Hey all,
I recently did a presentation on Gender Identity Disorder for my entire Psychopathology class. During the presentation, my professor asked me about names. She asked if it was common for transisitoning people to choose names that began with the same letter as their birth name? She said that she had run across this many times so she thought it might be something that happens a lot.
So, I was curious. Is this true for you? Does your choosen name begin with the same letter as your given name? How did you decided on which name fit you best?
For me it was difficult, I was considering going by the male form of my given name. Since, my uncle calls me that all the time. I decided to steer clear of that and just began by writing down names that I really liked. Some how I landed on the name James Nicholas. It happend just by chance. James starts with the first letter of my last name, which is what I go by here on campus, but I think that's just a coincidence. ???
Sorry, Sarah Louise is no where near the name my birth name.
I kept my initials (family tradition) but I picked my name when I was 5 because it was the most beautiful name I ever heard. It just happened to work with the initials. 56 years later I still love my name (which isn't Jane! LOL!)
I want to keep my initials but I haven't managed to find a name that 'fits' within that constraint - it doesn't help that I want to go by my first name post-namechange but have always gone by my middle name until recently.
My given first name starts with A and I've been using Alex as my informal chosen name for a while now, but I keep finding myself drawn to other names, Evan and Ryan being a couple of the ones I think fit me better.
nope my name is very different from my birth name.. which reminds me.. how come people keep their birth name so secret here? I'm not ashamed of it. My birth name is Maggie. I chose Elijah for my new name.
and fortunatly my middle name is very very masculine, or well unisex so I dont need to change it.
I could have chosen Max, or Matt, or something.. but I dunno. I chose Elijah becuase all of my favorite names start with E. Edward, Edmund, Edwin, Elijah.
Some keep birth name and new name secret. Some like their privacy and some simply don't want to have any association with a name that is not theirs even if it was given to them by their parents (or whoever).
Only my last name is the same. I'm pretty sure Samantha and Paul bear no resemblance to each other.
Yep, that was my number one criteria when choosing a name.
I kept my last name the same.
And my first name begins with the same letter as my former name, but they are nothing alike.
My middle nae began with L and it now begins with A :]
Both my first and middle name have several letters from my given name, and the same initials. While my given name didn't suite me there were things I liked about that and that influenced my choice.
Jesse to Jessie... nope no connection.
More out of convenience of not having to learn a new name I guess, add the I and it becomes slightly more feminine.
I have not picked out a name for my legal change. I think I'm going to just write down a list and choose one that strikes my liking. I hope to go legal very very soon before I leave for Uni. I'll start on that process next month after my finals are over.
Nathan does not begin with the same letter as my given name did and that's what I wanted, not sure why but I didn't want my name now to be like the one before.
My middle and last name are the same except I changed my middle name to the male spelling of it.
My name nowhere close to the old male name. However Janet has the meaning as the male name.
Even my last name is not the same as my birth.
hmm... I guess it kind of surprises me that some have changed their last name as well as their first. I have kept my last name the same. I still want the connection to my family (or at least that's the way I see it). My first name (Nicole) has become my middle name (Nicholas) and obviously I have a different first name now. :)
Quote from: BlackWolf on April 06, 2010, 10:56:06 AM
So, I was curious. Is this true for you? Does your choosen name begin with the same letter as your given name? How did you decided on which name fit you best?
yep same letter. Chris/christopher is the masculine version of my birth name.
I was going to stick with Jamie...it's pretty unisex anyway and then use the name I would have been given if i'd been born in the right body as my middle name, which was Arwen Eleanor. But somehow it didn't seem to sit right...probably because Jamie has always been my boy name. In the end I ended up deciding on Helena Jamie after my friend Marianne blurted out that she thought I looked like a Helen...hehe.
Possibly an unusual way to choose your name, but it feels right and I like it...which is all that matters in the end. I'll keep my surname unless something drastic occurs with the parental units.
Haha I think my given and chosen name are on
opposite sides of the alphabet, lol. :laugh:
I go by Dan/Danny mostly. Nowhere close to my actual name. I've gone from S.C.G to D.G
Quote from: Sarah Louise on April 06, 2010, 10:58:39 AM
Sorry, Sarah Louise is no where near the name my birth name.
same here.
My name (first and middle) was chosen with the goal of preserving my birth name's initials. This was important to me, even though it seemed funny to others when I told them.
D.R.W.
I changed first and last, and dropped middle.
It's slightly unusual, but I went without a middle name because I just plain don't like them (on me). I also think they are redundant, and cause problems by only ever being on 1/2 your paperwork. That and people are always curious what they are - it's like Rumple-freaking-stiltskin! :laugh:
Neither of my names are related to my former names in any way, shape or form. They do not start with the same initials. My former name had absolutely no bearing on the name I went with.
When I heard my name, it instantly clicked. It was a name that felt right, but at the time I couldn't use it (this was many years prior to formal transition). So I used it online and in private for years.
I sounded out some others when it came to legal name change time (I really tried to use something related to my former first name to appease family) but nothing fit at all. So I just ran with the name that felt right since I was 14. I knew I'd regret it if I didn't.
So far no regrets. I'm still think it's awesome, and I still think it fits eerily well :)
No relation in my case. The names are even different nationalities.
No similarities for me either, but this is the girl name my mom picked before I was born. I considered other names, but I've always been sorta partial to this one since I was young :laugh:
If I do transition, my transitioning name will be the feminize version of my birth name. I love my male name as is... since it's so rare and it fits me.
