I have never really found a name to get attached to, i had a screen name i attached to my prefferred gender for about 6 years, but the name was gender neutral, or manybe even a little closer to my birth gender. Though it was after the name of a famous-ish transwoman from the 1960s ish. Not really appropriate as a real-life name though, only suitable as a screen name. Never really found a name i liked enough to get attached to. I kind of want something gender neutral really, but there's not much out there.
i think my name just naturally came to me. dont remember thinking about it.
You can check out behindthename.com for gender-neutral names and their meanings. Also asking people what other names they think suit you, or asking what your parents would've named you had you been born the opposite gender and trying to find a way to make that more androgynous. (i.e., Samuel or Samantha into Sam)
Or you could just make something up with syllables you find pleasant, if you want. (depending on how strongly you feel about having a "traditional" name, as opposed to a more "unusual" one.)
I wasn't really thinking about it, but mine just popped in my head after seeing it during a recent visit to my dentist (one of his assistants has my name) and it just seemed to click :laugh:. Besides, it means 'butterfly' in Greek (stemming from the name of the Greek Goddess Phanessa), and I love butterflies! ;D
My suggestion is if nothing seems to fit by the sound, look up its meaning. Hope this helps hun!
I'm a male to female transsexual. Well first off I wanted to change my boy name to a less boyish name, to Daniel. Then when I promised myself I would one day soon be a female through many surgeries, I decided to change my name a second time to Daniela, when the time was right. But then I started to think I should look for more girly and pretty names, like Elisabeth, or Rosalie, or Kristen. I chose the name Anne, then went to Annette, then to Jane, then to Venus (for a minute or so before I found out what it rhymed with, lol), then I went to Veronica, then to Vanessa. And I'm probably going to change it again (so far I haven't changed my name yet at all by law). I like to pick names that sound very feminine and beautiful, sophisticated, powerful, and sensible, yet exuberant, and loving, because all those themes and more describe my personality.
My name is kind of two parts. Sarah is a name I have always, for whatever reason, associated with. It's simple, feminine, and it's really just been a name I took on and decided that if I was born to that name I would not be out to change it, so I decided to be true to myself and just keep it. It feels right, that's all I can say.
As far as Faith goes, that was a part I added on when I joined Susan's many years ago. There was, muct to my dismay, already a Sarah here! So I stumbled upon Faith as something I have to become who I am and it's also a female name. Sarah will stay in real life, Faith will just stay here:)
I was thinking about Mary Emma, it's got that soft touch too it that i just love! ;D
but however i could never pull it off!
Well, it was Cassandra after the prophet nobody ever believed, but then I dated a girl named Cassandra. Then I went with Alice from Alice in Wonderland, but something seems off about it. I've been thinking about Kate, Kristen, or Carrie lately. My male name is Corey and I'm going for a K sound in my girl name.
My name is a morph of my birth name. My middle name just sort of flowed.
Someone who loves me gave me my first name, and I took that person's last name because together we are a family. A lot like my original names in that regard. ;)
Chloe <3
for me after i told my mom she can rename me due she did it the first time "thanks mom"
Mine comes from the 'Rocky Horror Picture Show'. I love Susan Sarandon 's character. And I later found out it is a feminized version of my male name. I always loved the second half of my ex's fist name, so I took it as my middle, spelled the same way.
Janet
Middle name was easy - Elizabeth. It's just so amazingly versatile.
First name - though I'm only about 95% certain on it - was really just a matter of my reviewing all the names I really liked, and eliminating any name already used by someone close to me, and then from the rest trying to get the one that was easiest to say in a fem voice (some letter sounds really are easy to drop down into the deep range on)
Quote from: mattie on October 22, 2009, 07:13:36 PM
for me after i told my mom she can rename me due she did it the first time "thanks mom"
Same here, my mother told me she was going to call me Tina Cherie so I am pretty much set on that name now and she is cool with it (She is still in mild shock though, but I expect she will adjust eventually).
A long time ago my parents told me they would have named me Kelly. I like how it fits a lot of the same characteristics my birth name while being entirely different, and I don't mind how it sounds when it gets shortened. I also like that it's way more common than my birth name - so no more having to correct pronunciations!
I'm still thinking about a middle name. I've never used the middle name I have now, so I'm not sure I'll even bother.
