So I was curious about others choices of names. My original and current name is Keith Allen last name here. I have decided on Lilith Alice, I chose Lilith because of its Hebrew translation (and I love the name?) of Night Creature, which for me I can relate with due to my nocturnal nature (when I can be) as well as how uncomfortable I was with being trans I felt like a monster of sorts. Alice I feel matches similar to Allen so I compromised with my parents for a name they can feel kind of comfortable saying. Anyone else?
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Screw that compromise crap. I did exactly what I wanted to do.
My mother attempted to talk me out of every single step of my transition. But, I kept going as far as I could. That included changing my name. I changed every bit of it: First, Middle & Last. I wasn't about to listen to anyone else's opinion on this. I didn't care what they thought. It's my life and I did what I thought was appropriate for me and no one else. Did it cause some problems? You bet it did. Did I care? Hell no.
Now, since several years have past, they see that I did what was right for me.
I'd love to change my last name too.. just frustrating with my parents expecting things out of me.
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I wanted to go with Ben originally because it was going to be my name should i have been born with a penis. However, even though I like the name, I don't like it as me. So I'm going with Tobias because of the story in the Catholic Bible. My original name was Sarah. In the story, Tobias rescues Sarah from a demon who was tormenting her and making her murder her husbands/suitors. I feel that this is the case for me symbolically. The demon being my insecurities and discomfort in my body and Tobias being my "new" identity bringing harmony again.
Kept my last name, middle name is what my parents had chose for me before I was born, I went all out on the first name. I like having a unique name but it's got to the point where I have to spell it every single time I tell my name to someone, and I've given up using it at boost juice bars since they always pronounce it wrong.
BenKenobi that is pretty cool backstory
Well Marlee was a name I chose at random when a pushy friend was trying to choose her own preference for me. But I have come to like it over time. I don't know if it sounds porn-ish, but when I Make it official I may use my middle name as last. .. Marlee Miles.
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I changed my name from Alexis Christine Shirley to Audri James Parker. I chose the first name Audri because it means "nobility and strength" And those are things I want to hold myself to and I want those to be words people can use to describe my character and morals. I want to have a reminder of that every day, so Audri it was. James was because the ftm guy that helped me with my transition called me "Jimmy" because I reminded him of "Jimmy Novak" (Castiel's Meatsuit) and Parker because that is the last name of someone who I lost too soon. I wanted to cut ties with my family's name because it means nothing anymore. They destroyed any value our name had, and I want to pass a name to my kids they themselves and their kids can be proud of.
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Quote from: BenKenobi on July 17, 2015, 11:50:39 PM
I wanted to go with Ben originally because it was going to be my name should i have been born with a penis. However, even though I like the name, I don't like it as me. So I'm going with Tobias because of the story in the Catholic Bible. My original name was Sarah. In the story, Tobias rescues Sarah from a demon who was tormenting her and making her murder her husbands/suitors. I feel that this is the case for me symbolically. The demon being my insecurities and discomfort in my body and Tobias being my "new" identity bringing harmony again.
i really love your story. when i read that i kinda gasped a little at how beautiful it is.
i chose my name because i saw this video of a guy who was hitchhiking and got in a car with some guy who ended up trying to kill someone and kai (the hitchhiker) killed him before he could hurt anyone else
that isnt why i chose kai though
i chose it because i really liked that guy's free spirit and i loved his way of life. i loved who he was as a person. i always wanted to be free like that. i've always loved the idea of traveling with nothing but a backpack and my own thoughts like he did. (minus the hitchhiking, i would get a bike) he's kinda my inspiration i guess. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckfBGdZoR_0 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckfBGdZoR_0)
I changed my first and middle name. The name I have now I always wanted one of my children to have .
Then We had a girl she got a different name
Then another girl and she got a different name .
Deep down subconsciously someone told me to hold on to this name .
A year later after rock bottom I finally accepted myself .
Looks like I always new I was to have this name.
I went from Michael John day to summer Jane day
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Quote from: BenKenobi on July 17, 2015, 11:50:39 PM
I wanted to go with Ben originally because it was going to be my name should i have been born with a penis. However, even though I like the name, I don't like it as me. So I'm going with Tobias because of the story in the Catholic Bible. My original name was Sarah. In the story, Tobias rescues Sarah from a demon who was tormenting her and making her murder her husbands/suitors. I feel that this is the case for me symbolically. The demon being my insecurities and discomfort in my body and Tobias being my "new" identity bringing harmony again.
