Susan's Place Transgender Resources

I'm just wondering how you decided on your name?  I'm having the hardest time trying to pick a name for me.  I went the route so far of asking my mom but she was not able to help me at all.

I'd like to know too since changing my legal name involves money so I need to think long and hard about this.

I chose Brandon because thats what my mom was gonna name me in the first place, Not only that I just think it fits to the point where I forget what my mom named me thats how much it fits me. Know for my middle name I just took my dads middle name so my whole name change is Brandon Deshun Davis. Its nice for me.

I wanted to choose Gabriel, because my name when I was born was supposed to be Gabrielle, if my mom had gotten her way.  I settled on Reuben because of its meaning, sound, and rarity.  It means "Behold - A son."  I settled on making my middle name Gabriel.

Well, I haven't settled on a name yet, honestly. "Robin" was a suggestion from someone on another forum.  :P (It's kind of a joke, because my family name is Christopher. So I'm the reverse of Christopher Robin)

I'm not sure it would happen, but ideally I want my Dad to name me. Not because I'm bad at names (which I am lol), but because my Dad's acceptance is really important to me, and I feel like him giving me a name would be proof of that acceptance.

It took forever. It seemed every time I liked a name either I already knew someone that had it or it seemed like something my parents would never name me. Crazy indecisive about the whole thing. Finally I settled on Kameron with a K because I don't know anyone with that name or spelling, I like the K, and it was a normal name, but not too common. My middle name will be George because my birth name is Georgia and my family wanted me to keep George because they've called me that as an occasional nickname my whole life.

I really do appreciate hearing each of your own unique stories thus far.  I want to ask my friend what she would name me because she's supportive of my transition but I'm afraid of how to broach the subject with her.

I took my dad's name because he is the perfect role model of a good man. Also his middle name is very significant in his family. He is Leonard John II, and I am Leonard John III. I go by Johnny.

 My initials are jak. I was coming up with a new email at the beginning of my transition and decided phonetics sounded cool so i made it Juliett Alpha Kilo. I fell in love with it and kept the name as my own.

Everyone loves my name, it is famous but surprisingly uncommon. So many Romeo jokes....

I picked names that I had liked the sound of for a long time, so knew they would not lose appeal. Additionally, first, middle, and last name all hold important meaning for me, particularly as combined.

My family has a family name for boys but my bro claimed that when he was born so. Otherwise the theme of our family is old names that most people aren't called anymore.
Well it took a long time going through names.  Basically I spent hours pouring over baby names and writing down the ones I liked.  Then I went through them and compared them to each other to see which ones I liked better.  When I had finally whittled it down to 4 or 5 I started asking people what they thought.  My friend said she liked Evan and Ethan best for me.  I asked my mom which names she liked (not in regards to me of course, but in "general" xD) and she said she really liked the name Evan.  So I sat on it for a while and it just worked.  Now I'm trying to settle on a middle name.  I was for sure going to do Asa because it just seemed so right, even if it's not the coolest name in the world.  But my mom hates the name and no one else likes it so I've been wondering if I should do Andrew... Evan Asa or Evan Andrew... Hmmmmmm still can't decide.

Thank you everyone for your replies.  I hope those guys who are still looking and deciding on a name will find the perfect name that they seek.  I found my name using a method I didn't think was possible.  I went to the Social Security website and looked up my girls name for the year I was born (yuck) and then went to across the list to the boys name and selected that one.  I have officially decided to become Tyler James.

Congratulations. The SSA records are excellent for figuring out historically typical names. I picked mine partly that way. I couldn't find any time that Felix was particularly popular in America, but it was never particularly unpopular either. I like the way it sounds and I like that it's not a faddish name that would red-flag me for having chosen it myself. My last name is another story, and my full name does sound rather trans-y to my ears, but I chose the surname when I was a teenager and gave it to my kid, and I'm going to keep it as long as she likes it.

Tyler James sounds quite good.

Quote from: Felix on August 26, 2014, 11:04:35 PM
Congratulations. The SSA records are excellent for figuring out historically typical names. I picked mine partly that way. I couldn't find any time that Felix was particularly popular in America, but it was never particularly unpopular either. I like the way it sounds and I like that it's not a faddish name that would red-flag me for having chosen it myself. My last name is another story, and my full name does sound rather trans-y to my ears, but I chose the surname when I was a teenager and gave it to my kid, and I'm going to keep it as long as she likes it.

Tyler James sounds quite good.

Thanks for your support Felix.  I don't think you have to worry about what your last name is because most people are not going to hear it and those that do are probably not going to think anything of it.  I do like the name Felix that you picked out for yourself so that is something in which you should be proud of.

I haven't decided for sure yet, but here are my options.

I would like to see what my mom would name me once I come out to her. Option 1.
My mom has been teaching my niece to call me Cole since my birth name may be a little too much for her. Option 2

I still have time to decide. I may just go with option 2. Once I get my letter for t I will decide for sure. I plan to come out to my family once I am on t.

Quote from: nikkie on August 27, 2014, 01:15:34 AM
I haven't decided for sure yet, but here are my options.

I would like to see what my mom would name me once I come out to her. Option 1.
My mom has been teaching my niece to call me Cole since my birth name may be a little too much for her. Option 2

I still have time to decide. I may just go with option 2. Once I get my letter for t I will decide for sure. I plan to come out to my family once I am on t.

