name being Cole made things very easy; Nicole.  I'm not sure if I could play around with my first name as that would just be way too easy.

I took the name my older sister gave me at age 3 and then teased me about forever.  She was not amused to have 8 brothers and, somehow  ;), identified me as the one most likely to be a girl.  I have almost no recall of those early years and, when I came out, I called her and talked about repressing those memories.  After therapy i was able to recall a few times we had played together and told her so.  She replied 'Oh Jimmy we played like that for years.' 

I have my former first name as a middle name to honor all of my long life and honestly, because being transgender is the truth about me.  I have been nicely accepted as Tessa James in our community and, as I transition, find i use the middle name less often.  My five sisters inducted me into the family sisterhood when I returned home for our annual gathering.  I just cried it felt so good.

Quote from: Tessa James on February 01, 2015, 12:44:19 PM
I took the name my older sister gave me at age 3 and then teased me about forever.  She was not amused to have 8 brothers and, somehow  ;), identified me as the one most likely to be a girl.  I have almost no recall of those early years and, when I came out, I called her and talked about repressing those memories.  After therapy i was able to recall a few times we had played together and told her so.  She replied 'Oh Jimmy we played like that for years.' 

I have my former first name as a middle name to honor all of my long life and honestly, because being transgender is the truth about me.  I have been nicely accepted as Tessa James in our community and, as I transition, find i use the middle name less often.  My five sisters inducted me into the family sisterhood when I returned home for our annual gathering.  I just cried it felt so good.

I really like that you kept your middle name.  I've often thought about doing the same but with my first name.  Romin Nicole.  It really isn't that bad and I use my first name for business, middle name for social/friends/family.  Keeps things simple.

For me it wasn't much different than picking a baby name. I did try to choose a male version of one of my female names (I had a few nicknames derived from my old first and middle names), but I had too much shame associated with them so I had to go with different letters and sounds. I made lists and settled on something that just felt good. I kinda wish I had picked something more common, but my main problem is the last name I chose for my daughter when I was a teenager, and I feel it would be disingenuous to change that part now.

Do what feels right and just plow through the reactions until you own it.

The joy of gender-neutral first names!

Alaric comes from a book and TV series I've been watching for some time, called the Vampire Diaries.

Alaric is one of my favourite characters, and that helped with the naming process ... but in the story, he's had a rough ride. He had his problems and he soldiered through them, more recently being forced to live and behave like something he didn't want to be. That he cares deeply for his friends despite all that and remains strong for the sake of others is what draws me to him. To me, the name is more like a vow or a promise. I can be strong, and I will be strong, both for myself and for my friends.

That's the story of my name, anyway.

Cheers!
Alaric

Well, when I came out to my internet friends, one over in the UK almost immediately called me "Julia Francis". I liked Julia, but Francis was my ex's mom's name  :eusa_doh: I chose Marie for a new middle name...not even sure where it came from. Found out after the fact that it's my fiancee's mom's middle name too   :eusa_doh: but by that point it had already stuck.

I picked Marissa because it was the name of a character  in a short story, plus its a name I always liked. I picked Grace as a middle name because my birthday is close to Thanksgiving, and it was the first Thanksgiving related name I  thought of.

This was very simple for me. Growing up my whole life I've always liked the name "Sam". I had a crush on 3 girls, all named Sam. So Naturally once I started thinking I was a trans, this was the first name that popped into my head. So Samantha is my future name to be. Simply cannot wait for people to call Sammi, Sam or Samantha. I just feel all tingly when I think about it. Soon. :)

i chose a name that was quite similar to my birth name, so that it wouldn't be that hard for others (or me) to switch when i come out. i've also always liked the name, so it was a win-win, i guess. plus i think it suits me well.

Quote from: QuestioningEverything on August 21, 2014, 05:43:02 PM
I'm trying to figure out what my female name should be and I'm just drawing a blank no one name is really sticking out to me. I keep thinking of names i like but none of them really feel like a good fit.  I kind of feel like i should have a name before I start hrt.  How did you guys and gals pick your new name?

I chose Serenity Faith because it spoke to me. The Serenity prayer has always given me strength and well, faith. Choose a title for yourself that speaks to your heart!! not what you feel others will perceive you best with :) how you feel inside will shine out. Thats what ppl truly see. <3

At  17 I knew I didn't fit the female mold like most of my friends but I didn't think yet of myself as trans*. I just knew I was sick of my old name, partly because several people got it wrong early in high school. I don't think I was searching for a substitute but I liked several dramas in which John Does would appear requently. Having typical teenage low self-esteem that seemed perfect for me, a nobody. When I considered the female version, Jane Doe, that felt quite wrong. I thought the male name would be too much hassle but I kept the initials and my gender-neutral name was found even before I knew I was agender.

I went through a list of about 50 first names, that I narrowed down by things like "Is shortened to ____", "is associated with ____", and "Can be misspelled frequently as _____" until I finally came to Taius, and something clicked. I love Tai, and I love Taius, it's the perfect name for me and I can't even explain why. It just...is.

As for my last name, I've always been obsessed with the name Quinn. Something in it just...sounds so fitting for me, and I have no idea what.  But I knew I did not want to keep my family name, since there's been some horrific history involved with it.

I can't wait to legally change my name, but for now I go by Tai with all of my friends and acquaintances.

Where i grew up in L.A. long time ago there was a female news reporter with this name.  I had both a man/girl crush on her.


And added the sofia as omg it is about the most feminine sounding name ever to me, just had to!

And here I am :)


Tawni

I was trying to think of a first name I liked, woke up one morning and glanced at my bookshelf, and saw a Dean Koontz book there, immediately fell in love with the name. Julian, my new middle name, just has this charm to it that I like :)

I always liked the name Mariah and I'm not really sure why other than it felt like it fit and it does like a glove. My middle name was a result of my reading a book and then finding out about that name. I hadn't given much consideration to it tell that point.
Mariah

i just started hrt  i have a few names  i need help  picking one  ashley grace    gina lynn    jessann hope thanks  the new  me

I asked my mom what she would have named me if I was a girl, and she stated that she doesn't know. In fact, she had several boy names planned because she only wanted sons. Ironically, she birthed 4 daughters.

