I was named for two great-grandfathers, and started calling myself by the female versions when I was a teenager. The ease with which the names transitioned fascinated me. I told no one and never used them publicly until I started posting here. Independently, about thirty years ago, a friend, who has since moved to Paris, started calling me Simone. When I asked ingenuously if she knew it was a female name, she replied: "I do."

S

Aeron

Posted on: June 17, 2008, 12:05:56 AM

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I've taken an odd route to the name that I *want* to have, if I ever get around to changing my name.  At birth I was given the name George, named after my father.  When I was adopted at the age of six, I was basically given a choice by my adoptive parents, Tommy or George.  I went along with my mother's thinking, that Tommy sounded better (great logic, huh? lol).  Growing up I was called "Tommy".  Later on, in my teen years I became known as Thomas.  After graduating high school and a couple of years later, I started liking the sound of 'Tom', so that's what I started naming myself.  Getting pretty interesting, huh?     When I was introduced to crossdressing, for whatever reason Samantha was the name I was interested in.  Given that I love snow and ice, I went by Samantha Winters when crossdressed.  Fastforward about 15 years, and here I am creating my username here on Susans.  I chose Samantha.  I'm not done, though.     About a month ago, I came to the realization that Samantha is just too girly of a name for me.  I'm really a tomboy kind of girl at heart.  I went searching on the web, and because I used to play Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) a lot as a kid, I've always been interested in mythology.  I started searching for mythological characters that has personalities that matched mine.  Since I am such an aggressive, resentful bastard at times (there are a few people in my life that I would have loved to replace with six feet of soil), I chose Aeron, the God/dess (not clear on that one, but don't care too much) of Battle & Slaughter.  In fact, I like the name Aeron so much that I am in the process of legally changing my name to that.   

Aeron

*******...

I really don't know how or where I came up with it... I picked it sometime in middle school I think but Im not positive...  and I didnt have any friends with that name, nor did I know of anyone, no TV characters, no characters in books...

I don't know where it came from... but I like it and it suits me... 

Sides, it gives me plenty of nicknames to be called...

Raily is what most friends call me <Ray-Lee> or Lynn... and so on LoL

After coming out to my friend, and knowing I couldn't really give her any of my "chosen" names when she asked what I wished to be called I decided I will go by the name my given female name... Emily.

However, she knows many Emily's, so we decided to go with Emma between us two! I think it's pretty, and I actually like it more than Emily.

Like "Leiandra", mine too in came in a very vivid dream when I was a sophmore in H.S. Only I was locked up in a mental ward for wanting to be a girl (I passed 100% in this dream, real life right now...not so much ).

I kept telling everyone that my name was 'Heather', I was very sad that my family and friends hated me, but God I felt right and only in a dream

So far it has been the ONLY vivid dream I have ever had to date. I used to try and have this same vivid dream every night and also started taking nap's just to get back there...inside my head.

Needless to say I began feeling VERY depressed after that for the rest of the year, hell for the rest of H.S. and then some. Had plenty of suicidal thought's, plenty of sobbing episodes.

My father used to ask me why I wanted to sleep so much of each day away.

I still try to have that dream...weird.

I went to that web site and typed in my real (male) name and the answer's hit the nail on the head, freaked me the hell out!!! My 'Numerology' was 2, and it also said my personal power animal was the "Tasmainian Devil" I got a tattoo of that cartoon character 3 days after I graduated H.S. ...in...well...<damn> 88' everything else was spot on too!!! When I type in 'Heather', total miss, not a thing.Too bad, but I like it and I'm sticking with it.

My first name is French but used by many Italians as well.  I am half Italian so I thought it fitting to have a name that fits with my nationality.  My middle name is definitely a very common Italian name. 

It's my given name

Hi everyone. 10 years ago I met this really beautiful lady her name was Cynthia. We were friends for a time until I moved the small town of Midland. Her name just stuck in my mind until two years later when I come out full time, I liked the name Cynthia and so I chose it for my name. My second name is Leanne, that one just came to mind and I liked it and chose it as my second or middle name. Cindy is commonly used as a short form for Cynthia.

Cindy

I first feminized my male name from Alan to Alena, then after fully accepting who and what I was, I pickewd the name my x-wife were going to use if we had a girl. It is a name I came up with and thought beautiful, so I decided to use it for my name Ariana.

Hugz to evryone,
Ari

i never had a name i was particularly attached to or anything... it wasnt really that important to me... but after coming out and thinking about it more i started trying to choose.  Basically i just started a list of female names i liked.  It helped to type them out with my last name too to see what it would look like together (im choosing to keep my last name).  I went thru some of those name sites and jotted down some that i saw that caught my eye.

