I've heard a lot of people, mostly FtM, say how they tried that as a kid. I've heard a lot of transpeople in general say they had a name planned out from an early age.
I remember when I was little, I hated my name. Not because it was a girls name, but because no one could pronounce it and because to this date I've never met someone with it IRL.
I wanted to change it to "Crystal" when I was older, but never told my parents. Eventually, I met a girl named Krystal and I hated her actually. But by then I had forgotten about my name hatred.
Nope. Though I had always hated my name, but then it was also my father's name too, and I hated him, even then I could never think of me as having another name, not for a while. I only desired a name change once I knew what my path would be, one of my steps to becoming the real me, then I found a name that I liked, that I had been pondering for some years and went with that, and I like my name now, its me.
I invented my own nickname when I was in my teens, and got people to use it (no mean feat) - and that was Spoonbill. I was still very carefully avoiding knowing who I was at the time, but I invested a lot in being androgynous or gender-neutral back then (I spent 3 years dressed entirely in lilac, for goodness' sake), as it was the closest I could safely go. Spoonbills are quite the feminine bird!
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.yoxi.net%2Fanitya%2Fspoonbill-roseate.jpg&hash=b127f4568faca24f1a471ac042b09be8b95e179a)
I don't hate my name, but from an early age I disliked it because of how common it was, Most of the times I heard my name the speaker was referring to someone else. It made me feel like I was one of many instead of just one.
Now although I'm still frustrated with how common it is I've grown to see the good sides of having a common name, no misspellings, can't be internet searched as easily, and the level of anonymity it had. Time has also contributed to me coming to accept it as my own and though I still fantasize about having a different name that's a bit less common and less feminine, I can't easily see myself by any other name offline. (usernames are another story entirely)
I've had several wishes to change my name even when I was little. My name too is hard to pronounce and it just never struck me as a 'true name'. It was just what someone would call me to get my attention. I'm not sure if that explains anything... But I once went 2 years with the name Cobra - this was when I was six and seven - simply because I loved cobras so much haha. In my late middle school and early high school years I went by Hunter but the name never really stuck as people kept calling me by my birth name or there would be another Hunter in the class and all hell would break loose.
When my mother was little she adopted the name Toby - which stuck. So I had a mother called Toby, go figure...
I was always Jamie to my titled grandmother Lady H. (who was every inch the Grand-Dame of the family) - although officially I was named James, but I didn't like Jamie much and when at the age of five I started adopting a more female persona my mother came up with Jenny after my second cousin, who oddly lives in the states somewhere (although we lost touch a long time back). So I kind of had three names all through my childhood which were used interchangeably depending on who was around and presumablyhow I was dressed at the time.
Yeah, John or Sarah
I never had a problem with my birth name (always liked why it was given to me). But when my mom and I went on vacation to California when I was 7, I saw the name Zoë and immediately began calling myself that whenever I had internal dialog. I kept it hidden for 26 years until I went full time and told people that would become my name. I'm two to three months from it being legal.
The only time I flirted with a different name was when I was 9 and watched my first episode of Rocky and Bullwinkle (after my mom first got cable). I saw Natasha and instantly fell in love. But I was already Zoë, so what was a girl to do? Take Natasha as a middle name, of course! ;D Both names have stuck with me to this day.
Oh yeah. I hate my name, and it's not because I'm trans, it just sucks lol. Half the the time new teachers and subs get it wrong, and sometimes they accidentally say the female version of my name instead. Tbh, when they do that it's quite embarrassing. >.<
I've had the name, Trista, in my head for years.
I've never really cared for my name. I couldn't pronounce it properly when I was younger because of a lisp, and I still have some trouble saying it, which is, of course, kind of problematic :P It's also a very unusual/uncommon name, and often people will mention that when they hear it, and I've never known how to respond to that...
"That's such an interesting name! You don't hear that every day."
"Uh... Thanks?"
... yeah xD
I've wanted to change it since I was twelve or so. I still haven't gotten around to it, though I'm very well-acquainted with the procedure/forms for when the time comes.
I adopted my female name (which isn't Jane!) when I was 4 years old so it has been part of my life for 58 years. I adopted it because I thought it was the prettiest name I had ever heard and I STILL like it ;D A lot of people knew me by my girl's name and from about age 14 onward when I started going out in public and living part time en femme it became common knowledge.
When I transitioned (age 24) I added a middle name but, in effect, I never changed my name and the old boy's name slipped away easily. Within weeks it held no hook any more.
I really liked the female version of my male name, never liked the male version.
I always insisted that my cousins call me Louie, Mark, or Max. Max came first, in preschool, then in kindergarten I wished to be called Louie or Mark. Now I'm pondering changing it to Max, because I just don't look like a Mark, and not to mention that it's my sister's ex's name. My name is already androgynous, Morgan, but when I see it I see a girls name. -shrugs-
Maximus: [removes helmet and turns around to face Commodus] My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions, loyal servant to the true emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife. And I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next.