That. Is. Super. Cool!!!
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When I look back on my first (unsuccessful) attempt at transition, one of the reasons I've identified for it's not working was compromising too much on naming.
I had a name selected, liked it, and identified with it. My SO rejected it. As a marital olive-branch, I let her select an alternative. It may have helped temporarily somewhat, but in the long run, undermined my ability to connect with my new identity.
Big mistake.
I chose Morgan for a first name because I like what it means and because it's pretty unisex. I chose Grey for a middle because it reflects my desire to blend into the background (and because I thought it was cool). So now my name means grey sea circle, son of candlemaker. The initials MGM were a plus lol go Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios. Everyone calls me Morgan. But my lover calls me Grey, because she's special.
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I was born Zane Ellis, and when I finally came out to my friends and family I hadn't even thought about choosing a new name. However, when I came out to my best friend she asked me if there was a name I would prefer to be called and that's when I decided I wanted to pick a new name. I wanted a name that was unique because if there was one thing about my birth name that I liked it was the fact that most people had never heard it before. So I researched girl's names for a while I settled on Thea Elizabeth and then going by Thea. The reason I chose Thea was partially because I felt it was unique and also because my favorite character on Arrow is Thea Queen. Also I just feel like it's a pretty name and I associate it with beauty. The reason I changed my middle name to Elizabeth was because I didn't feel Thea Ellis flowed very well, but I still wanted to have my middle name start with E so my initials spelled out a nonsense word still. It's just TEP now instead of ZEP. I don't know if my initials will continue to spell nonsense when I eventually marry because I've kind of always wanted to take my partners last name, whoever that ends up being. I haven't made my name change legal yet since I still generally appear male so on legal documents I still have to sign Zane Ellis, but among friends I go by Thea and I even ask them to use my chosen name in public and I don't feel uncomfortable about it because Thea is who I am and have always been. I just finally have a name now.
My birth name was Carley Ann (Lastname), and because I'm pathologically indecisive it took me AGES to pick a name. I initially rejected "Carl" because it seemed like such a plain, boring name to me at the time. Also I didn't like the idea of just taking the male version of my birth name.
So went through lists and lists and lists. I tried with Charlie but everybody else vehemently rejected that for me. Everyone. My mother didn't pick a name until I she knew my assigned gender and therefore had no possible boy names to give me. At the time she was also struggling massively with my transition and ignored my repeated requests for suggestions until I couldn't stand using my old name anymore. My Dad was supportive but seemed at a loss for suggestions. I tried Liam for a while, but it just wouldn't stick and it felt forced.
My Love couldn't stand callng me by a girl's name though, so she called me Carl (or usually "Carls") as a nickname. It enabled her to call me by my preferred name around family I wasn't out to, because they just assumed it actually was a nickname.
Then weirdly, somehow it grew on me. I fought it for a while and tried to find something both suitable and more unique but I guess I discovered that my name didn't have to be super unique, it just had to fit. I was hoping that I would have some super revelation and just know that this name was awesome and perfect for me. But I didn't happen that way (and sometimes I admit that still bugs me a little.) I just kind of slowly took on this one.
I never wanted to change my last name, I liked the family attachment even thought it's long and annoying to write. I wanted Lloyd as my middle name originally because me and my grandfather were super close and he was my hero as a kid. But one of my brothers already has that middle name and I felt that would be kind of weird. So I decided that I would ideally like some sort of family related name, hopefully from my Dad's side, and preferably keep my initials. After finally getting up the guts to ask my family for suggestions again, I told my dad my thoughts and he said "Well, your great grandfather's name was Arthur."
So last year I legally became Carl Arthur.