I just wanted to wish you luck with whichever option you chose even though it sounds like your already have one planned out.   

Cole isn't that common but it is a famous name via Cole Sprouse.

I turned to people who motivated me or inspired me. I was going to go with what my parents would have named me, but I already know a guy with that name and I didn't want to risk getting mistaken for one another in conversations and social gatherings.

I worked for a civil engineering company and liked one of the street names, so that became my first name. Middle name is the name I've always used online and such. Didn't go with parents name though due to not wanting initials that refer to a donkey.

Basically, I'm a huge nerd and named myself after Ian Malcolm from Jurassic park. I picked my middle name (Michael) because the author of Jurassic park is named Michael Crichton. Again, I'm a huge nerd. But was I really that obsessed with Jurassic park when I was picking my name? No, not really. It meant a lot to me when I was a kid (especially the books) and I realized for the first time when reading through Jurassic park that I identified with male characters and didn't identify at all with female characters. Even though it's nerdy as heck I have not regretted my decision to go with the name Ian since I chose it four years ago.

Oh, my parents would have named me Butler in the event I had emerged from the womb with a dingle. And, really, that wouldn't do. So I picked my nerdy name and haven't looked back, even though my mom kind of hates it haha

I have really enjoyed listening to all of your stories.  Hopefully, we call all help all the lurkers on here who are struggling with the issue.  I know its major life decision and its a difficult one to make.  I'm fortunate that I found my name the way that I did.  If it wasn't for the good old search engine I don't know where I would be.  Thank you guys for sharing.  

My name was chosen for me. My husbands first crush and the name my grandfather used in the fairy tales he used to tell me are the same.

Quote from: Ayden on August 28, 2014, 01:46:52 AM
My name was chosen for me. My husbands first crush and the name my grandfather used in the fairy tales he used to tell me are the same.

Thank you for sharing your story.  Its wonderful you were able to have your name chosen for you.  I'm sure that your life easier in at least one way.

Hi all!

Well, my name choosing journey is a bit, uh, bumpy I guess. I've legally changed names 2 times already and is about to change it a 3:rd time. I was named Linda at birth, at 4 or 5 (when my parents had separated) my mom changed my name, with my consent, to Hedwig (it was before Harry Potter, I'm 26)...

This year I've had a complete meltdown, or nervous breakdown. Early in the spring I was a bit (to say the least) desperate to find out what the hell was wrong with me (I realised the whole trans* thing during this summer..) I've always changed styles, hair and so on, but as a reaction to the whole "who am I" thing I wen't a bit drastic and changed my name over night (litteraly) and shaved my head... I know... So, now I'm legally named Tashi which means "good fortune" or "auspiciousness" in Tibet. Haha  :laugh: It's good that I have my kind of humor, I think my reaction to "I don't know who I am" was quite hillarious! Well, at least it's kind of a unisex name.

Anyways. Now that I know I'm trans* I'm going to choose a name that's a bit more me. And give it a bit more thought this time, not come up with a name and pay and send in the papers that same evening.  This time I've decided that I'm to wait with changing it legally untill earliest in december.

Now I've been making a list of names with 3 criterias. I have to like the name, how it sounds, how it goes with my last name and so on. I want it to work as a gender neutral name. I want it to sound a reasonably normal and "at home" in the part of the world I live (northen europe).

So far Mumrik is the one that feels best, it's not the most beautiful name, it's inspired from a male character in a childerns book and it's quite unusuall. But it feels like me, and it works better than Tashi in my criterias. Oh, btw, Mumrik is a variation on the Swedish name for the character Snufkin, his full name in the storys are Snusmumriken.

Names, names, names... I'm starting to feel a bit self consious about this changing about. I'm at university and during my first year I was called up as Hedwig, this year Tashi and next year something new. My classmates and teatchers must think I'm completly nuts! They're probably right though. Well, the most important thing is to do what feels right inside, not what others think.  ^-^

With love to all, good luck with your name picking!

Quote from: lilthumper on August 28, 2014, 02:08:48 AM
Thank you for sharing your story.  Its wonderful you were able to have your name chosen for you.  I'm sure that your life easier in at least one way.

I actually preferred it simply because, as a writer, I love too many names. But, I also attach a lot if characteristics to names based on the stories I write. I haven't legally changed my name yet due to visa stuff, but even if I wanted to now, it's pretty stuck. I like my name fine; it's not my favorite name, but it's one that has positive memories behind it and its comfortable.

Of course, I most go by "A". When I was a kid my parents always called me "E" and mom still does. I kinda got used to being a letter, what with six kids in the house. Lol.

Quote from: Mumrik on August 28, 2014, 03:02:51 AM
Hi all!

Well, my name choosing journey is a bit, uh, bumpy I guess. I've legally changed names 2 times already and is about to change it a 3:rd time. I was named Linda at birth, at 4 or 5 (when my parents had separated) my mom changed my name, with my consent, to Hedwig (it was before Harry Potter, I'm 26)...

