I know i have a long ways to go before i even need to really have it down, but how in the world do you ladies pick your new female name!!! I find it more difficult knowing i can pick ANYTHING, rather than just being born with it. My name is Joey and in no way do i want to go by Josephine, Josie or Joselyn..(nothing against those names, but if i'm changing my gender, i don't want something close to my male name).
Idk, it picked me. I already know what I'm gonna name my kids too. >.<
I'm 35.
I do not go by my male name - never really have - except at work... but my nick name has maybe one decent female name with the same letter....
I wanted to keep my initials. It helps with dysphoria (I can just write and sign with my first and middle initial, no problem).
I had lots of "T" names I had to avoid (my mother, an old ex-girlfriend / friend, etc) and lots of "T" names I didn't like. I used Téa for a while, but didn't like it getting confused with the beverage ;). I eventually came up with "Tarah" and like it and am sticking with it. I found out later that my SIL was interested in the name for a kid.... sorry - I asked if she liked it and had any problems with it and she said yes and no respectively. (And thanks so much, parents, for letting me know :P it's not affecting my choice in any way).
E is for Emily. It's also softer against the hard consonants in my first and last name.
Just let your name find you and don't be in a hurry to get there. ;)
Everyone here has a different story of how their name came to be. Whether it was the female variation of their birth name, what their parents would have named them if they were born a girl, a manipulated nick name, or they were just trying names on for size and one finally stuck.
A friend named me Devlyn and I attached Marie to it.
My first name Katherine grew naturally from a childhood memory. The middle name, Henna is a shortened feminine version of my old male name (in Finnish). I wanted to keep that name in some way to honor my mothers late Uncle Henry.
Quote from: Christine167 on November 28, 2013, 10:02:46 AM
Just let your name find you and don't be in a hurry to get there. ;)
As Christine said, let the name find you.
Happy Thanksgiving. K
Happy Thanksgiving to you too!
I like Sharon Lynn a lot, it was one of the online names I created for a game. In a way, it was really helpful to try things out like that. Make a character, name her how you like, and play with her for a bit. You get to see how it sounds when other people refer to you that way, how it looks, etc. If you don't like it, create another one, and another, and eventually you'll find something that "fits". Probably not the best way to choose one, but it worked for me. :)
-hugs-
I had the same difficulties in choosing mine. It took nearly a year and coming out to my parents before I made a decision. Out of respect (but not in any way obligation) I wanted their opinion on the matter- I also asked them whether or not they had chosen both boy and girl names for me, which they had.
But as it happens- while the girl's name they had chosen was one I particularly liked- it also belonged to a person who had previously been in my life and basically it had too much negativity associated with it.
So after months of occasionally browsing names listed on census summaries and name lists for one that clicked, I happened upon Eva by way of coincidence- which was enough of a sign for me.
During the process I did find it interesting how certain names made me feel simply by having met people with those names before. I also wanted to avoid names of friends and family members, but of course what's far most important, as others have noted, is to choose one that fits best for you.
So take your time.
Oh and Happy Thanksgiving to you as well!
I had spent endless amounts of time looking at lists of girl names and hadn't found one I liked. My own male name has a female equivalent but a family member already had that name. I wasn't in a hurry and I didn't worry about it.
One early morning on the way to work I was thinking about a whole lot of nothing and the name "Eva Marie" popped into my head from nowhere. And that settled it.
Mine came to me from my favorite cult movie.
Yours will just come to you.
Happy Thanksgiving!
I won't get into the specifics but my friends basically came up with Ashley for me. I liked it so it stuck. My last name is a variation of what it was and my mom will be choosing my middle name. :)
I still have not legally changed my name. That's coming up next year. The story of my name is one that isn't finished yet. But here's the synopsis.
I was told very young that if I'd been a girl, my name would have been Kathryn Elizabeth, after my maternal grandmother. Oh how I wished that was my name! Then, when I was 13, my sister was born and she became Kathryn Elizabeth, and I couldn't have that name. So I thought about it and began at that age to think of myself as Elizabeth. Over the years, as I toyed with my gender identity, I considered many middle names but eventually settled on Marie. And this is where I was when I came out to family.
But earlier this year, with help from my sister, I found an Irish Gaelic name that meant the same thing as my male first name - "beloved" (David). That name is Cara. And in speaking with both my sister and my daughter, they both thought it a wonderful tribute to my mother if I were to choose Cara Elizabeth as my name.
I'm now about 99.99% certain that when I file my name change paperwork next year, it will be as Cara Elizabeth. Friends call me Liz and that's fine too. Transmuting the name that my mother gave me, in order to honor her, feels right to me. Carrying the middle name of my grandmother, who loved me dearly and after whom I would have been named under other circumstances feels right too.
Each of us chooses our names for different reasons. Whatever reason you have for choosing yours will be fine. Good luck finding a name!
:)
Quote from: LizMarie on November 28, 2013, 12:50:47 PM
I'm now about 99.99% certain that when I file my name change paperwork next year, it will be as Cara Elizabeth.
Cara is a great name!
Originally I was going to go with Stephanie, a feminisation of my male name. But I was trying to think of a feminisation of my middle name "Grant" a name which I've never liked. Realised there wasn't a feminine version but somehow thought that Grace was pretty close...and that I really liked it! Originally I was going to keep it as my middle name but it has since replaced Stephanie. And everyone I've told like it too so I figure I'm on a winner!