I would have been Elizabeth if my parents had recognized I was a girl. I thought of that briefly, but that is my daughter's middle name and it just seemed too weird for me to take it. :P I tried a few others but somehow stuck with Katherine (my legal name now). My friends decided I was Kate. Somehow that fits better. :)
I slid my male first name to be my middle name. (It could be a surname.) Now I wish I had done it differently, because it is a little startling to see it on documents that use my full name. But we make our choices and live with the consequences. ;)
- Kate
Jeannette's the combined name of my two nans' first names.
All of the names I've chosen have always stemmed from some kind of video game or something along those lines. My middle name comes from a 1980's Disney movie. My first name that always changes usually comes from a video game. Walter and Richard - Silent Hill 4. Robert - Clock Tower 3. My friend once told me not to pick names from games, movies or books. That hinders my selection because if I picked a name of random I would have nothing to compare it with. But usually when I hear a name of random I can usually compare it to something from a movie, game or book
I dreamt about being referred to as Miniar and found myself attached to it when I woke up. When I found out what it meant I was even more stuck on it.
I just changed the spelling of my original name because friends kept calling me by my old name and then they felt frustrated for goofing up. Thought it would be easiest on everyone? Still thinking of becoming Stacy? I've always liked that name.
Quote from: VanessaPink on August 06, 2009, 10:26:05 PMBesides, it means 'butterfly' in Greek (stemming from the name of the Greek Goddess Phanessa), and I love butterflies! ;D
Not to rain on your parade, but that's not actually true. I'm an hellenic polytheist, and there is no Goddess in my pantheon by that name. A search on theoi.com (a primary-source repository of Hellenic divinity -- even including obscurities like the Boeotian City-Nymphe Thespia (http://www.theoi.com/Nymphe/NympheThespia.html)) gives nothing in a search for Phanessa" -- absolutely nothing, which for that site, is a little odd.
Now, "Vanessa" is a specific genus of butterfly (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanessa_%28butterfly%29), but it's likely to be derived from the name of the deity Phanes (http://www.theoi.com/Protogenos/Phanes.html) (or "Phanes-Eros" / "Eros-Phanes") from the Orphic cosmology.
I chose my name, Ruadhán Jarlath (I'm keeping my surname), cos of a few reasons:
1) I've always given myself the initials "RJ" when I was in junior high and high school and writing under pen names.
2) When I first attended the local TS/TG group, the name "Rowan" just rolled off my tongue, and I later went to go look it up on behindthename.com -- one of the definitions was "m, Anglicised form of Ruadhán", and following that (and other sources) learned the definition of "little red one" or "red-haired boy". Which I found entertaining as I have hair that's naturally on the reddish side of auburn, am a Socialist ("Commie Red" -- LOL), and have always felt I looked best in reds and coppers.
3) I rarely have ever had a full name for the middle initial (so it was kind of like Michael J Fox, whose J is just J), but in searching behindthename.com for more Irish boys' names, found "Jarlath", which sounds a lot like "Jareth", and if you've seen
Labyrinth as much as i have, you may just associate than name with having a large penis, like I do -- or at least with looking as hot as David Bowie.
My mum's idea. Maria Pia.
fun question!
Ok well I am a young FTM guy
My birth name is Maggie. I don't hate it.. but It isnt good for passing.
I asked my parents what they would have named me had I been born male, my mom said "We never thought of one, we KNEW you would be a girl" so, no go on that approach.
So I just made a list of names I liked.. My top names were Edmund, Edward Edwin, and Silas.. I actually went on yahoo answers, posted my picture and asked people what they thought.
some answers I got where, Silas, John, Alex, max, ryan, james.. then someone suggested Elijah.. and I love that person!
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Ak9FnW8J.nMXoAPMytwoJL7ty6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20090720005418AALWPsZ (http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Ak9FnW8J.nMXoAPMytwoJL7ty6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20090720005418AALWPsZ)
(thats THE question)
You can see that when someone suggested elijah.. so many people started agreeing too, saying I looked like an Elijah. :)
So I decided to go with that, I am still testing it out ya know.. I could change it, But I think it fits.. Also I was told that I look a tiny bit like Elijah Wood.. so maybe it is a sign.
anyway, thats my first name.. and all fo my new friends at college call me by it.
and as for my middle name.. Its O'Neil. amazing right? anyway that name was passed down in the family and obviosly its very masculine so I GET TO KEEP IT, which makes me very happy.. cause I love love my middle name. and it means I can stay connected to the family.