I don't like the feminine form of my birth name, so I didn't choose it. My name is a French word, so I researched a list of popular French names for gals. I am very fond of Anaïs (and it rhymes with my birth name) and I love its meaning as well. It kind of stands out in America, though. So I went with Anna instead; it's basically a simpler version of the name. Coincidentally, Anna was a fairly common name during the year I was born.

The middle name that I choose is my username here: Estelle. The protagonist from Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky is partially the reason that I chose it, although I really like how it sounds in conjunction with my first name.  Anna Estelle seems really feminine to me. :D

My name, Max, was given to me by one of my therapists because of my inability to find a name I didn't hate. It was a name I really liked in childhood, and I'm pretty attached to it now. I chose for it to be short for Maxwell, as that's my favourite variation.

My middle name is Ezra, from Ezra Koenig. It's a unique name with a long history, I have positive personal associations with it, and it just sounds cool.

Though I have no real disconnect from my last name at birth, I always mentally go by the last name Salinger, half as a reference to JD Salinger and half for aesthetic reasons.

At the start of grade 8 I spent a day 'pretending' I was a guy, and a friend I have a long love hate relationship (but I now love her eternally) with said, 'Haha, lets call you Riley.', and, man, it just fit like a glove.

Quote from: al on February 18, 2015, 09:12:07 PM
i just started hrt  i have a few names  i need help  picking one  ashley grace    gina lynn    jessann hope thanks  the new  me

Of those you listed, I like ashley Grace best. It flows naturally off the tongue and sounds really pretty. Gina Lynn is also not bad but I've never been a fan of the Gina name. Jessann Hope sounds like you're trying to hard on that one. That's my thoughts on those.

Some of you guys have some really great inspiration for your names. While a few mentioned seem difficult to pronounce, that is what you like. Not my say on that. I simply went for a more modern and fairly common name. My current name is already a more rarer one so I wanted to fit in more to the crowd rather than draw attention.

Choosing a new name is not always as easy as it seems! 

I initially chose a name that meant something to me and which I liked.   When I first went to my gender therapist he asked me if I had chosen a female name yet. I told him and he made a note of it. On the next visit he greeted me by that name and it felt strange and uncomfortable but I stuck with it. As time went by it was obvious that despite liking the name a lot it just didn't feel right and work for me.

I was expressing my frustration and my partner suggested a name that she thought was nice.  I agreed and mulled it over for a while. It started to grow on me and on my partner. As I thought about it I really like it more and more. So we tried that name for a while and it felt good. So I took that name but used the Irish Gaelic spelling which you see below in my signature. I've never looked back.  So I guess you could say that my partner chose it for me!

It's weird, really. I never gave it much thought despite always thinking about living as a female. It just kind of came to me. I really like Sarah. So that's what I changed my name to, socially and legally!

lol...there was really no method to it at all.

I actually go by Damien now and it's because of the Omen film. I'm cuckoo for horror movies.

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fd1fgn7wex1bhjn.cloudfront.net%2Fassets%2FtarantulaV2%2Fembedded_images%2F1350039513_omen_1976_damien.png&hash=fc0f0e0717f57d696e42ef9c6a8bf47daae810d1)

So many lists and I'm still not sure. Just names on websites, media, in passing, anything I hear or see that I like I write down in a specific journal and every now and again I go through it and narrow it down to a small list, and if nothing on there works out, I usually end up going back to the first list, or making a new one. I let my mom make suggestions, but she hasn't really come up with anything.

I've always liked the name Alex and I was looking for an international and unisex name(in the beginning I wasn't sure if I was FTM or Genderqueer), so it just fitted and I decided to go by it.

I had a few I liked, and Ainsley was the only one that my wife and I agreed on. LOL  She is picky, esp. after 25 years of calling me by my boy name.  I was glad she liked Ainsley because that was my preference of the few I was debating on.  I didn't change my middle or last name.

Quote from: ainsley on March 06, 2015, 03:03:39 PM
I had a few I liked, and Ainsley was the only one that my wife and I agreed on. LOL  She is picky, esp. after 25 years of calling me by my boy name.  I was glad she liked Ainsley because that was my preference of the few I was debating on.  I didn't change my middle or last name.

Wow, Ainsley was the name of a character that I created when I was a kid. I've never actually heard it in use before. It's beautiful, isn't it!

Quote from: Tripdistrans on February 21, 2015, 09:20:00 AM
At the start of grade 8 I spent a day 'pretending' I was a guy, and a friend I have a long love hate relationship (but I now love her eternally) with said, 'Haha, lets call you Riley.', and, man, it just fit like a glove.

I like that name :)

Quote from: serenityfaith on March 06, 2015, 09:35:41 PM
I like that name :)

Why thank you very much.  ^-^
I'll hopefully be able to legally add my chosen middle names this year.
Riley Zane Roderich B. , much better than my birth name.

Quote from: DragonBeer on March 06, 2015, 10:18:32 AM
I actually go by Damien now and it's because of the Omen film. I'm cuckoo for horror movies.

I saw Omen II alone when it came out because no one would go with me. There was a crowd of teenaged women in the row ahead of me who wouldn't shut up so I started chuckling evilly every time something was about to happen. ;) First time that I felt good about my voice since it dropped. I had a lovely singing voice before puberty hit.

I reviewed a list of names and said them out loud until I found a few that rolled off the tongue nicely. Then I picked what I liked the most from that list.

I never liked my birth name. Andrea Elizabeth has just never fit me. I went by Andy/i for a while but it never sat right. I go by Javert nowadays but as a pseudo last name even though I have no issue with my legal one.
If I were to ever legally change my first name it would have to be Erik. That name belongs to one of my characters in the short stories I wrote and has always been my go to. I never thought much about middle names, maybe I'll be Erik Javert F. Who knows?