I knew a few things going in.  I didnt want something too out there.. a more standard name would be better for me, and i didnt want a sort of.. unorthodox spelling of a normal name... maybe im just boring :-P.  I didnt want something that could be shortened to something i didnt like (especially didnt want something that could be shortened to a male name, eg Samantha -> Sam)
I knew i didnt want to feminize my given name (doesnt really work well in my case so.... yea)
(obviously these were criteria for me... so im not advocating or getting down on anyone who did any of the above things)

So basically I made a list.. and then narrowed it down to the top 3 or so.  Eventually me and my wife settled on one name (it was more her doing really), but basically she thought Elizabeth suited me, and I could totally picture myself signing emails and stuff Liz.  Plus i liked the fact that Elizabeth is pretty nice and formal and feminine and.. classy sounding, and liz is sort of spunky and playful... so i can sort of switch it up depending on the mood im in.

so i guess i just took the logical approach and went with it.
-Liz

I just went with a variation of my male name (Nicholas). I like being called Nick so that was there to stay. I then decided that Nicole suited me better than Nicolette or Nicola.mmm I still like Nicola though...

My middle name was my dads name. I'm going to change that to my grandmothers birth name (mum said she would have called my sister that if she had known it).

Nicole Anastasia, or maybe Anastasia Nicole....

Quote from: lizard on June 19, 2008, 03:48:08 AMa more standard name would be better for me, and i didnt want a sort of.. unorthodox spelling of a normal name...

Ah... thank you, Liz, thank you! It is so good to hear that (for a change).

When I went to Julia Serano's book reading and she autographed my copy of Whipping Girl, I told her my easy-to-spell, standard, normal name. She left the space for it blank until she'd asked me how to spell it. She explained that was because of all the unfamiliar spellings that people keep inventing for familiar names. She was glad I hadn't gone that route. What is it with the MTF world that so many of us goof up the spelling of our names on purpose? I'm looking at you, Miqqi.

Quote from: Hypatia on June 19, 2008, 10:03:47 PM
When I went to Julia Serano's book reading and she autographed my copy of Whipping Girl, I told her my easy-to-spell, standard, normal name. She left the space for it blank until she'd asked me how to spell it. She explained that was because of all the unfamiliar spellings that people keep inventing for familiar names. She was glad I hadn't gone that route. What is it with the MTF world that so many of us goof up the spelling of our names on purpose? I'm looking at you, Miqqi.

Its not just the MTF world that does it though, every parent now a days seems to be choosing obscure names or really weird spellings for their kids.

I chose my name (which isn't Jane!) at about age 5 when a new girl moved in to the neighborhood with that name and I thought it was the prettiest name I ever heard so I kept it.

When I met my birth mother at age 40 (ME, not her!) she said she was going to name me Sheila - thank gawd she didn't keep me - I HATE that name! LOL!

My mom was pregnant before having me but due to complications she miscarried.
The child was female and my mom was going to name her Nicole.

I can't help but think that the child wanted to be born and that part of her was born in me.
So I guess I didn't choose the name, my mom did, just not for me (kinda like a hand-me-down).

I can't imagine myself with another name It just fits me and sounds natural to me.   

My ascreen name is a simple, though somewhat exotic morph of my male name.  It all stems from that infamous Halloween party in 2002 that started me down this road of self-acceptance.  I was going to use "Sheila," but the stylists who transformed me from male to being passable waved that aside.  (I was still too stunned by my reflection to put up any argument!)  Thus "Chaunte" was born.

I remember a secretary once telling me that you should loudly say a name a hundred times before settling on it.  After a few years, "Chaunte" just didn't fit quite right.  It works well as a screen name, but you trip over it when you use it in conversation.

When I legally change my name, it will again be a morph of my male name, though a common & normal spelling.

I picked Madeleine because it's close to the feminine version of my male name.  I like it and the nickname it has Maddie is even closer.  That's all there is to it, no special mythological significance or anything.  I try and keep it easy on people who know me now so they don't have to make too much of an adjustment.

Quote from: Chaunte on June 22, 2008, 12:46:44 PMAfter a few years, "Chaunte" just didn't fit quite right.  It works well as a screen name, but you trip over it when you use it in conversation.

How do you pronounce it? If I guess, I'm sure to get it wrong.

About 20 years ago I was thinking what I would call myself if I had been born female, and I came up withthe name Christine.

2 years ago I was with my mother going through some memorabilia, and she pulled out a wrinkled sheet of paper boys names she had been considering just before I was born. On the back of the sheet were even more girls names and circled was the name "Christine".

She said that I was a surprise when I was born because she had been convinced she was expecting a girl, and that would have been my name.

I'm sure I have never seen the sheet before, and it might just be chance, but it does make me wonder if the subconcious desires of parents aren't passed down to us

In the news today is the bride in Virginia who is accused of being a man. She was outed when after her marriage she applied for a name change to-- get this-- Penelopsky Aaryonna Goldberry.
<GROAN>
This is what I mean about goofy names.