Go for Maximus for total cool.
I remember when I was finishing 8th grade and about to enter high school I wanted to start going by my middle name. I told people it was because I wanted a change but it was just that I didn't like myself and wanted to "start fresh" or something. I dunno, I was just a dumb kid. I never went through with it though, my Mom stopped that plan cold. None of it was gender-related though, all that confusion started a year or two later for me.
I tried going by Chris as a kid, no gender involved that way. My mother ended that pretty quick tho. Now I'm kinda glad she did. I have a child with a version of that name instead.
No. My old name is a root of my chosen name, this was a recent decision. I didn't have a feminine name decided all of these years. No change of my middle name, that has a noble root.
Joelene
Hmm, I'm not sure. I think I might recall wanting something more female, but I no longer remember specific details. I do dislike my male name, though. My parents argued over it for weeks, and finally just picked something at random (literally) from a baby-name book.
Yes, several times. Most memorably 'Alex', because at 3 yrs of age it was the only boy's name I could think of that didn't belong to someone I knew. My mom could never remember, so I eventually gave up and tried to convince her I was a dog instead.
My first name is unisex, and both my father and my first female friend have the same name as me.
Quote from: nobody on May 02, 2011, 11:03:49 PM
tried to convince her I was a dog instead.
This is pretty much unrelated to the original post, but I did this too xD
Nice to know I'm not the only one.
I called myself Sam for a while. I also tried telling people I was Addy. (My initials are A.D.). Sadly, my give name is quite male-ish.
But I already have a girl's name. It got it when I was quite young and I know who I am.
Haha reading this forum I constantly add little things to endless compilation of things: Addie was my nickname when I was a kid and I always thought it sounds like Lady and didn't mind it one bit :) Even though Lady is the kind of name someone calls their friendly wolf lol.
I only disliked my name when people met me for the first time and said, "Oh! You're a little girl!" because they were surprised after hearing my name was more male (Shawn). I never really wanted to change my name, I just hated the surprise when people thought I was a boy because of my name and found out I was a girl.
Yes. I hated having a girl's name.
We moved when I was in high school and I started using initals.
Family never adapted to it, but at least at school I didn't have to be called the old name.
The boy's name I always imagined having is not the one I chose when it came time to do that.
Couldn't bring myself to name me after my Dad.
Not really. i was pretty okay with my name and i'm really only parting with it because my male identity is attached to it. eh, i've been mostly going by my online nickname anyway. The friends i've made recently haven't played that much online with me, so they usually call me by my male name and it's just feels really odd. I haven't gotten used to my female name yet either. i think currently i mostly identify with my two online nicknames.
back when i was a child though i really wasn't bothered by it. it was just some name and it was nice.
Yes I did along with other things that didn't match up LOL. Nowadays I am satisfied with it-it works for me now.
Randi
Yes. I was actually going to go through with it, too--my parents were behind the idea, and we were brainstorming together. My reasoning back then was just that "I don't like the meaning of my current name." Eventually I decided it'd be too much of a hassle and forgot about it.
When I got a little older I played around with the idea again. I had this idea that after high school I was going to change my entire name, move to another state and start a new life trying to be a girl. The name I picked was actually the feminine version of the male name I now have. (I'd been calling myself that male name since I was 12 years old, but since I didn't know I could transition I figured I'd have to feminize it.) Anyway, I thought that picking my own name might help me feel more feminine like I was "supposed to" I guess.
I did, but for the main reason that I had the same first name and middle initial of a certain hollywood actor and got sick and tired of the movie quotes. The number of times I heard "What's the matter, McFly? CHICKEN!?" is not even funny. Ugh.
I used to add an 'a' to the end of my first name on my signature when I was a kid (right up until I changed it to my initials at about 17 or so), making it a female version, and nobody ever knew, lol.
In middle school i always wanted to go by my very unisex middle name, which is O'Neil. I liked it much better then 'her' name.
Quote from: Sephirah on May 18, 2011, 08:20:15 PM
I did, but for the main reason that I had the same first name and middle initial of a certain hollywood actor and got sick and tired of the movie quotes. The number of times I heard "What's the matter, McFly? CHICKEN!?" is not even funny. Ugh.
That is
too bizarre, because the one celebrity comparison I got more than any other (before transition) was Crispin Glover, so people always used to go "Hello... McFly!" :laugh:
Lol, I think we may be owed some royalties by someone, somewhere. ;D
I was always know to my cousins as "Johnny". It was not till years later that I found out that is a feminized version of my birth name.