I wanted a name that was similar to my current name. I plan on having two middle names one being my mothers middle name and one being my uncles middle name. So when I change my name I plan on going by Jessie Lee Ann.  A few weeks ago I was going through my late mothers things and came across a postcard I sent her in 1970 that I signed like this....
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi79.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fj142%2FJessie-Ann15%2FMobile%2520Uploads%2F5A0AE1DA-414F-424E-BBC8-25C8B9E7F8D0_zpszzvlbrk0.jpg&hash=012131175dee024796c8cadcb27823d0679d8eff) (http://s79.photobucket.com/user/Jessie-Ann15/media/Mobile%20Uploads/5A0AE1DA-414F-424E-BBC8-25C8B9E7F8D0_zpszzvlbrk0.jpg.html)

I have gone by Aubrey for a few years but only online so far. I really like the name for two reasons. My current name starts with an A as does that of my younger sister so it holds to the name conventions my parents went with. Also it was the name of a song by the group Bread and my father really loved that song.

I chose a name from a Beatles song and also changed my last name (since I'd been disinherited) to a simple name synonymous with rock. I figured I'd never have issues with people spelling such a simple word.... But noooo. You should see the list of names that come on my credit cards. I must have ten AKA's on my credit score. How hard is ot to spell stone? I've had Stovic, Stoned, Stoner, Stover, Stoke.... And on and on. At least they get my first name correct. I guess I'm now completely out to the world if they bother to read this bbs.

I always liked the idea of an already cool name being cut down and being a cool nickname as well. It was tricky but I like the way Jamieson sounds and I think Jamie's a great nickname. It also starts with a J like my birth name and that was important to me. I'm legally now a JJ haha

I went with the name Elisabet for a long time before coming out and going 24/7.

When I was readying myself to go full time, start HRT and come out to my family I decided to change my name

In my native tongue, the name I was given at birth can't be feminized. It's a real shame, because my parents gave me the name after my grandfather who had just died shortly before I was born. So a bit of guilt here... :(

First I thought about naming myself Rose, like my two grandmothers. But I already have a cousin with that name.
Second I thought naming myself with the name Sonia, a name I liked a lot I was a little kid according to my parents.
But, finally I decided to go for a name that I really liked NOW. So, Isabel was the final decision. And a decision I do not regret  :)

So, as you can see, I've spent a lot of thought on this part, maybe too much, but for me it is very important.

Hope this experience could helps others trying to figure out their name.

Hugs

I went with Emmett as it's a masculinisation of my birth name, that also happens to be neutral. My middle name is a direct masculinisation, and is something I went by for a time when playing online games.

Originally I had a list of names I liked and had narrowed down to a few top favourites, however none of them really suited me. I like Emmett as it sounds familiar, and is a bit of a homage to my birth name - I was named after someone whom my mother was friends with that lost her battle with cancer before my birth.

As for surnames, well I'm changing my surname to my mother's maiden name. I want as little to do with my father as possible, and thus that means changing my surname to something I like better. Just so happens that my mother's maiden name is super cool (even if it's more common that my father's surname). That way I can be an ELC instead of an ELB. :D

I asked my mother what she would have named me if i was born a girl, she told me my name would have been Juanita, that is how i got my name.

When my mother was pregnant with me, the doctor determined that she was having a girl. The name my parents chose was Lisa Renee. When I was born with the wrong parts, they went with a different name (my old name). I chose to reclaim the name I should have had. I added the female version of my old name as a 2nd middle name to make it easier to explain should someone call me by my old name (I always went by the shortened gender-neutral form of my old name).

I knew I was a girl when I was very young.  There was a family across the street with two girls, Stacy and Stephanie.  Stephanie and I would play together, and I always thought that my name should be close to hers.  I always thought her name was spelled "Steffanie" rather than the actual spelling.  I made the name Tiffanie by taking the first letters of my legal name and adding the "ffanie" of how I thought her name was spelled.  I didn't meet a girl really named Tiffany (or any spelling thereof) until I was 10 years old or so.

It is actually an interesting story of how I had claimed Kate.

One summer night, June 6th, 2009, if I remember the date right. At approximately 8:56 pm, or somewhat close by. I received a fateful phone call, or rather it was one of those accidental calls. But the first words from the other party, "is Kate home?," I politely say that there is no Kate here, and they had the wrong number...
That night, I did have a dream, I was in female form, and addressed by the name Kate. (I had sudden chills, writing this)

For myself I thought of my personality and who i want to become then made a list of 20 best names and worked my way through them until I found one that stuck and was perfect

Ha! well my user name here has kinda stuck elsewhere. But it was really just a reaction to an overbearing person who got it into her head that she could decide what my name was. I misspelled it on purpose, not intending to keep it at all. But I might. Deep thinking has me leaning towards April as a name tho.

Though I haven't changed my name yet, I've finally made a decision on what I want it to be. My middle name was easy enough, Shaun, which is a masculinisation of my first name, or basically dropping the last letter. For my first name, I've gone through three names before finally deciding on one. Originally, I wanted to go with Louis (or Lewis, I hadn't decided on spelling) but I can't remember the reason why. Then, I was considering Martin, which I stuck with for about two years. There's no reason behind that name, I just liked it. Hunter, which is my final decision, actually came from my favourite video game (points if you know what it is). I like the sound of my new name. Hunter Shaun (Surname retracted).
I have in the past asked my parents what they would have called me, if I had been born male. They always said that they'd never considered it, and I'm actually named after a TV presenter, because they liked the sound of the name.

I kept my first name because it's unisex and I like it, but my masculine second name had to go.  My new middle name came to me while I was thinking about a name for a character in a story I was writing.  The name seemed to fit me better than the character in the story so I kept it.  Friends and most people I've come to know post transition call me by my middle name which is fine by me.
The big advantage with keeping my old first name was that when anybody did the emotional, 'You'll always be xxxxxxx to me', thing I would tell them that it was still my legal first name which would sort of knock the wind out of their sails more than just a little.  ;)

Kaylee comes from firefly, as I watched the series I thought that she was so pretty under all the layers of dirt and grease. Which suits me to a tee.