This year I've had a complete meltdown, or nervous breakdown. Early in the spring I was a bit (to say the least) desperate to find out what the hell was wrong with me (I realised the whole trans* thing during this summer..) I've always changed styles, hair and so on, but as a reaction to the whole "who am I" thing I wen't a bit drastic and changed my name over night (litteraly) and shaved my head... I know... So, now I'm legally named Tashi which means "good fortune" or "auspiciousness" in Tibet. Haha  :laugh: It's good that I have my kind of humor, I think my reaction to "I don't know who I am" was quite hillarious! Well, at least it's kind of a unisex name.

Anyways. Now that I know I'm trans* I'm going to choose a name that's a bit more me. And give it a bit more thought this time, not come up with a name and pay and send in the papers that same evening.  This time I've decided that I'm to wait with changing it legally untill earliest in december.

Now I've been making a list of names with 3 criterias. I have to like the name, how it sounds, how it goes with my last name and so on. I want it to work as a gender neutral name. I want it to sound a reasonably normal and "at home" in the part of the world I live (northen europe).

So far Mumrik is the one that feels best, it's not the most beautiful name, it's inspired from a male character in a childerns book and it's quite unusuall. But it feels like me, and it works better than Tashi in my criterias. Oh, btw, Mumrik is a variation on the Swedish name for the character Snufkin, his full name in the storys are Snusmumriken.

Names, names, names... I'm starting to feel a bit self consious about this changing about. I'm at university and during my first year I was called up as Hedwig, this year Tashi and next year something new. My classmates and teatchers must think I'm completly nuts! They're probably right though. Well, the most important thing is to do what feels right inside, not what others think.  ^-^

With love to all, good luck with your name picking!

You have had a very interesting journey with names and I'm happy that you decided to share it with all of us.  I wish I knew of name suggestions for you but I don't.  Hopefully, another will be able to help you along.  I'm sure you are self conscience about all the different names that you have used during university and/or will use.  Please remember at the end of the day I think we are all nuts so you are never alone.  I'm sorry about you having a meltdown but hopefully you are getting to a place in your life where things are getting better for you.

Quote from: Ayden on August 28, 2014, 03:25:47 AM
I actually preferred it simply because, as a writer, I love too many names. But, I also attach a lot if characteristics to names based on the stories I write. I haven't legally changed my name yet due to visa stuff, but even if I wanted to now, it's pretty stuck. I like my name fine; it's not my favorite name, but it's one that has positive memories behind it and its comfortable.

Of course, I most go by "A". When I was a kid my parents always called me "E" and mom still does. I kinda got used to being a letter, what with six kids in the house. Lol.

My birth initials were CED and my initials once I have my name change sometime between September and January will be TJD (Once I file the name change it has to run in the newspaper for 3 weeks and then a month has to go by before it can become finalized).  I decided to go with the name across from my birth name for males for the year I was born because that honestly was the easiest thing for me to choose to do.  For my middle name I decided to go a good old google search for middle names.  I decided to go the simple route because I didn't know what to choose for my name and I didn't want to spend anymore time with this nasty name that I absolutely had to.  I'm actually going to start a blog up and document my journey.  My mom still calls me my birth name because I just recently decided my male name so I know she's not exactly going to be able to make the change overnight.  I'm sorry your still having to being called "E".

Quote from: lilthumper on August 28, 2014, 04:25:14 AM
  I'm sorry your still having to being called "E".

Oh no, I don't what to give the impression that I hate it at all. "E" is the family letter. My great grandfather, grandfather and mother all have the same initial. I live in Osaka so it's easier for my students to just call me by a letter or by "nii-Nii" or "Oniichan" (both are big brother)

I don't mind being called by letters. Even though my husband picked my name I typically go by "sweetie" "honey" or "A"

Quote from: Ayden on August 28, 2014, 06:42:03 AM
Oh no, I don't what to give the impression that I hate it at all. "E" is the family letter. My great grandfather, grandfather and mother all have the same initial. I live in Osaka so it's easier for my students to just call me by a letter or by "nii-Nii" or "Oniichan" (both are big brother)

I don't mind being called by letters. Even though my husband picked my name I typically go by "sweetie" "honey" or "A"

Sorry for my confusion.  Thank you for explaining everything to me!

Quote from: Alexthecat on August 27, 2014, 01:54:44 AM
Cole isn't that common but it is a famous name via Cole Sprouse.

My first thought was Cole Porter. He's definitely the only Cole I've ever even heard of, but that probably has a ton to do with location and age.

The name stories in this thread are interesting. I think I'd like to emphasize that enjoying one's name is usually more important than how anyone else on earth will ever feel about it. Liking your name can fuel a lot of endurance through questions or reactions.

Oddly enough I got my name, Leo, many many years ago. I played a game that required a first and last name (fictional, of course) and it was kind of a kiddish game but it was a long time ago. That game has closed down already anyways. But my character's name was Leonardo, and that was my first major MMO that I ever played so I got very used to being called "Leo" and "Leon". It's just stuck with me and my name will always be a reminder of the friendships I made on that game as well as a few other MMOs (I began to use Leonardo as a firstname/username for all my other MMOs so it was quite widespread for me). Kind of cool. Oddly enough that first MMO is where I met my current girlfriend and before dating we have been super close friends since we met on it.

