Hi all
I have been thinking a lot about my name lately. I have talked to some girls that say "oh I have always had a female name for myself" or "I have always thought of myself as (insert name here)". I have always avoided doing this since, well if the female me had a name she would be harder to deny.  Now that I am finally past that stage of my life and am starting to get involved in the local TG community I realize I need to start thinking about a name that  matches the real me. Even though I post here as Krystal I really just grabbed that name since I thought it was pretty but really don't think its me. After  a lot of thought and poking around on baby naming websites I have worked my list down to about 6 different names I feel fit me but  am having a tough time narrowing it down more. I did find a neat site that lets you look at a list of all first names that are used with your surname. You can click the name and see how common the use of that name combination is in the general population as well as giving you some other facts about both first and last name. I found it very helpful in seeing what names go together best. It has a search feature as well as a A to Z listing (Popular surname directory:)
http://www.isthisyour.name/
So I am curious, how did you choose your female name and why? Have you always had it or was it something you decided on during your transition?
Thanks
Krystal

Mine came to me in a really awesome, really vivid dream. In it, I was myself in every way and totally at peace with myself and my appearance.

It felt so comfortable and such a strong sense of identification came with it that I knew there was no way I would ever be called anything else. I haven't been as sure about anything else as I was about this.

In the dream, it was spelled Leighandra... which apparently means something about a meadow or a lion.

My partner and I talked about it, and she suggested different ways of spelling it. This one, we both agreed, looked better. And, to me, it felt better.

Quote2 Things You Didn't Know:

Your personal power animal is the Tasmanian Devil

Your 'Numerology' number is 2. If it wasn't bulls**t, it would mean that you are supportive, diplomatic, analytical, and play well with others. A team-player, you seek peace and harmony in a group.

Yep, went to the site you listed and checked my name, Krystal. The site said they hadn't any knowledge of my first name. Odd, as millions of people do. In some areas of the world it's rather common. 

I decided on my name to honor a wonderful teacher and lover. My name is the name of his 'mistress.' He was a prince and she was a peasant, but they loved one another greatly, having grown-up together while he was hidden away to keep him from an uncle who wished to kill him.

I long to be able to show her qualities of loyalty and compassion, understanding and love. Although I would never have associated her with a Tasmanian Devil!!  She lived far from Anzac.

I felt that to change one's name was to, in some ways, be able to try to match the new name with the person's best nature and goals. Hence, my name. It's a, for me, matter of trying to live-in to the name.

Good fortune in your choosing.

Nichole

I chose my name because its what my parents were considering calling me, if i had been born a girl.  So its kinda like righting that wrong  .

Theres loads of reasons for choosing a name, and there really isn't a right or wrong way of choosing it.  And you can't really make a wrong choice of a name from a list of names that you like.  I agonised way to long over the name, because i wanted to get it right because it felt like such a big deal.  But imo, the actual name you choose doesn't matter that much.  I mean, yeah choosing a female name is a massive step because like you said it makes it more real, but the name isn't important just the step of choosing a name, if i'm making any sense.

My shortlist for me, was Jennifer, Caitlin (now my middle name) and Emily.  And i'd have been happy to have chosen any of them.
Oh and the name that I had for myself for like the past 6 years (before transition) was Caitlin, so Jenny is kinda pretty recent.

Well mine isn't really all that special. I started with Angel as it was a nickname I picked up in the service. Course I got it because I could handle the most difficult patients without losing my temper, and what patients they were!

But my family hated it, and convinced me that only strippers go by that name. With my height and build it would also be a dead giveaway to my status. So I picked a name that sounded phonetically similar, Rachel. Been using that name since, even if my family still isn't happy. Can't please everyone I guess.

Oh this off of that sight was interesting:

Your 'Numerology' number is 7. If it wasn't bulls**t, it would mean that you are spiritual, eccentric, and a bit of a loner. Introspective and analytical, you think deeply and prefer seclusion.

Scary how that actually does describe me. Wonder how a 'Numerology' number is found in the first place?

I was drawn to the Diane Keaton character in the "Godfather" films, whose name was Kay Corleone.

I took Henderson in honor of my mother.  It was her maiden name.  She left when I was seven months old, and I was able to find and reunite with her in 2000 after 58 years.

We were like twins, and the five years we had together before she died answered so many questions about why I'm the person I am.

I wrote a Mother's Day tribute to her in my blog this year:

http://anotherself.blogstream.com

Quote from: Krystal on June 14, 2008, 07:48:02 AM
So I am curious, how did you choose your female name and why? Have you always had it or was it something you decided on during your transition?

I'm not entirely sure why I picked my name. It's more like IT found ME. I kept seeing it in various places like movies (Kate Blanchett, Kate Beckinsale, Kate Winslet, etc.) and it kept catching my eye. It seemed mature and confident, honest and direct, very female and yet not overly feminine... attributes I admired, soooooo...

I picked my middle name a few minutes before I mailed my name change order out, lol. Partly to honour my mother in law, partly because I really love the name, and the instant I said the full name together I just KNEW that was it. It "fit" perfectly.