Quote from: immortal gypsy on August 21, 2014, 07:08:37 PM
I have kept my first name as it is wonderfully unique and while on its own it can be unisex it is more know in my generation as a girl's nickname. It has also made transition easier for my friends as they only have to get use to pronouns and not a new name also.

My middle name will be (haven't changed it yet) the female version of my grandfather's middle name. He taught me values morals and how to be a good person, also his death is what made me realize I had to transition so this is a way for me to respect his memory.

Slight revision from me. I'm changing (or actually extending) my first name. I came to this decision after I saw my hospital discharge report. While I liked seeing and hearing the short nickname version of my name, I later came to the conclusion that seeing the full version would be more me.

Even when you write the name down and are sure, sometimes the eureka moment hits you when you least expect it.

When I was a little kid, I'd spend so long trying to figure out what my "boy name" would be (seriously, how did I not know i was trans then?!). I wanted a name that started with "s" like my birthname does, but all I could think of was Steve and I didn't really like that, but little six-year-old me gave up and settled for referring to my "boy self" as Steve :P

When I first began realizing that I'm trans a couple years ago, I (like many people) made a list of potential names. I wanted an "s" name, but I still was lost. Steve wasn't fitting, and the only other name I could think of that I liked was Spencer, and as much as I love that name it didn't feel like me. So I gave up on an "s" name and searched more; I especially liked the names Jackson, Josh, and Phil, but none of them felt right.

But then I kept going down my list, and when I tried out Alexander, it seemed to fit. It was my eureka moment :P I've always really loved that name, and it was the first name that really clicked for me. So I've been Alex ever since

The names I have always liked best, Fiona and Rachel, come from girls I knew and wanted to be like as a child. I am recently out as transgender to my close friends, but pre-everything transition wise, so it is probably too soon to get away with changing to a female name now. I desperately want to stop using my male name though, as I am finding it increasingly painful to think of myself in that way. As a compromise I am thinking of using something unisex which is feminine enough to make me feel better, but neutral enough to get away with when I have to be seen as male. My best fit is Lindsey, after a friend from my student days. I also considered Loren/Lori and Finley.

During therapy last week my counsellor asked what the name would be of my inner child, the girl I was never allowed to be. I didn't know, but I thought about it for a while and then went to Mass for the first time in about two years. In church there was a children's display where they had all drawn around their hands, coloured them in and written their names in the middle. The one with the name Lucy on it really leapt out at me. It's not a name I'd ever considered before, but it felt like a perfect fit. Saint Lucy is the patron of sight and insight, and inspiration for artists and writers.

I now feel reasonably content knowing that Lucy is what my name should be deep down, but Lindsey is similar enough sounding to work as a compromise until I can present as fully female.

I've always loved unique names and a years ago I came across Raven. And I immediately loved the name and felt an attachment. Before identifying as female I always used the name for my characters in video games. And based their looks on how I'd like to look as female.   

For me, I picked my name long before there were webpages with baby names (well, before there were webpages period!). If I were to do it now, that's where I would start.

My name was definitely John Hughes derived, from Some Kind of Wonderful. Here comes 'Little miss Amanda Jones' was just the epitome of everything cool I had hoped to be when I was young. So it went for me. Unfortunately for me, I was to later suffer trauma at the hands of one Bart Simpson. After the Bart prank phone call to Moe's tavern, my name has been the unintentional butt of gender-based jokes for years. I am stealth, so I had the choice to grin and bear it, or change my name again.

For me, it was more important to stick to what felt right, and what I believed fit me best. So, Amanda it became.

I wanted to keep my same initials as my birth name. and since people always called me Zachariah when butchering my birth name it made sense.

Funny, but in my online presence elsewhere on the net, my Marly name doesn't seem to get picked up as a female name. Bob and Ziggy may have something to do with that I guess. I still deciding whether to keep that, change it to Marley, or go with something totally different.

Thanks for asking.

Michelle is feminine version of my originally given name. But I like Martine too. So, when the time comes, I will file to get Michelle-Martine. It is long and I'm not fussy about shorts. Someone can use any of the two, or go for the long version as well.

It would be a really big gift if my mom called me that.

Hi Marly,

I like this name, especially after I saw Rachel Weitz's character in Runaway Jury. It's a fun movie, and one of the few where John Cusack excelled.

Angela just sounded good to me.  It resonated inside me and still does to this day.

Quote from: orangeskipper on June 17, 2015, 05:03:38 PM
Hi Marly,

I like this name, especially after I saw Rachel Weitz's character in Runaway Jury. It's a fun movie, and one of the few where John Cusack excelled.

Thanks! I didn't even think of that. Of course, she spelled her name Marlee, but I might  just change the spelling to that :)

Funny, my parents inadvertently gave me the shortened version of a Celtic female name (Oops). My favorite full version means "beloved", so that's an easy one. My middle name is actually Hebrew, the female version is pretty obscure but I found it, It means "strength", same initial. I think that keeping things mostly the same will help my parents and friends to keep from thinking that I'm trying to rebel or disconnect from them. Same person as before, nothing to see here folks......

Quote from: awilliams1701 on August 21, 2014, 06:37:06 PM
I've been obsessed with the name Ashley for a very long time at least half my life. I've known a couple of Ashleys and while they were extremely attractive to begin with, they got "extra points" just for the name alone. In the last few I made up a fantasy girl named Ashley. She was pretty much me except a girl. Then the fantasy included being able to go a day as a girl. Then the fantasy including being a girl for a day occured more frequently. Then it became I can change gender at will. Now its full time I want to be a girl why the hell would I want to be a guy? Then I started to realize that Ashley was the fantasy of myself rather than the girl I was supposed to be with.

(I'm over a year late in replying to this, but it's my first posting in here.)

Good golly Miss Molly ... this account so closely mirrors my own that it's almost uncanny.  I posted the full story more than once over on TGBoards but right now that forum has vanished off the face of the Earth (dead link) and there is just no indication whether they will be back online in five minutes or never.  I feel a little ... imposing ... posting it here because I know there are a lot of people from there over here, who have already read it, but here it is anyway.