I picked my first name because I knew that was what my parents would name me if I'd been born with male bits. My middle name was a toss up between Richard (my dad's name) and James (his middle name). I ended up going with James because it sounds better. It also just so happens to be the middle name I was going to be given if I'd been born with the right parts. I'm certain my mom never told me that part, but I just happened to choose it.
I'm becoming an amalgamation of all three of my parents and it scares me x.x

I only began to question my gender last year, and am still not entirely sure of it. I like to be called by my male name, Algernon (although most insist on calling me by my female name, as I'm nowhere near passing as male at the moment; I have only come out to a few people). I know Algernon is an unusual and rather old-fashioned name, but I like it. It's quite humorous - it's Old French for 'with a moustache'. My mother once jokingly called me Algy after the character from 'The Importance of Being Earnest', and the name stuck...

I personally am disconnected from my father so I had to pick a last name as well and I  not ashamed to say I was a geek and chose a surname from a family in my favorite book series and cut it half added an extra letter and voila Herron. I always liked the name Jameson particularly the nickname and my given name started with a J as well so just put that together, felt right. Idk I'm a true believer in going with your gut so I think when you see it you'll know. Best of luck!

I worked at a summer camp through high school and college, and there was this one camper there that never failed to inspire me. She was born deaf, but even by the age of 10 had learned to read lips so well that she could follow a multi-person conversation at regular speed and never miss a word. She also taught many of us staff the version of sign language (cued speech) that she was accustomed to. This kid never missed a beat, was by far the happiest camper I ever met, and seemed to always just KNOW when another kid needed a friend.

She would usually come for the entire summer too, so there was plenty of time to get to know her. All in all, I worked with this kid for 7 summers straight. Her name was Aaron (yep...the male spelling) and I learned from her that we are only as different as we decide to be in any given situation. That's a lesson that has served me well in life, especially in transition. So My name is Aaron James......Aaron for that inspiration, and James....because.

In the past few months I found her on Facebook (I use the initials AJ there), and asked if she remembered <my camp nickname>. She did, but she didn't remember my "real name" from back then. So I reintroduced myself, and ended up telling her about myself. You would think I had just giver her a billion dollars and granted every wish she could ever dream of......she was THAT touched.

Anyway, I guess you could say my name chose me in the end.

I still think of the name I'm using here as "preliminary", but it may well turn out to be "my" name. I wanted to keep my initials, I wanted a name that was easy to pronounce in both English and my mother tongue, and I wanted a name that wasn't too uncommon. I ended up browsing baby name pages and looking for a name that felt about right. It wasn't too difficult because I knew I could try this out online and still change it if it didn't work. But now I'm finding I have grown quite used to it already. I haven't tried it out irl yet though ^-^

Ive know for a good couple of years i wanted to start transitioning and so have been thinking about my name since then, i just had to keep going through names to see if they felt right. Although there are a lot of male names i like, i didnt feel like they were me. Then my friend was going through names with me and mentioned Jack. I palmed it off at first, but it stuck in my head and i knew that was the right name for me. I am keeping my family name for my surname, and have yet to think of a middle name, either the name my parents would have given me had i been born a boy, or i will take my dads or grandads name as a middle name.

Either way, when picking your name, you shouldn't worry if other people are going to like it as long as it sits right with you :)

Well, my name in a sense just found me I think. As a kid though, it changed almost every time I moved. If there was someone in the near by neighborhood who gendered me as male I would give a male name. The first name was Lárus, and Icelandic name I had seen in a movie and I only really choice it since my given name starts with an L. That was when I was about six turning seven. Later in my early teens it changed to Devon, a name my friend gave me. She is actually still my friend today and when she saw me after I accepted myself as trans, she just smiled and said "Well, looks like Devon is back" but now I'm side tracking a bit here.
When I was about 19 or so I started playing world of warcraft almost full blown and I was a roleplayer. What a perfect way to escape from my birth sex but to go onto a virtual world where I could be anyone, who ever and what ever. So, I played a blood elf male, two actually, but the nickname in game that really stuck was Dalex, short for Dalexandros. I had been called Dalex for I think three to four years before I came out. During that time when I was called Dalex, I always thought it would sound kind of cool as short for David Alexander, and mentally it really stuck and it runs really well with the two family names I got in my name. Then I tested it out, started introducing myself as David, and everyone who has heard it tell me the name David suits me :) Not sure if I can say the name found me, but it still feels like it did.

My name was actually gonna be called Dave. Because I wanted to be named after my dad.
So David Jr. But my dad really hates his name.
So he suggested Dylan. I liked the name a lot as well and we all have D's in our names.
Except my mom.

Thank you guys for continuing to share you stories with not only each other but me as well.  Sorry for the long reply but I want to make sure I address all the guys who responded.

Quote from: AquaWhatever on September 09, 2014, 11:55:00 AM
My name was actually gonna be called Dave. Because I wanted to be named after my dad.
So David Jr. But my dad really hates his name.
So he suggested Dylan. I liked the name a lot as well and we all have D's in our names.
Except my mom.

I think its really neat that you all have Ds in your names except for your mom.