Of course Janet is the female version, which I did not know till after I chose it. I just got it from my favorite movie.
I've hated my birth name for a loong time. I liked it as a young kid, up until I was 8 or so. All through high school I remember trying to think of names I could change mine to but I could never find the right one. Even now, being called Ryan is getting tiring.
I sometimes find myself wishing I didn't need a name... "Hey yo!" would work just fine for me x)
I never liked my given name, "Emily." Sure, it's pretty and works well for other people, but it sounds so light, docile, and feminine to me, which I am just not. I went by "Milly" starting in junior high, and that is what most people still know me by. Although it is recognizably feminine to most, I actually don't mind it that much, oddly. I never felt it was gendered for me, even though "Millie" is a girl's name by mainstream standards.
I greatly prefer "Mikah" because it actually indicates my correct gender while capturing what I do like about Milly. I had that name stuck in my head all year, and finally have started to go by it.
Guess I'm the odd one out, I actually liked my birth name for quite a while. It's very feminine, but has a nice sound to it, and when I was a kid I really didn't have rigid ideas of gender anyway. I knew girls called Schuyler and Charlie and Sam, wouldn't have been surprised to bump into a boy called Susan or what have you. Wouldn't even have thought it was odd.
The first time I really thought about changing my name was probably when I was 11, and I sometimes went with a male name that had the same initial as my birth name. Only to myself, though, and when writing my journal. Then I'd usually sign things with just my initial, so I could switch it in my mind.
In my case, my birth name sounded quite a bit like a girl's name (I'd rather not reveal it for privacy reasons). So I liked it for that reason, tho I sometimes got teased or embarrassed on account of that as well. Sometimes I would get mail addressed to "Miss [old birth name]." Then when I transitioned, when I was in that ambiguous andro stage, I could get by sometimes with that name, but I really needed to change it, so that I did. My mom had a hard time with that and she once wrote me an email saying, 'You always liked your name.' Well yeah, I said in reply, cos it sounded girly to me. Now it's just a male name to me. It's the same name, but how I felt about it changed over time.
I used to complain to my parents about how I hated my name. My given name is one with a lot of possible nicknames, so they'd always tell me I could just go by one of those. Problem is, I didn't like any of them either. I also remember asking my Mom what she would have named me if I had been born a boy.
I think I was 11 when I first picked a name for myself. Brendan, but I never actually used it and didn't end up sticking with it.
I definitely did not like my first or last name but thought my middle name would be a good last name... I also thought about just dropping my first and last names and just going with one name
Always always hated it. It was so long for starters - danielle carla louise reynolds - what is up with that?! My mum got married once and wanted me to double barrel my name with my step dads, to be reynolds-holmes. I was like, are you trying to torture me? Do you know what a pain that is to write on forms and spell out for people?
As a young'un if I thought I could get away with being a boy with a stranger I'd be Ben. If I ever played make believe in school I'd always call myself Kevin. When it was apparent I couldn't get away with that any more I shortened it to Danni, or just Dan.
Even before I realised I needed to transition I changed my name by deedpoll to something shorter.
I was just thinking about this a few days ago. I used to hate my name when I was a kid, I even wanted to have the same name as our cat. ;D
Eventually at some point I got used to my name. It's not like I love it, but I can live with it for the time being. That being said, I'd like to know what name my parents would've given me had I been born as a girl; I just don't know how to ask my mom about it without being too direct...it's something I want to find out before it's too late to do that.
Yes! Not because I didn't like my name, I was named after my father and grandfather. But because it wasn't a girls name. I have always liked Jaime because its unisex. I used susie for a while as my internet name and as a "friend" name when I had to explain my girly feelings to the guys. ("My friend susie thinks that") it worked for a while...lol! I have always known Jenny was my name, I just didn't want to use it, I don't know why but I always felt it would out me for some reason...silly me lol! I now just prefer to go by my last name it works great because its neutral.
I always hated my name as a kid because there are a zillion different ways to spell it. I'm starting to now stop responding to it so much at work (there are two other people who share my name and they're both spelled differently than mine!).
I think I'm soon going to be changing my name at work. :-\ As a child I always wanted to be called Jasper but I could never bring myself to tell my parents or friends that because I knew that it was expected for me to be a girl. -_-
yep, in middle school i always wanted people to call me by my middle name "O'Neil" but no one ever did... :(
Yes but if you haven't come out its hard
or at least for me?!
Nikki
I not only wanted too, I succeeded.
I simply stopped answering to any other name when I was 9 and my mother eventually had no choice but to get on board.
Oddly enough this has resulted in next to nobody knowing my birth name, and since I was so young when it changed I barely remember ever having it.
Like most of my childhood, I don't really remember this actually happening. But I know it did.
I had a lot of names when I was young, but I've been Lily online for about 10 years.