Way back when I was 15 years old my aunt lived in the upstairs flat of our building so I used to visit her often.  She was the most awesome aunt so I spent a LOT of time up there.  One day we were watching the 1976 (OMG yes I'm that old!) Olympics on TV and a commercial came on with a teen girl with super long, straight, thick, gorgeous, silky blonde hair to her waist.  Marcia Brady was bald by comparison!  She was spinning around with that hair flying in the wind behind her.  My aunt made the comment "WOW look at that hair!"  And that was when I created my own version of your Ashley.  Memories are somewhat vague here; I picked the name Jessica for her because (as far as I've been able to piece together) I had recently read the book Logan's Run (long before the butchered movie version was released) and apparently I was obsessed with the name Jessica.  I never personally met anybody who had that name, or anybody who even came close to resembling that girl on TV - who, of course, became my dream girl Jessica. 

When I made the firm commitment to transition (I am still in the prep stages; have not begun HRT yet), I did a lot of deep reflection and I decided that the reason I never met anybody even close to my dream girl was because she doesn't exist out there.  She's me.

Sound familiar?  I think it always lends a degree of support when we run across another person - even one - who has almost an identical story to our own.  It's kind of sad that names like Ashley and Jessica have been so overused in recent years; I picked Jessica in 1976 when NOBODY had that name.

[SIGH] it is a cold, cruel world!  So, when things actually reach the point for me of legalizing a new name, it will be Jessica Christine - Christine being the feminine form of my current Christopher.

Some of you have such amazing stories of getting your name!

Mine is a lot more simple. I actually am not 100% sure why but from an early age the name Sophie resonated with me and it just feels right.

I experimented with another name a few years ago but ultimately ended up back with Sophie.

For a middle name friends actually named me. Quite a few interesting suggestions came up but I loved Lily as a name when it was suggested. It sounds amazing to me when said together as Sophie Lily.

I picked out my name (Bridget Yvonne) after Bridget Fonda, my favorite actress & Yvonne, her character Yvonne Biasi from, IT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU. Bridget Fonda & my GF Vikki are 2 of my favorite girls. Funny thing is that all 3 of us are same height/ weight 5/6 147. Ms Fonda & Vikki have the same measurements 34B-24-35. I was just told that I will stay VERY full 34A. I was told that, even though my Mom & my sisters are 'gifted' I started my transition after Puberty (24+)   

HyperSlut_23: about 1 month ago

Someone else in another group asked a similar question about a month ago; I've just copied my response to that below for you as it's relevant. :)

I found the new name thing very strange indeed....I picked one I liked and just stuck with it. It felt weird for ages, but as time goes on and you start to hang associations off of your new name, along with getting used to responding to it, it feels increasingly right.

I did actually keep the nickname people used for me previously as my middle name, partially because I really like it (it's Dazzle), partially because loads of people use it and partially as a link back to the name my parents gave me & that I've been called my whole life; I'm not a 'new' person, I'm just a more correct, evolved version of myself and I felt that this approach reflected that. It also makes life generally easier for those around me, which in turn makes my life easier. And, you know, it's a wicked name! :)

Now there are people that use my middle name and people that use my new first name; either is fine with me and I'm feeling good about the choice I made. Took a while to get the hang of the new first name, though, but it grows with you as you move forward through your transition, which has been a very pleasant side of the experience, in my opinion. :)

I like Dazzle!!!  It's completely different, and you don't have the whole world moving at once to use it like a flock of obedient sheep who all think they're being different - in exactly the same way at exactly the same time.

I picked Alex as ive always liked the name, and its unisex which was important to me as my dad is religious and doesnt really understand being transgender, so it was easier to ask him to call me an androgynous name than a "male" name

Mine was very simple, I just added 3 extra letters,  ''i n e''  changed my name from Paul to Pauline, it's a feminine version, my parents told me if I was female at birth I would have been called Pauline, when I did eventually transition to female, I transition from Paul to Pauline, very simple.

I am intrigued by the number of women here that chose "Sarah". Could it be just a coincidence?

The only reason my parents named me "Nicole" is because they liked my nickname Nikki so much. Turns out they should've just named me Nikki, cause that's what I'm legally changing my name to. I'm still struggling with finding a middle name though.

I personally went for Layla because I found myself fond of the name. I tried it out for characters in games and enjoyed people referring to me by it. When I eventually get a legal change, I'm thinking of Sophie as a middle name as that would had been my name if I were afab.

My family is of Scottish decent and I was looking for a name rebirth/renewal meanings.

Ewan (pronounced Owen) is the Scottish spelling. It means 'born of the Yew'. The Yew tree symbolises rebirth, resurrection and longevity.

I'm not completely sure about my name, but I started calling myself Moth back in 2013 (I'm ftm but i was nonbinary back then). I'm scared that it's a bit feminine but eh, whatever. It's more natural to me than my birth name. bugs4lyfe  ;D I may start going by "Aidan", apparently if i was a boy that's what they wouldve named me

Quote from: mothman on September 07, 2016, 09:16:26 PM
I'm not completely sure about my name, but I started calling myself Moth back in 2013 (I'm ftm but i was nonbinary back then). I'm scared that it's a bit feminine but eh, whatever. It's more natural to me than my birth name. bugs4lyfe  ;D I may start going by "Aidan", apparently if i was a boy that's what they wouldve named me

Sorry to interrupt this thread. I want to take a moment and welcome Moth to the site.

I'm not sure that it sounds feminine. It's kind of a great nickname. Aidan is a very cool name too.

I also want to share some links with you. They are mostly welcome information and the rules that govern the site. If you have not had a chance to look through them, please take a moment:

Site Terms of Service & Rules to Live By (https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,2.0.html)	Standard Terms & Definitions (https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,54369.0.html)	Post Ranks (including when you can upload an avatar) (https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,114.0.html.)
Reputation rules (https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,18960.0.html)	News posting & quoting guidelines (https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,174951.0.html)	Photo, avatars, & signature images policy (https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,59974.msg383866.html#msg383866)

Once again, welcome to Susan's. Look around, ask questions and join in.