Quote from: Dalex on September 09, 2014, 10:46:41 AM
Well, my name in a sense just found me I think. As a kid though, it changed almost every time I moved. If there was someone in the near by neighborhood who gendered me as male I would give a male name. The first name was Lárus, and Icelandic name I had seen in a movie and I only really choice it since my given name starts with an L. That was when I was about six turning seven. Later in my early teens it changed to Devon, a name my friend gave me. She is actually still my friend today and when she saw me after I accepted myself as trans, she just smiled and said "Well, looks like Devon is back" but now I'm side tracking a bit here.
When I was about 19 or so I started playing world of warcraft almost full blown and I was a roleplayer. What a perfect way to escape from my birth sex but to go onto a virtual world where I could be anyone, who ever and what ever. So, I played a blood elf male, two actually, but the nickname in game that really stuck was Dalex, short for Dalexandros. I had been called Dalex for I think three to four years before I came out. During that time when I was called Dalex, I always thought it would sound kind of cool as short for David Alexander, and mentally it really stuck and it runs really well with the two family names I got in my name. Then I tested it out, started introducing myself as David, and everyone who has heard it tell me the name David suits me :) Not sure if I can say the name found me, but it still feels like it did.

Maybe the right now found you but there is always time to think and reflect on it.  I wish you the best on it!

Quote from: JJones on September 09, 2014, 08:59:47 AM
Ive know for a good couple of years i wanted to start transitioning and so have been thinking about my name since then, i just had to keep going through names to see if they felt right. Although there are a lot of male names i like, i didnt feel like they were me. Then my friend was going through names with me and mentioned Jack. I palmed it off at first, but it stuck in my head and i knew that was the right name for me. I am keeping my family name for my surname, and have yet to think of a middle name, either the name my parents would have given me had i been born a boy, or i will take my dads or grandads name as a middle name.

Either way, when picking your name, you shouldn't worry if other people are going to like it as long as it sits right with you :)

I really like the name Jack!  My cousins sons name is that!  I don't know his middle name or I would mention it here.

Quote from: adrian on September 09, 2014, 08:51:58 AM
I still think of the name I'm using here as "preliminary", but it may well turn out to be "my" name. I wanted to keep my initials, I wanted a name that was easy to pronounce in both English and my mother tongue, and I wanted a name that wasn't too uncommon. I ended up browsing baby name pages and looking for a name that felt about right. It wasn't too difficult because I knew I could try this out online and still change it if it didn't work. But now I'm finding I have grown quite used to it already. I haven't tried it out irl yet though ^-^

I'm glad you found something that you like so far!

Quote from: Greeneyedrebel on September 09, 2014, 07:49:28 AM
I worked at a summer camp through high school and college, and there was this one camper there that never failed to inspire me. She was born deaf, but even by the age of 10 had learned to read lips so well that she could follow a multi-person conversation at regular speed and never miss a word. She also taught many of us staff the version of sign language (cued speech) that she was accustomed to. This kid never missed a beat, was by far the happiest camper I ever met, and seemed to always just KNOW when another kid needed a friend.

She would usually come for the entire summer too, so there was plenty of time to get to know her. All in all, I worked with this kid for 7 summers straight. Her name was Aaron (yep...the male spelling) and I learned from her that we are only as different as we decide to be in any given situation. That's a lesson that has served me well in life, especially in transition. So My name is Aaron James......Aaron for that inspiration, and James....because.

In the past few months I found her on Facebook (I use the initials AJ there), and asked if she remembered <my camp nickname>. She did, but she didn't remember my "real name" from back then. So I reintroduced myself, and ended up telling her about myself. You would think I had just giver her a billion dollars and granted every wish she could ever dream of......she was THAT touched.

Anyway, I guess you could say my name chose me in the end.

Awesome story bro and thanks for sharing!!  I'm glad you were able to reunite with her.

Quote from: JHeron on September 08, 2014, 11:46:21 PM
I personally am disconnected from my father so I had to pick a last name as well and I  not ashamed to say I was a geek and chose a surname from a family in my favorite book series and cut it half added an extra letter and voila Herron. I always liked the name Jameson particularly the nickname and my given name started with a J as well so just put that together, felt right. Idk I'm a true believer in going with your gut so I think when you see it you'll know. Best of luck!

Honestly there is no right way to chose a name you have to do one that feels right to you and is one that you can live with.

Quote from: Algernon on September 08, 2014, 11:20:21 PM
I only began to question my gender last year, and am still not entirely sure of it. I like to be called by my male name, Algernon (although most insist on calling me by my female name, as I'm nowhere near passing as male at the moment; I have only come out to a few people). I know Algernon is an unusual and rather old-fashioned name, but I like it. It's quite humorous - it's Old French for 'with a moustache'. My mother once jokingly called me Algy after the character from 'The Importance of Being Earnest', and the name stuck...

What matters is that your happy with whatever name that you choose.  Names which your able to form a connection with are the ones that your going to like and will be able to withstand the test of time.

Quote from: devention on August 30, 2014, 08:17:38 PM
I picked my first name because I knew that was what my parents would name me if I'd been born with male bits. My middle name was a toss up between Richard (my dad's name) and James (his middle name). I ended up going with James because it sounds better. It also just so happens to be the middle name I was going to be given if I'd been born with the right parts. I'm certain my mom never told me that part, but I just happened to choose it.
I'm becoming an amalgamation of all three of my parents and it scares me x.x

I loved reading your story it made me laugh at the end.  Maybe your name will bring you closer to them?

