Quote from: Annie Social on October 28, 2007, 07:54:27 PM
Avoid made-up names, very unusual names or funny spellings of more common names unless you really like the idea of having to spell it for everyone you ever have to give it to.
Thank you, Annie. That is the most helpful advice of all. I see a lot of trans women going crazy with adopting unusual names and kreativv spelinngs more than is good for us. I'm progressive, radical, and downright weird in many of my beliefs--but when it comes to given names, I become very traditional. This is in line with my desire to be accepted as a regular woman, not stigmatized as a freak.
My new legal girlname is just right for my tastes: Slightly old-fashioned, not used much, but still familiar and classic. When Julia Serano was autographing her book for me, and I told her my name, she left a blank space until she could ask me how to spell it. I use the standard spelling, of course, but Julia said so many of us use weird spellings
that she always needs to ask first. Julia is a nice classic--and classy--name. And a gorgeous song by John Lennon on the White Album.
I've always disliked one-syllable names for girls and prefer three-syllable names best. Two syllables at mininum-- for example, I would go for Rosa rather than Rose. My real name has three syllables.
I'd like to see more old-fashioned names that sound feminine and are recognizably traditional or classic, but which have been infrequent of late. For example: Anastasia, Beatrice, Cynthia, Dolores, Eleanor, Frieda, Genevieve, Hannah, Isabel, Joanna, Katharine, Laura, Madeleine, Natalie, Ophelia, Priscilla, Rebecca, Susanna, Theresa, Ursula, Victoria, Willlow, or Yvette.
(umm, I couldn't find any Q, X, or Z names I liked that well...) My real first and middle names are actually on that list I just gave.
I like classic Greek, Latin, and Biblical names because they are considered "normal" in this culture and don't contribute to trans women's freak factor. Yes, I'm sensitive about being seen as a freak, having been considered a "weird" excuse for a "male" my whole life, and now feel a strong desire to fit into "regular" womanhood as much as possible. But regular does not have to mean dull. No plain Jane for me, I like pretty names.
I wouldn't choose an ethnic variant of a name unless I felt a strong identification with the ethnic group. Being Italian, I might have chosen an ethnic Italian name like Alessandra or Filomena-- but not Elspeth (Scottish form of Elizabeth), Kirsten (Scandivanian form of Christine), or Natasha (Russian pet form of Natalie). But if I happened to be Scottish, Scandinavian, or Russian, or even if I felt strongly drawn to some such other ethnicity, those would be fine.
