Hi, I am struggling at trying to find a name that I'd like, my name is Jake and I dislike it. To me whenever I hear my name it just annoys me to hear it. And also I'm still struggling to come out still. I've had many chances to tell my mum but every time I try, I just back out of it.

I too hate the name I was born with. I ended up just reading a list of popular girl names off Google till I found one I liked.

Well it certainly was quick I now just found a name I'm liking already it is Jane its basically Jake but the k switched with a n so it'll be easier to remember hopefully. But unless if you can think of a name that I'd take to my more to my liking.

Names are tricky, I mean it sounds like it should be easy to pick one. I spent a year going through names until I decided I liked the feel and sound of Cassandra. Don't feel you have to pick one now and don't be afraid to try one on for size in your life, before setting on one.

I was going to recommend a name similar to your birth name like the one you chose Jane. I was going to say Jana actually.

I never had strong feelings about my name, except that it was the wrong gender. 

Like you, I picked a new name that sounded a lot like my old name, just because I couldn't think of anything else at the time.  And it grew on me as I used it on this forum.  So when the time came to make it official, it sounded like me and I was happy with it.

Things I like about it: it keeps my initials the same, which has already had practical advantages; it is age-appropriate for my generation; my signature didn't change much at all, so learning to sign it was easy; I don't have to explain how I chose it.

So congrats on picking a "starter" name.  You might find out you like it.  And good luck coming out to your mum.  I know it is hard, but you will do it.

Some considerations:

1.  How old are you?  Try to choose a name that was popular or at least plausible for someone your age.  Check the web for Lists of baby names that were popular or at least plausible when you were born.

2.  Consider a name whose meaning holds deep resonance for you or is descriptive of your personality.

3.  Use a placeholder name if you don't have deep affection for a particular name.

I was Charles, and I could have gone with Charley or Charlotte or Charlene but none of those was evocative of who I am.  Then there was the day in late 2014 when I finally put aside my fears and internal conflict and let the girl hidden deep inside have her voice.  As I came to the surface and shed the layers of fabricated male personality, I realized that my name was Carly.

My middle name was Edward, and I wanted something really evocative that went well with Carly, which is why when I found Emelinda, I knew I had found my name.  And that is how Charles Edward became Carly Emelinda.

I went as far away from my birth name as I could. I was Phillip Anthony... My partner and I debated names. The first name was a bit of a struggle. I thought about it long and hard. We looked at google names. We came across Margaret, I knew a Margaret and she was AMAZING... so we picked Margaret. For the middle name Elizabeth is a traditional middle name in her family so that was that. My birth last name will be going away next month. I will be taking on the name of my adopted dad, he has been super amazing during this process and he never had children. So for his 75th birthday I will be giving him a daughter.