My intitals before were L.E.F. I dislike the letters L and E anyway so I ditched them. Also I couldn't find any names that I really liked that began with those letters. So now I have the initials G.J.F
The names I have chosen to use at the moment are common in my birth year. Eventually at name change time I may change my last name to my paternal Grandmother's maiden name for a connection to my past, and a new start at the same time.
I've just recently changed my name by deed poll. It's no where near my birth name, so doesn't apply to me.
I know a lot of people do like to change their name to something close to their birth name though.
i chose Alex cos it meant i could keep the same initials and hence signature but then i went and changed my last name anyway
My given name and adopted name have no relationship – different initials, different mix of soft and hard consonants, different number of syllables, different rhythm when spoken. I kept the last name because I always liked it and like my family.
After I changed my name, I thought perhaps it was good to change it completely. Otherwise, I think it would have been harder for friends and family to make the change.
I keep my male name private because it isn't relevant and I don't want to remind myself or others of my male self. At some point I may be more comfortable as Katherine and relax that.
Although I had known it before I didn't make the connection until recently, but one of my great-grandmothers was named Kate and had the same last initial. Rediscovering that helped me be more comfortable and integrate the new me into my lineage.
- Kate (aka Katherine)
My original female name was pretty similar to my male name but I grew very tired of the similarity and picked a new name all together. I think Rachel suits me well. ^_^
I don't like my male name, And I hate the female equivalent of it even more which is always everyone's first suggestion. I also don't like my initials they are the exact same as my dad's and they are a pain with things like mail.
Prior to my parents knowing I did inquire about what hypothetical alternate girls names, However as it turned out that my mother is non-coercively opposed to my transition, I don't feel it's right for me to use the names I had derived from her suggestions she scowled at me now when I asked.
My dad dosen't know yet but I kinda don't get along so well with him so we'll see his opinions eventually if he's accepting then I will take one of the permutations of the names he suggested. That'd be "Ellie, Helen" Or something like that. Otherwise if he's opposed aswell I will just have to pick a name I like alone.
The name that I use, and I say use because im not in transition. Was a name I just chose out the blue. It is not the same letter am my real name nor does it sound simmular.
I Use Lucy Elswit becasue it is my second life name...
and I would probobly use it if I was to transition to
No matter which name I have used, only two (or three) I can think of right now that started with the same letter as my birth name. My birth name started with an A, and I had used the names Apollo, Antonio and Anton (if that counts as the third even though it's a short version of Antonio) before. So the first letters were the same
I tend to pick names that are later in the alphabet like R, W, V, ect.
I wanted to keep my initails so that I could continue signing things J. S___. Plus, I've always liked writing the cursive capital J. Don't know why. The H, on the other hand, is a pain in the butt when I have to write out my full legal name. But I have a cool little symbol, that I've used on my art projects since I was a kid, that combines my initials into a dollar sign, so I kinda wanted to keep them all. That and I have those monogrammed cups someone gave me ... ;)
I never use my birth name around here because, A) I hate it. It reminds me too much of all those years being seen as someone I never was, and it pisses me off when people use it now. And B) It's an unusual enough name that anyone who googled even just my first name would likely end up here.
Nope, my old name began with S and my new name is Ryan. I could have shortened my old name to a male name, but I didn't.
I now have the feminize version of my birth name, 3brothers older than me, then I arrived, my Parents must have said yikes not another boy, I was called Paul, my biggest regret I didn't transition much sooner, I miss out on being a little girl and my Parents would have excepted me.
When I started my transition I was 16, my Mother just added 3letters to the end of my name ''ine'' if I had been born in the right body I would have been called Pauline, I actually like the name Susan, but my Parents where so supportive of my transition, particularly my Mother who was trilled at gaining a daughter, so when we decided on my name change, we went with Pauline, Im now Pauline for the last 35years.
p
Nope, I never even considered it. Although I'll take being called by the feminized version of my male name over the male name itself, sure.
Emily is the name that I would have been given if I had been born biologically female, so I'm going with that.
no where close... i've actually been asked "why did you pick something so far off" before.
Meh, i really hate my given name, wanted to get away from it
[and the masculine form is really just knocking off the ending, which is what people call me who dont know anyway. >.> is not a boys name in the US sadly. god dammit.]
My first name is "the" male name. I've hated it my whole life and I can't wait to change it.
I like my initials though, so I'm trying to keep them. I haven't been able to think of an 'M' name that sounds good with Amy and my last name. May have to change the middle initial.
i just sticked my new first name at the front of my original full name, so my masculine given name becomes my middle name :P reason? my (UK) university doesn't want to issue me a new parchment with my new name...so when i show a new employer my cert i just say they omitted my first name and believe it or not they actually buy my story!
also i'm kind of used to my masculine name and i use it for informal occasions...and somehow people find it to be cute ???
I like my initials, so I'm keeping them the same, ACP. Amy Cathleen to Aidan Clay.
If I didn't have a younger brother, I probably would have considered the name my parents would have given me, but I don't think Jeffrey really fits me, so I'm glad my brother made that decision easy for me! LOL
I tried to keep my initials at first, but the name I picked initially (lol) just didn't fit me well. I dug Sebastien, and I've stuck with it. There was a period of time when I thought I'd give my mother a chance to choose my first name, but after giving her about 10 opportunities to do so and being brutally rebuffed every time, I decided against that. So... my initials went from RCB to SDB. I won't reveal my birth name, because I abhor it.
In the end, it came down to meanings over letters/initials.
SD