With warmth,

Joanna

Hi there :)
Melissa has always been the more "natural" name for me...it just popped up. I saw it first in the credits of a family series on TV, it got stuck :)
Melissa

I realize this is an older thread but there seem to be no qualms about it being resurrected, so I'll go ahead and add my two cents.
My birth name can't be feminized, and it's also not a very common name which is something I never really liked about it. So I had to start from scratch, and I wanted a name that was a bit more commonplace. I went through several names I liked and tried them online, but they all seemed a bit pretentious to me. Eventually I settled on either Erin or Lauren. In the end I went Lauren, after two different friends at different times that I thought maybe I had a crush on, although now I'd characterize the feeling as more platonic admiration (that, plus I really liked their names). It feels right. Even being pre-transition and mostly closeted, I find myself more and more referring to myself internally as Lauren, and when I look in the mirror, the person looking back at me is Lauren and it feels like that's always been her name. It makes me happy.
Not sure about my middle name, though. My current one is very masculine and will definitely have to go, but I don't really have any ideas. Thought about Michelle, being the traditional option, but my dad and brother both have Michael as a middle name so it would be a little weird.
I likely plan on keeping my last name, but there's a possibility that may change as I really don't know how my family will take my coming out/transitioning. We'll see how it goes, I guess.

My mom told me a story a long time ago about how they, and their doctor, thought I was going to be a girl for most of the pregnancy, and my name was going to be Ashley. After the doctor assigned me a different gender, my mom's friend tried to convince her to keep the name because it would "teach me to fight." haha

Seemed only fair that if my parents had a lady name for me, that I use it :)

Stefan was originally a name of one of my story characters that was surprisingly a lot like myself (only biologically male). And so I fell in love with the name ever since, it fits me (and my signature doesn't change, initials still 'SB'). I also plan on having Mirath as my middle name.

Back in 2005, before I even knew about the word "transgendered" I would go on chat and use "Bowie" as a username. I never really said explicitly if I was male or female. Eventually I got a group of friends and they started calling me David. I have lost all contact with those people, but I realized, due to that history, that "David" is a name I somehow respond to and can identify with.

I went back to the year I was born and looked at popular names for girls that year beginning with G. . . .

It's still early days for me, but I've been going by Sander.  It would have been Alex, but I have a sister named Alex so that won't work.  Sander is really the other thing you can do with Alexander, and it's not too common, so I like it.  It may or may not end up being what's printed on my legal documents. 

Well, the most likely name I would have chosen would have been the name  that was intended for me had I been born female, but my notoriously unimaginative parents gave that one away to my little sister. So the first thing I did was make a big list of names I liked from memory and then on baby name websites. After that, I started eliminating whatever names I felt just didn't fit me, which was hard because I spent days crossing out names I really liked. Once I narrowed that down, I started trying combinations to see what had the best ring to it. It wasn't long before Liberty Autumn stuck out on the page and after a couple days of mulling it over, I was sure that it was me.

I originally picked Veronica because it was one of the few girl's names I liked that I never really knew someone who had. I definitely didn't want an ex-girlfriend's name.

Still not sure I entirely like it enough to legally change my name to Veronica though. I am starting to think about using a feminized version of my birth name. People have sometimes called me this to insult me, but I actually liked it. I like the way another feminized version sounds better though. Thinking about names too much makes me dysphoric. Is this unusual?

I really wish my parents had just gave me a unisex name so I didn't have to deal with this.

One day, my wife, daughter and I were having sushi and we were looking up names for a new cat that we had got.  This cat was female, so of course we were looking at female names.  During this process, i kinda started to wander off and found my name on a website of names and adjusted the spelling of it to be closer to my old name.

I chose mine - no, it isn't "Terence" - to be as close to the sound and ethnic background of my close male relatives' names as possible. I don't want to be trans male, I want to be plain male, and I didn't want a name that stuck out from the names of my family.

well, I think the ideal thing would be to use the feminine form of your name, my name was "Alfonso", that name is as masculine as masculine can be here in Mexico, the feminine counterpart was "Alfonsina", it's horrible, I seriously hate it, so I went to the internet, checked lists of girl names and decided my new name would sound at least a little like my old one, now, my dad gave me that name and I feel bad about changing it, but I can't live with that name anymore, so after a lot of name searching I ended up choosing "Alanna", it means Brilliant or shiny I don't know, either way I liked how it sounds with my middle and last names, so Alanna I became.

I started off as L*** (before using a different name), then went to L, now Elle is my legal name!

I go by variations of my male name. Sandra was the first iteration, Ellie is the furthest from it (still derived from it as in Allie -> Ellie -> Eli), some other people call me Sasha (that's what my parents would call me actually when I was small)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My mom suggested my name. My male name was Julian. My mom suggested Julia because it sounds similar and it would be easier for everyone than a entirely different name. I think maybe she was right. My family and friends picked it up right away. I only had someone call me Julian twice when I first transitioned.

I had previous girl name before this name but eventually I found my current name is the true reflects of myself

My birth name was a name that was used by both males and females, but I did not want to keep it.  I also decided to change my middle and last names as well.   There was a name I loved the most, but I couldn't decide on a last name and then one day I said, hmmmm why don't I use that name as my last name?  So I started by picking my last name before anything else.

Then one day I was on facebook and this girl had posted a pic of a test she had taken where she like got an A or something, and the way she had written her first name was sooo stinking cute.  So I said it with my last name and was obsesssssed.  However, I am very big on monograms and I didn't want that letter to be my monogram, so I chose a name that that was a "nick name" for.   (think how Bob is short for Robert, so the R would be my monogram not the B)

My middle name I chose because it was another name that I loved at the time, there was a girl who was very big in pageants at the time, as well as a lead character on a TV show with the same name and I just thought it was so cute, so thats how I chose my middle name.

My mother who is unsupportive of my transition had a name that was for me had I been a girl, and after me a brother was born, so she still didn't use it then; however I hated it.  Kayla- not for me at all! (though I think the spelling Kala is much cuter)  I think had that been my name if I was born genetic female I probably would have changed it too lol.