Quote from: Maleth on August 30, 2014, 09:32:16 AM
Oddly enough I got my name, Leo, many many years ago. I played a game that required a first and last name (fictional, of course) and it was kind of a kiddish game but it was a long time ago. That game has closed down already anyways. But my character's name was Leonardo, and that was my first major MMO that I ever played so I got very used to being called "Leo" and "Leon". It's just stuck with me and my name will always be a reminder of the friendships I made on that game as well as a few other MMOs (I began to use Leonardo as a firstname/username for all my other MMOs so it was quite widespread for me). Kind of cool. Oddly enough that first MMO is where I met my current girlfriend and before dating we have been super close friends since we met on it.

That is awesome bro about what transpired!!

I decided to go by the name Victor since I was calling myself Victoria as a nickname before coming out as trans,since my actual birth name is somehow linked to a series of erotic-ish movies in my country and that was not easy when I was a teen... thank you very much parents  ;D
Initially I wanted them to choose for me as a sign of acceptance but I figured out they weren't too comfortable with it and probably would have chosen something too different again anyways ! Nothing against original names but I think I've got my share of originality in my life already haha.

Quote from: VictorHbx on September 12, 2014, 06:33:56 AM
I decided to go by the name Victor since I was calling myself Victoria as a nickname before coming out as trans,since my actual birth name is somehow linked to a series of erotic-ish movies in my country and that was not easy when I was a teen... thank you very much parents  ;D
Initially I wanted them to choose for me as a sign of acceptance but I figured out they weren't too comfortable with it and probably would have chosen something too different again anyways ! Nothing against original names but I think I've got my share of originality in my life already haha.

Thank you for sharing your story and its unfortunate that not all of our parents are accepting. I think that as long as you like the name that you have chosen then that is all that matters since your the one whose going to be using it.

Well...I haven't settled on a name just yet. I wanted something close to my name,
but I was talking to a friend and she said that I shouldn't live through my parents.
Because I was thinking of something similar to my birth name....
Now with that thought in mind, I was starting to think more on it.
I do like Shane tho....

I'm using amber (obviously). I really like it because I think it sounds sweet, but I'm lost on the middle name. I have no idea whether I want to keep my last name. For me it all depends on how my family reacts to the news (im not out yet:( ). If it goes well I might give them a second chance at renaming me. I know before they got an ultra sound the doctors told my parent that they thought I was gonna be a girl based on my heat rate and what not, so they probably put some thoughts into a girl name for me. but if I don't like it IM keeping amber.

Quote from: echo_artist on September 16, 2014, 09:20:06 PM
Well...I haven't settled on a name just yet. I wanted something close to my name,
but I was talking to a friend and she said that I shouldn't live through my parents.
Because I was thinking of something similar to my birth name....
Now with that thought in mind, I was starting to think more on it.
I do like Shane tho....

Shane

I'll call you shane. I chose amber partially because it is kinda sorta close to my other name. I don't think its living through them if you like the name you choose.

Quote from: KamTheMan on August 26, 2014, 04:41:06 PM
It took forever. It seemed every time I liked a name either I already knew someone that had it or it seemed like something my parents would never name me. Crazy indecisive about the whole thing. Finally I settled on Kameron with a K because I don't know anyone with that name or spelling, I like the K, and it was a normal name, but not too common. My middle name will be George because my birth name is Georgia and my family wanted me to keep George because they've called me that as an occasional nickname my whole life.

my mom use to call me addi (boy name was adam). I thought about using that but idk I really don't like it that much. I think its funny that we both had nicknames for the "opposite sex" and we both Identify with that said sex lol.

I don't think there's any "right" way to go about this. Everyone chooses in their own way. In my case, I knew that I liked the "S" sound and wanted something related to classical music, so I went with "Sebastian", as in Johann Sebastian Bach.

I think a smart way to go about it is to look up "most popular names of <insert your birth year here>". That way you won't wind up with a name that makes people do a double take. I've got a lot of trans friends who like to make fun of me for having a name that only recently became popular (they also make fun of our 20 year old Jayden's etc.) because they sound like "trans names"--- names that don't make sense for someone born in 1994. If I had to do it again, I might have looked up popular names of 1994 in order to find a name that was plausible... but, then again, I might have settled on Sebastian anyway. No one can tell you what to name yourself. Naming is a deeply personal thing, and if you want to be another Jayden, go for it!

UPDATE: I see that you did exactly as I was about to suggest. Great minds think alike? Tyler James is a great name! "TJ" is also a great nickname. Or Ty. I'm excited for you!

Quote from: lilthumper on August 26, 2014, 11:33:51 AM
I'm just wondering how you decided on your name?  I'm having the hardest time trying to pick a name for me.  I went the route so far of asking my mom but she was not able to help me at all.

I actually don't know. I wanted a name that could be pronounced and that I liked in both Danish and English. I guess I just randomly found Jakob and I liked it. So I decided to go with that name, but I'm still not 100 % sure that's the name I'll end up with. But I like it for now.