Keep in mind you'll be signing your name on checks and receipts (longer names can be tiring), telling your name to various people (so odd spellings can get frustrating for everyone), etc. Plus you'll get older, and something that seems "cool" and hip today might seem kinda odd when you're 105

~Kate~

       As a child, all of my friends were other girls. One day we were comparing birthdays and one of the girls had hers in April. When she said "April," I became all excited, "me too!," "me too!"  Everyone laughed, and said "OK, you're April too!" and I've been April ever since.
        It wasn't a common name in 1956; I don't know if any of the girls knew at the time whether or not it really was a name, but it's the name that they gave me, and I've been known as April ever since.       

Because it is short and easy to write and spell.

Quote from: April221 on June 14, 2008, 10:47:02 AM
       As a child, all of my friends were other girls. One day we were comparing birthdays and one of the girls had hers in April. When she said "April," I became all excited, "me too!," "me too!"  Everyone laughed, and said "OK, you're April too!" and I've been April ever since.
        It wasn't a common name in 1956; I don't know if any of the girls knew at the time whether or not it really was a name, but it's the name that they gave me, and I've been known as April ever since.       

Ahhhhh, thats so sweet 

only strippers go by that name

In fact, its a very popular name for men in the Mexican-American community.

Quote from: tekla on June 14, 2008, 11:29:41 AM
only strippers go by that name

In fact, its a very popular name for men in the Mexican-American community.

Angel is, dear. But not Rachel.

It's embarrassing, but I took the name from a male character from the TV series "Firefly."

I told this story before but my mom call me Anna(I guess it is easier to say than Andy) several times before when she is playing with the cat or my niece. She doesn't  know about me being TS either. As for the middle name I was looking for one with a J at the beginning because my mom named us with middle names that start with J. So I pick Jasmine because I thought it was pretty, went well with Anna, and had the same first letters as my male middle name.

Anna

I meant ANGEL, every Hispanic guy I know if I called them Rachel, well, that's a stabbin'.

10 years ago, when I was finding my place in Genderland, I decided to do "drag", and chose as my name, "Virgin Territory".  I performed for a while, and really felt at home performing as a woman, but I knew I was "different" from the other drag queens.  So when the time came to choose a feminine name, I wanted to have a name that was "close" to my drag name, so Virginia seems a good choice.

So when I send e-mails, to people that I know, I sometimes put in the subject line:

"from Virginia (not the state)"

Forename:
Origin: English (Root: Jane) ( the female version of my birth name )
Meaning: Gracious, Merciful
Surname:
Origin: The descendant of Brien, i.e., exalted, noble. ( From the Movie 'The Life of Brian'  I Love Monty Python's movies
Top 5 Facts:

   1. How well envoweled is Janet OBrien? 45% of the letters are vowels. Of one million first and last names we looked at, 11.2% have a higher vowel make-up. This means you are very well envoweled.
   2. Backwards, it is Tenaj Neirbo... nice ring to it, huh?
   3. In Pig Latin, it is Anetjay Obrienway.
   4. In ASCII binary it is...
      What is Janet OBrien in binary code?01001010 01100001 01101110 01100101 01110100 00100000 01001111 01100010 01110010 01101001 01100101 01101110
   5. People with this first name are probably: Female. So, you are constantly overcharged for beauty products.

3 Things You Didn't Know:

   1. Janet OBrien, what is your power animal?  Your personal power animal is the Honey Badger.

   2. Your 'Numerology' number is 5. If it wasn't bulls**t, it would mean that you are adventurous, mercurial, and sensual. You seek growth through adventure and different life experiences. Although you are a critical thinker, you can sometimes over-ponder an issue.
   3. According to the US Census Bureau°, 0.379% of US residents have the first name 'Janet' and 0.0477% have the surname 'OBrien'. The US has around 300 million residents, so we guesstimate there are 542 Americans who go by the name 'Janet OBrien'..

It's the name my folks picked out if I were born male.

I've considered not changing my name at all. I see a lot of advantages to that,
but also some disadvantages. I have a unique birth name for a boy because it's actually
in the top fifty female names. It was obviously a problem as a teen and younger
but I have always liked it.

BTW, a great site to research popularity is https://ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/

But if I do change I would probably use Amanda. I picked it based on four things, the
first being that it is easy to say, second everyone knows how to spell it, and third I don't
and have never known any Amanda's. And forth, I don't know any famous Amanda's. They may
exist, I just have never seen them in movies or in the news.

I think for me the biggest factor was that I had never known any, it seemed to me that was important,
especially if there was a famous Amanda... I would always be comparing myself to her, or worse some one
else doing it.

Amanda

my name came from my step-grandma when i was little, but of course the whole thing was Mickey Mouse. so most people would just call me Mouse or my hunnybear would call me Mousey. it wasn't till wwe diva Mickie James showed up that i decided to change the spelling of it. then it took researching her middle name to find one for me, i have chosen Lynette. coincidentally, James' and my spouse's both begin with L and i don't think she likes that because i think she feels i'm trying to steal something else from her. not much really sounds right with Mickie. 


Warrior Princess Mickie