Quote from: YoungSoulRebel on October 24, 2009, 08:23:31 PM
and I later went to go look it up on behindthename.com
Thanks for the link, RJ. It points out that Kate is the character referred to in the title of Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew. I had forgotten that when I told my friends to call me either Katherine or Kate. (They liked Kate better, and somehow it is more fitting.)
So until my own Petruchio turns up, I will remain happily untamed. >:-)
- Kate (and you better believe it)
Hi everyone! I am new to this site. Just checking things out so far... But this post sparked my interest. I'm a mtf. I'm 18 5'9". Very passable (although i haven't started transitioning ft jussst yet, a little nervous!) but i'm getting there. Anyway, about my name... I'm fortunate enough to have been named with a gender neutral name. Obviously I can still go by my name while transitioning, but when I finally do get my surgery, am I required to change my legal name? Or can I keep it if it is gender neutral. It always has comforted me knowing my name was gender neutral and I could keep it when I finally transitioned. Anyway, any advice/information would be appreciated!
:)
Quote from: drippin on October 26, 2009, 03:16:54 PM
Hi everyone! I am new to this site. Just checking things out so far... But this post sparked my interest. I'm a mtf. I'm 18 5'9". Very passable (although i haven't started transitioning ft jussst yet, a little nervous!) but i'm getting there. Anyway, about my name... I'm fortunate enough to have been named with a gender neutral name. Obviously I can still go by my name while transitioning, but when I finally do get my surgery, am I required to change my legal name? Or can I keep it if it is gender neutral. It always has comforted me knowing my name was gender neutral and I could keep it when I finally transitioned. Anyway, any advice/information would be appreciated!
:)
This generally depends on what you and your therapist may decide is best for you, but it may also be a requirement of the region where you live. Sometimes, it's as simple as just changing the spelling (like from Aaron to Erin [even though those two names are technically supposed to be pronounced differently, but whatever, most people don't], or vice-versa), or changing the middle name ("Marie" is a common middle name for girls, so FTM men who might be named something androgynous for a forename, like Jessie or Jamie, but name an obviously gendered middle name like "Marie" would obviously want to change that) -- if your state (or province, country, etc...) requires a name change, you can probably get away with just a simple spelling alteration or just changing the middle name.
Not knowing your name, an example I can readily think of is "Lynn" -- which is technically androgynous, but you can further feminise it as "Lynne". "Merideth" is also an androgynous name I can readily think of, but I have a friend whose parents named her "Merrydeth" because they thought it looked more feminine. I know "Rowan" is often enough considered androgynous, but I guess if where you live requires a change, you can either just change your middle name to something explicitly feminine (I like the way "Rowan Deirdre" looks in my head, as an example) or change "Rowan" to "Rowena" and just go by "Rowan" to your friends and such.
So, back to your question -- if you and your therapist decide that your forename or even your whole name is fine, then you may not have to change anything, but some (most?) regions require
some alteration to one's name before allowing one's documentation (like driver's license / identification card, etc...) to reflect a gender change. If your forename is truly androgynous and you're that attached to it, you can probably get away with changing the spelling just slightly or only changing your middle name.
Let's see, my name...
Well, my screen name R. Morgan is close... I'm just not 100% sure what the "R." will be yet.
My immediate family has a kind of a joke - all of our names start with "R." So when ever something comes we would all sign with just an "R."
I want to keep that connection so I want to keep the R.
I'm considering: Rachel (or Rachael?), Regina, Roslin (or Roslyn?), Rosabell and Rose.
Morgan as a middle name was the easy part for me. I always though of myself as Morgan - To the extent that I have a hard time responding to my given name in a timely manner. :D Additionally my dad grew up in Morgantown, so it's kind of a built in link to my family. :)
Mine is rather stupid :D
When I registered here I intended to mainly lurk, and thus didn't really care about my name. The line "I am riven" came to mind from the flashdance song, and it seemed to fit my condition, but riven was already taken as a board name, so I went with riven_one.
I REALLY need to change that name, i don't like it at all.