I changed only the last letter from my old name, it was enough to turn it from feminine to masculine. :D I didn't really want to go with a completely different name plus I'm kinda attached to having my name starting with the letter L. There aren't really that many male names in Finland that start with L. So, Lauri it is. It's not pronounced even nearly the same way as in English and it's not a unisex name here.
For my middle name, I chose Johannes, the same as my grandfather had and I've always liked that name. Also, the common nickname for Johannes is Jussi and coincidentally that's the name mom would've given me if I had been born with the right chromosome set. :B

names are real tricky. when i first began questioning my gender a few years ago, i "casually" asked my mother what i would have been named, had i been born male. her answer? "oh, i never would have had a boy!" whoops, uhhh. sorry, mom.

i toyed with a couple of different names. i'd "jokingly" used the name 'teddy' with my email account for years (remember when bro puns were all the rage? i changed my gmail name to "teddy broosevelt" and then just suspiciously ... never changed it back...) but i had a couple of unfortunate associations that kept the name from feeling right.

in the end, i chose my name, cameron, because it worked equally well in persian/farsi and in english. kamran is a traditional boys name in iran, and while i go back and forth on the spelling some days, because i live in the united states, i went with the more familiar, english spelling.  but having a name that reflected my heritage, just like my birth name, was important to me! far more so than picking a name with the same first letter. i also liked that there was an element of gender neutrality. i'm a non-binary guy, and i liked that "cameron" was androgynous without feeling particularly female.

of course, i'm not out to, well, just about anyone, so maybe it's all moot. but it's felt kind of nice, having a name for my secret self. it feels like home in a real tangible way.

Quote from: Evan of Spades on August 26, 2014, 07:29:49 PM
My family has a family name for boys but my bro claimed that when he was born so. Otherwise the theme of our family is old names that most people aren't called anymore.
Well it took a long time going through names.  Basically I spent hours pouring over baby names and writing down the ones I liked.  Then I went through them and compared them to each other to see which ones I liked better.  When I had finally whittled it down to 4 or 5 I started asking people what they thought.  My friend said she liked Evan and Ethan best for me.  I asked my mom which names she liked (not in regards to me of course, but in "general" xD) and she said she really liked the name Evan.  So I sat on it for a while and it just worked.  Now I'm trying to settle on a middle name.  I was for sure going to do Asa because it just seemed so right, even if it's not the coolest name in the world.  But my mom hates the name and no one else likes it so I've been wondering if I should do Andrew... Evan Asa or Evan Andrew... Hmmmmmm still can't decide.

Asa is an awesome name, and your name, your choice, you know? Whatever you end up with for a middle name, Evan is a cool first name and will balance it out even if you wind up with a terrible middle name. This is science.  :)

My grandmother and I were very close, and I think she knew well before I did that I was trans.  Anyway, her favourite Braves player was Dale Murphy, an outfielder.  I went by 'Murphy' throughout high school...until I got the chance to meet my absolute favourite English actor: John Inman.  He spoke my nickname and I cringed.  It wasn't his fault, it was just the way his voice and accent made it sound.  Which was horrendous.  So on the way home I decided to use Dale instead.

Anyway...when the internet became popular I went by Dale online and I used my mother's maiden name, mostly because my father's family...erm...most of them have criminal records.  Anyway...because I met so many of my online mates in person, they knew me as Dale J-----n, and I liked it.  I was also using it as my pen name [I'm an author/writer/House Boy.]  Eventually I got up the courage to make it my real name, and I asked my mother to choose my middle name.  She chose 'Amadeus'.  Best.  Middle name.  EVER.

Filing name change forms: $225
Advert in the newspaper alerting public of name change: $80
Affidavit from the newspaper: $10
Five copies of the judge's orders: $12.50
Changing my name to something really awesome that a nelly English accent can pronounce beautifully: PRICELESS!

There are some things money can't buy.  For everything else, there's...erm, cash, because I refuse to own a credit card.  [My credit is rubbish, anyway.]

Everyone calls me 'Christopher' by now. I don't really know why I chose this name, and I'm not sure if I like it that much after all, but I just go with it right now. If I'll end up with another name, that I don't know.
I still have no clue for my middle name though.

This is a problem I'm having to work through as well. I know some people just changed their name from the feminine version to the masculine equivalent (Nichole to Nicholas for example) But I've got an androgynous name that's short so it won't really work for me.

Right now I'm just having people call me K or K-kun as an in-between name while I try and think of the one I really want.

My name, Andrew, just came to me. I've no idea what inspired it. Tried saying it to myself a few times and when I set up a new email address it just sounded right.

I do know a couple of people called Andy / Andrew but I'm not too close to them and I wanted something quite common, to fit in. I also wanted my name to sound quite male. So people wouldn't hear it then look at my body questioning my gender.

I basically chose my name (or at least the nickname I go by in trans spaces) by making my female name masculine. I'm almost 100% sure my mom would've named me that. Idk. I've felt detached from my birth name for a while now so Idk how easily the male version will fit, but we'll see. My mom is still processing all this so she's not going to give me a name at the moment.

My brother had a friend named, Derek when I was about 10 years old. I really liked the name and started using it as an alias before I transitioned. I came up with James for a middle name as it flowed pretty well with Derek. I had asked my mom what she would name me and I got "Kyle". I'm not a big fan of that name and Kyle james didn't sound very good. (My every child in my family has a name that starts with "K")

Derek James works just fine for me. Now I'm almost 6 months on Testosterone and living full time at home and at work as Derek. It's a nice feeling when people call you the name you identify with. It can even be a bit shocking when people call me "Derek" infront of people who call me my "K" nickname.

I chose what my given name would've been. I knew my entire life that it should've been my name, so I suppose that helped.