Loved the name of the host of Wild On - Jules Asner back in 1997.  So It has been with me for awhile.

I took me a while to choose a name.  Nothing really felt right until I thought about maybe working off of a family name.  I fell in love with my moms middle name which was her moms name, Eva.  Which led me to Ava and bang it just clicked with me.  It still has the same or close to the same meaning behind it.  Sounds and looks a bit different so nobody should be offended in my family (although that could happen regardless of the name).  I'm probably going replace my middle name with my male first name.  So, Ava Tyler [last name].  I will just leave that last part out lol.

Ava   

I don't have to change mine!!! Just add a couple of letters. My mother said that she named me Daniel so that it would be a little unusual. Then after I was born my name popped up every where! I've always loved my name. Working with Hispanics was fun, it's Danielle with a Spanish accent! So thanks mom, you did me right!

At first I wanted to use a female version of my birth name, but that one was tied to bad memories, so I decided I needed a drastical change. I searched for some time, but I could find only one that caught my attention, Lisandra. I chose that one. No middle name. I wanted one, but couldn't find a good one. If I had to change my name today, I would choose Ariel as middle name.

10 years ago I changed both my last name and first name. I chose Nina...being one of the three ships Columbus sailed into the new world. As I was entering a new world/life as Nina, it felt appropriate. My first tattoo is a butterfly with "Nina is Free"

I already liked my name, 'Tommy', so I just started spelling it 'Tommie'. I also like that when friends and family members I haven't come out to use my name it doesn't feel weird. One of my childhood friend's mother's name was 'Tommie'. Besides, I'm more of a "Tomboy" kinda girl!  ;)

I went with a female version of my birth name because I know my mom love my name and I have a hard time with losing it as it is one of the only things I have from her she past away when I was 8 years old so it is sentimental to me, When I legally change my name I will be taking my moms maiden name as my last name as well. 

This was an easy one for me too.  My parents had the test to see if they were having a boy or girl, and it came back girl.  They chose the name.  They had monogrammed Jammie's, the loom painted pink, etc.  Of course when I was born, I wasn't female and they kept the same name, but used the masculine spelling.  I'm reminded of it often by relatives.  I started to think if myself using this name when I was a preteen.  It was obvious especially after getting hammered into me all the time.  Plus it sounds the same, so easy to answer to:)

Well, it was quite a jorney for me. I wondered about all female names I found beautiful and which I'd totally name my kids with. Then it developed for strong names and whose meanings had a strong message. I came up with Eva, Olga, Pandora... And I'd love to get called by any of those names, but it didn't feel quite natural, you know? I felt as I was creating a new character in some RPG game, and that is not the case: I'm just being true to myself.

So I thought of my birth name in the feminine version, but it sounded so cliche and, I don't know, "meh"? Then I came up with something that resambled my birth name, that was italian as my birth name (which I really appreciate and matches my family name), that most of my nicknames by which I'm called by friends wouldn't have to actually change - helps with misnaming and stuff - and, yet, had a powerful meaning which I could relate too.

Giordana, the italian form of Jordana, means "the one who walks down the river". And that is me, flowing with the river, going all along the way, in freedom, strenght, fierceness and peace.

Quote from: QuestioningEverything on August 21, 2014, 05:43:02 PM
I'm trying to figure out what my female name should be and I'm just drawing a blank no one name is really sticking out to me. I keep thinking of names i like but none of them really feel like a good fit.  I kind of feel like i should have a name before I start hrt.  How did you guys and gals pick your new name?

Late reply from a Newbie, but I just love this question, and the answers given here ;D !!

Rachel is the name my Mom would have given me, has I been born Cis female. The Clayburn part is from an ancestral name, and just feels like a placeholder, as , if all goes well, my SO and I will choose a new surname together. I felt the need to, I dunno, re-brand myself more than just a first name.

This has been a tough one for me.  I do like my given first name, and it can be gender neutral.  In fact, most of my life, if someone heard my name without seeing me along with it, they just assumed it was a girls name.  LaRell.  I've considered doing something like Laurel since that's what I get called half the time anyway, and that is a pretty common girls name.  But I guess, if I am okay with my given first name both as a man and a woman, then maybe I should just keep it simple, and not have to go through the whole legal name change hassle.

Quote from: LaRell on October 18, 2017, 01:32:57 PM
This has been a tough one for me.  I do like my given first name, and it can be gender neutral.  In fact, most of my life, if someone heard my name without seeing me along with it, they just assumed it was a girls name.  LaRell.  I've considered doing something like Laurel since that's what I get called half the time anyway, and that is a pretty common girls name.  But I guess, if I am okay with my given first name both as a man and a woman, then maybe I should just keep it simple, and not have to go through the whole legal name change hassle.

if you can keep your name then you should, I just finished my legal name change and it was a PAIN to do so, glad it's over

Looks like I posted in this thread back in April when I was going by another name . . . I tried that one out for a while but my sister hated it.  If I'd loved it I would have stayed with it, but I didn't, so I went back to the drawing board.  I ended up doing a name brainstorming session with a friend of mine, and we settled on Benjamin, shortened to Ben.  We're both Star Wars fans, so Ben's a cool name to us.  Plus, I'm told it suits me.  My middle name is going to be Michael, because that's what my parents would have called me if I'd been cis male, and also because it's the name of a high school teacher who helped me out a lot when I was a kid. 