I was born as Kyle (Although if my dad had his way it would have been Alowishus) and have just recently come out as Trans, I've chosen, as you can see, only a slight variation on that, going with Kylie, i like my initials the way they are and I've always liked the name Kylie so it was quite simple for me, but as people have said above, it's what YOU feel comfortable with, as long as you are happy, that should be all that matters, life is meant to be lived, not spent hiding and being unhappy, you only get one shot at it, do what you want! :D HUGS xx
I was advised by another trans friend to use a name with letters from my birth name include, so I chose 'Willow' due to that fact, and because she's my favourite character from Buffy, my favourite tree, and I just like the sound of it and think it suits me ^_^
I decided to keep my same initials and last name. I don't hate my family, even if they hate me, and I don't think I should subject my wife to changing her name AGAIN. She's already done it twice since we got married b/c they messed it up the first time.
By the way, thanks for the forum name change! Now I really am starting to feel like me around here. :) No longer hiding behind an alter ego.
I appreciate all the responses to this topic, I'm loving all the stories as I found finding my name wasn't so easy :). Glad to know it's not just a problem I had.
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I've used Tamika a few times in the past for video games and the like. It's close to my birth name, so it fits well. It was largely an impulse to use it when I signed up for this site, but I've kinda come to love it. I looked up the meaning, child of the people, and it seems like a strong and ambitious name. I'm not certain yet, but I think it's my name for good.
Middle name is harder, I've always had two, both very masculine, so I've had some fun choosing something new. Right now I'm leaning towards Olivia. That was the name my parents planned on giving me if I was born a girl, so I think it gives a nice connection to that past. Plus, I love the way it sounds. I'm not nearly as certain about it as I am for Tamika though.
Last name is way up in the air. It's gonna depend entirely on how future conversations with my parents go. And that's a long way away, at least by the standards of my (currently very brief) period of self discovery. I'd like to keep it, but if I get wounded that might change.
I'm finally getting to the point where I'm starting to use a new name in some contexts. I knew from the beginning, heck, I knew from 25 years BEFORE the beginning, that my name would be Jennifer. (I joined Susan's right after deciding to transition, and as you can see, I knew then.)
For some reason, I have had a connection with this name for a long time. It's extremely common, which is ok with me; my male name was pretty common, too. It preserves my initials (important because, not exactly by design, my 5 siblings' names all start with 'J,' too), and goes well with my middle name. The middle name was androgynous, and was named for a person, so I am happy to keep that.
It's been hard for me to admit the depth of this connection, and for a long time I treated Jennifer as just one possibility among others, but I've pretty well known that I have to use it. Some else mentioned having trouble because of compromising on name, and I have come to the conclusion that I'd have trouble with that, too. It seems daunting enough to acclimate to a new name, so using one I feel a strong connection to already seems very attractive.
My parents are very understanding about this. I was a bit worried about my father, but his immediate reaction was that it's my name, and I don't have to ask his or anyone's permission to do whatever I like with it.
I have a 4-letter name, and I wanted a name with the same length. I chose Emma after Emma Goldman, the anarchist philosopher. I'm keeping my last name. I'm not quite sure what to do with my middle names. I have two. One is James, after my father Jamie, and the other is my grandfather's. I don't care about keeping my grandfather's name, but I love my father and don't want to insult him. I think I'll switch James to Jamie, drop my grandfather's name, and add my mother's.
My mom chose mine. I told her I want one similar to my birth name and she chose one.
Prior to that I was thinking of Renee but that didn't fit the profile. I like my current choice of name better and it's going to be legal very soon. (It's not Kate).
Although I cant legally change my name yet, I got quite a few friends and even some of my family to use it and when they do use it sincerely it feels right and like me, which what the name should feel like.
First character I cosplayed and the one I relate to deeply is Riku from Kingdom Hearts, but that name is asian while I am not, so I couldn't really use it and majority of people werent taking it seriously. Riku means land. My birth year element is earth and I am a pretty grounded person, also my birth name was after a tree which is of course connected to the earth.
After one brainstorming session with my friend I found a name that was 'it' the second I heard it. It was Lance, which I later found out to mean land in Old German, which tied it to my earlier choice and element. Lance is short for Lancelot which is a knight's name and I always wanted to be a knight because of how they view honor and valor. Also because Dragonheart was one of my favorite movies growing up, along with the Knight's Tale. It wasn't generic and is definitively masculine. Lance is also the name of a weapon that is not too powerful on its own but given enough force through jousting/skill/etc it can be, which speaks to the resolve I needed to live and study in a different country on my own and the hope which drives me every day. Also the first two letters are the same as in my mother's name.