I made a list of all the names I could think of that I liked (with the help of 20000-names.com) and then eliminated any that were names of people I was either close to or didn't like.

I have it narrowed down to a few, with one that is very very much my favorite. Of course, everyone I have talked to about it is like "noooooo, that's a terrible name for you" but I'll probably pick it anyway.

For the moment, though, I'm going by a gender-neutral nickname.

I'm still not too sure on my name, but I feel it fits and it does kinda suit me.

When I was around 12 / 13 I was really into drawing comics, and I made the main character based on myself and I called him Matt, but I kept the fact he was me a secret.
When I first started using trans websites I chose to use Matt and it stuck.

I haven't chosen a middle name yet, but for that I thought of names of my idols. The ones that came to mind and I quite like were Christian (Chris Adler) Jeremy (Jeremy Spencer) and Jonathan (Jon Davis). I like all of these, not 100% sure.

Matthew Christian <surname>
Matthew Jeremy <surname>
Matthew Jonathan <surname>

???  :(

Quote from: Matthew on October 01, 2014, 09:45:33 AM
I'm still not too sure on my name, but I feel it fits and it does kinda suit me.

When I was around 12 / 13 I was really into drawing comics, and I made the main character based on myself and I called him Matt, but I kept the fact he was me a secret.
When I first started using trans websites I chose to use Matt and it stuck.

I haven't chosen a middle name yet, but for that I thought of names of my idols. The ones that came to mind and I quite like were Christian (Chris Adler) Jeremy (Jeremy Spencer) and Jonathan (Jon Davis). I like all of these, not 100% sure.

Matthew Christian <surname>
Matthew Jeremy <surname>
Matthew Jonathan <surname>

???  :(

Matthew Christian is awesome.

Turns out I just resorted using the masculine version of my birth name which is Jack. My middle name will be Félix.

When I decided I needed a new name, I felt I wanted one that reflected my heritage and kind of sounded like my old name. I plugged this into my brain and let it percolate. After several days a little voice in my head told me, "I'm Rachel, and Rachel wants out!"

I've since had many people tell me Rachel is a sweet name and suits me well.

I'm going to take my mother's maiden name, as I really like it, I was much closer to her than my father and I'm much closer to her side of the family.

I chose the name Terra funnily enough because she's my favourite video game character.  As it turns out Terra was the name I was to be given at birth as my parents were expecting a girl (Or at least a much less masculine girl).  My big brother had chosen it actually which I find quite curious as he was quite upset when I came home a boy and to this day we still don't see eye to eye.

My mom helped me pick my first name. I'm not over attached to my middle name, but I can't find one I like better.

Haha, this has been one of the toughest subjects for me in this whole process. ;D

I have been searching for years for a name that feels like "me", and that's been tough. I have a few good candidates now after talking long and hard with a couple good friends, but I'm still thinking it over a LOT. I would love to ask my mother what she would have named me if I was born a girl, but I'm afraid the reception will not be that good. (She was not too fond of my gender identity stuff the first time she found out. :-\ and we have not talked about it for years.)

I do like to look up popular names based on statistics during my birth year (+/- 2-3 years), and find something in that time period. I want it to at least fit in with my birth year, so it doesn't sound really weird to someone for my age.

I think my brain subconsciously chose the name James for me, haha. I was on the bus one day when I saw this kid walking down the street. I was curious what his name was so I asked my friend and she said, "his name is James [last name]." At that moment I felt something click inside of me, but I didn't know why because I didn't even know there was a word for how I was feeling. After I accepted myself about 5 years later, I tried a bunch of different names but none really stuck. Then one night I was just laying in bed when that memory popped into my head, and that's when I knew. I also joined the bandwagon on asking my mother what I would've been named if I were born biologically male, but as soon as I heard the name Sheldon come from her mouth I cringed. I'm sure the name suits some people, but I don't think I look like a Sheldon. And it's not like I could even use it as my middle name to still allow my mother to be a part of my naming because James Sheldon [last name] doesn't exactly roll off the tongue.

As for middle names, I knew since, like, the beginning of time that I wanted two. My first is Aidyn, which I first heard of when I was about 10/11 when I was looking up baby names for a character in a book I had to write for school. My second is Xavier, which I just always thought sounded cool and isn't really all that common. When I first really got into the trans* community, I considered dropping Aidyn or at least changing it because (no matter how you spell it) it's way over used, but I ultimately kept it. The way I looked at it was 1) I've liked the name forever, 2) it's not like I get asked my middle name every day, and 3) most (if not, all) people around me don't know what names are and aren't common in the trans* community.

So, there we have it: James Aidyn Xavier [last name].

Shawn is what my mom was going to name me if I had been born male. So, I consider it to be my real name. It's what I should of been named.

I had it pretty easy in terms of choosing my name-my parents named me Christine. When I was 10 I went around to my family, friends, teachers, coaches and asked them to call me Chris. When it came time to change my name on my IDs I just went with Chris. I'm not a huge fan of Christopher so just Chris. My middle name was a unisex one but I decided to just drop it.

Chris for me doesn't have any negative connotation or carry any old identity baggage, since I feel I chose that name for myself at age10 as opposed to the more feminine nickname my family and school had been calling me...which I'm not going to mention here lol