Im a gamer boy, so of course all my chosen names were influenced by video games lol. personally i think nobody should feel bad for naming themselves after a character because people do it with their babies all the time!!

even before i knew i was trans, hearing my birth name always hurt to hear. i had a big group of friends that were all boys and i just felt like i was one of the boys too until i heard my birth name said out loud. it made my lil heart heavy. i also dont like it because i was apparently named after my moms old friend, someone i dont even like!! blugh.

when i realized i was trans at 13, my placeholder male name was "isaac". i named myself after the binding of isaac because i liked games and i liked how it sounded. that was just for a lil while tho.

about 4 years ago i learned mr resetti from the animal crossing games had the first name "sonny" and i thought that was so nice sounding and boyish!! after using it for a bit i realized i dont like how much it sounds like "sunny", a common girl name. i looked for similar names since i liked sonny so much, and then i saw my true name for the first time

Sawney

I felt it immediately. that was my name. my REAL one. everything about that name was perfect, it was scottish, was unique, felt good on my ears, felt so good to say. but one of my favorite things about it is that it means "fool"!! people think thats odd, asking me why would you be happy that your name means foolish? but im not sure how to explain it, its just how i am!! ^U^ i also like to go by sawn for short, its what my girlfriend calls me

as for my middle name, its arthur, after my dear departed grandpa. my original middle name is one thats been passed down thru my family to girls for generations, so i wanted to continue to use a name thats been passed down in my family.

I remember my mother telling me, when I was about four, that I couldn't be called Mary.  I can't remember why I chose Mary but it was probably the female name I heard the most: Mary, Mary quite contrary; Mary had a little lamb; Mary and Jesus etc.

My daughter sorted mine out, daddy that's a mummy = Maddy x simples

Quote from: MrsMac on December 07, 2017, 04:00:02 PM
My daughter sorted mine out, daddy that's a mummy = Maddy x simples

awwwww, that's adorable :3
I wish that happened to me

Quote from: Alanna1990 on October 24, 2017, 11:19:29 AM
if you can keep your name then you should, I just finished my legal name change and it was a PAIN to do so, glad it's over

OMG that PAIN is way true!  For seniors citizens like me there seems no end to the contacts and connections that need to see my court ordered name change papers.  Some government agencies and utility vendors are especially a hassle and with six plus decades of records it seems unending.  For those reasons alone I urge anyone making the change to have it well considered as "doing it again" can really be a mess to fuss out.  I was named Tessa as a three year old by my older sister who saw something in me way back when.  Still I "tried out" that name as a part of my real life test for a solid year before I went to court.  The process is getting better in some areas but it is something to consider fur sure :D

Christy is feminized version of my boy name

and Lee well actually ive always been a fan of Evanescence especially at the time of Chosing my middle name, and i heard Amy Lee of Evanescence, and i thought wouldnt that be cool name for myself, Christy Lee.... my last name here

like i said i was a teen i think i just started Cross Dressing and started to think about my true name

I never liked my birth name - one too many girls in every classroom growing up shared it with me - and the male version of it is pronounced exactly the same so that's right out.

In middle school, my friends and I played around with the witchcraft thing and gave ourselves all sorts of names: magical names, nicknames, gothy variations on the spelling, the whole nine yards. Realized how easy it was to adopt a new name and to get people to start calling you that name. Also realized that my birth name really didn't fit once I started trying on others.

In high school my masculine side started rearing "his" head a lot, so I named him Seth. I have no idea where the name came from - I guess I associated that name with power and aggressiveness and seedy underbellies, which is how I felt about his "incursions" into my life at the time - and it stuck. Then I promptly forgot all about it for the next ten years and suddenly it just felt really right to dig it back up again. Like, 'Oh, that was me the whole time, wasn't it?'.

While I haven't as yet decided on mine and am not in a rush, Pandora tends to come to mind.  Not sure why or am I?

Quote from: awilliams1701 on August 21, 2014, 06:37:06 PM
I've been obsessed with the name Ashley for a very long time at least half my life. I've known a couple of Ashleys and while they were extremely attractive to begin with, they got "extra points" just for the name alone. In the last few I made up a fantasy girl named Ashley. She was pretty much me except a girl. Then the fantasy included being able to go a day as a girl. Then the fantasy including being a girl for a day occured more frequently. Then it became I can change gender at will. Now its full time I want to be a girl why the hell would I want to be a guy? Then I started to realize that Ashley was the fantasy of myself rather than the girl I was supposed to be with.

I know this is years later, but... YES! That's exactly how I came to decide on Stacy. Stacy was the name I gave to my dream girl in my fantasies. Now, I'm becoming the woman of my dreams!

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

I came up with a name that has the same first letter as my birth name for possible future stuff. I love my name. Bridget Siobhán. Yeah, I use my middle name as my user name here. I just like the name Siobhán and I've seen it pop up more frequently, lately, too. And, that's after I had already picked it out. Perhaps I'm just noticing it more, who knows? I love everybody's name, here! :)

I chose Mei Erin Loftus, Mei is a name I've always loved the sound of, Erin being a female spin on Aaron and my mum named me Aaron so I want her to feels she's not quite losing her child even if she had a son originlly amd Loftus is her Maiden name, I'm dropping my fathers surname in favour of hers as I care not for that link to my father or my past.

I threw a handful of silverware in ta corner of da kitchen  >:-)





*Runs away*

Quote from: V M on May 26, 2018, 08:39:47 PM
I threw a handful of silverware in ta corner of da kitchen  >:-)





*Runs away*

XD OMFG!

I always use my real name because it's the easiest choice and I like it however I do sometimes occassionally use personal nicknames just for informal reasons like what most people tend to do with their mates and others that are near.

When I came out to my future bride she absolutely detested the name I had been using and dubbed me Susan, a name I had never even considered. It fit like a glove... When we chose Frances as a middle name, my mother Fran was pleased to no end.

Susan

When I was very young, maybe 6 or 7. I remember my mother telling me that had I been born a girl I'd have been Emma Louise.

So when I transitioned I chose it, in part as my birthright, and in part to honour my mother.

Of course, when I told my mother the name to honour her, she told me that can't recall ever saying that, and that she didn't think it was going to be Emma.  Course, by that time the name had stuck, and my mother liked it anyway, so I stuck with it

Em x

I wanted mine to connect back to my heritage (Slavic) and start with an A so I googled names and ended up with Anja!

Quote from: keloic098 on May 31, 2018, 12:17:02 AM
I wanted mine to connect back to my heritage (Slavic) and start with an A so I googled names and ended up with Anja!

I'm the same, except that mine is Irish: Bridget Siobhán