I just took the easy way, steve to eve
Quote from: evecrook on November 28, 2013, 02:38:58 PM
I just took the easy way, steve to eve
Me to Jim to Kim,though I usually went by Jimmy or James when I was in trouble with parents or teachers
I'm not sure where the name Jennifer came from but I know I picked it around the age of 12. It isn't far off from my male name Jeffrey. As for the middle name I have struggled with that for almost a year when I came out to my mother I asked her to pick one out for me. This was a mistake as she picked out Jean which I do not like at all. I've finally come down too two options Anne or Ava I'm leaning more towards Ava at the moment.
I was born Michael and I like Michelle. I came out public late in life as a transgender woman, so I just decided to go with it. Besides if I want to I can pronounce Michael as /Mishelle/. And I can change Mike to Myche, or Myshe, or Myshelle, or Mychelle. Also in French Michael is pronounced /Mishelle/. My female middle name is Annie after my father's birth mother and also also runs in my mother's family.
I am not sure what female name I would have chose if I had been able to be myself at seven or 11 or 13 or 16 which would have been my name for the rest of my life. I have chose to integrate my past, my present, and my future, because that's the way I am. At 67 years old I may have 10 to 30 years of life left in me as my female self and I wish to make the best of it. I have too much past trying to life as a male to hide and that life has taken a toll on my body. My goal is to become so feminine that most people can only imagine to deal and think as a me as a woman despite what they know about me or is on my official identification. They will look at me and look at the m on my driver's licence, if it isn't change, and think, "That's just Michelle, you know how she is."
my family picked mine. my mom figured it should still start with a M to honor my dad. i have to admit i really like my first and middle name :)
Quote from: CuriousAboutLife on November 28, 2013, 09:46:25 AM
I know i have a long ways to go before i even need to really have it down, but how in the world do you ladies pick your new female name! I don't want something close to my male name).
I wrote down ten names: First, Middle, Last. I went through various combinations of each until I found the one that was right for me. I fought with my family up until my court date because I had no intention of keeping any trace of my birthname and that made them all angry. Well, too frickin bad.
They learned to accept it once I threw down the gauntlet and said "Look, if you can't support me then I will cut ties right now." and I was dead serious about that. That made them see the light.
I went thru about 7 different names since i first stopped denying who i really am. Every time i thought i had the right one something just felt off....especially the name Alexis Nicole....no offense meant to those who love the name combo but it just aint me lol. In the end i finally decided on Kari Ann for two reasons...1 i love the name and 2 because the middle name is part of my stepmother's name and she was more of a mother to me then my birth mom.
In the end all i can really suggest is go thru as many names as you have to until you finally find that one name that you loveto hear and won't come off as nails on a chalk board after 3 months. Don't worry tho, in the end it will come to you in time.
Thank you all for the responses!!! I like Khloe or Elle or Avery. (all first names)
Quote from: CuriousAboutLife on November 28, 2013, 09:08:54 PM
Thank you all for the responses!!! I like Khloe or Elle or Avery. (all first names)
To be fully honest, i think you look more like a Katie....just my opinion tho.
I went thru a ton of girls names. Made a list of the ones I thought could work for me, my middle name I had already decided on before I picked a first name. So I put my middle name and my last name after each of the first names. Read them all aloud. Each one I thought sounded good went to another list. I believe it was 3 names. I then signed each of the names. Hayley sounded right when I said it and felt right when I signed it. It doesn't have a whole lot in common with my old boy name (Larry).
I'd only used my male name for work. My nickname was fairly gender neutral and I'd gotten quite attached to it so there wasn't a need to find a new name till I was ready to go full time - at which point I panicked all weekend like a crazy lady trying to come up with something.
It was only when I stopped thinking that Kaylee made its way into my head. I'd been rewatching Firefly again at the time and it seemed kinda apt, cute tomboy brunette (at the time) that enjoyed getting dirty, was a technical whiz kid and the inescapable urge to call things I wanted shiny. It was a perfect fit till I dyed my hair red! :)
Quote from: Kaylee on November 29, 2013, 02:15:26 AM
I'd been rewatching Firefly again at the time and it seemed kinda apt, cute tomboy brunette (at the time) that enjoyed getting dirty, was a technical whiz kid and the inescapable urge to call things I wanted shiny.
Oh my.. are you trying to seduce me? Because it's working! :laugh:
Quote from: Ashey on November 29, 2013, 02:28:38 AM
Oh my.. are you trying to seduce me? Because it's working! :laugh:
;D
I've also been to see Alice in Chains twice since Jerry got peeps back together, but before Mike died ;)
I chose my name from a song that I loved when I was growing up. It was because of that song that I asked my mom to get me the album it was on. I love both still today. That song was Beth by Kiss. I didn't care for the sound of just Beth though because it did not sound right with the middle name I chose so I decided to go with Bethany.
Quote from: Kaylee on November 29, 2013, 03:24:30 AM
;D
I've also been to see Alice in Chains twice since Jerry got peeps back together, but before Mike died ;)
Luckyy! <3 Wish I could see them at all. :S
I was fortunate to have been renamed by my older sister at age three with a first name that I now love. My middle name has been more of challenge and, as others have suggested, you and I can try out some favs and see how it feels for a bit. As an old thang I felt comfortable, at first, with using my old first name as my middle name. I reasoned that my past life was largely inescapable and the truth of what I had experienced to get here. Now a year into my transition I feel more uncertain and less sure. Initially I felt, none of the firm "I am a woman" sense but certain that I was never a real boy or man. My transition has allowed me to feel much more deeply the hidden depths of a non binary journey and I may yet feel I have become a woman.
In short it is important to give yourself time and space to give yourself some "try outs." This is a really nice feature of transition. IMO
For me I was trying several different names thinking and thinking. Finally one just popped in there and I was like "this just feels right". I've asked those that know me and they also thought the name would suit very well.