Like many I went through a couple of different names before I settled in on the one that I have now.

I also agonized over it for a while.  Very few people have the chance to pick a new name for themselves and in many ways it will forever brand that person.  So for me the name had to be *right*.

My other name would only feminize if you spelled it with an *ie* instead of a *y*.  So I rejected that out of hand.  I wanted a name that sounded female as well as spelled fem.

After a lot of searching baby naming sights, I searched my past feelings.  Some of you may remember an actress called Sandy Duncan.  She always struck me as a wonderfully effervescent, funny and upbeat person.  If I wanted to be like someone, that is the person I wanted to be like.  I know the nickname, Sandy, can be male, but mostly it is recognized as female.  And the formal, Sandra, is completely feminine.

Also at the time I didn't run into that many Sandys, since then of course, it seems like just about every other girl I run into is named Sandy. 

Though the etymology of the name is Cassandra, and is linked to people who are woeful and cynical, I choose not to be that way.  You may have heard the term "Don't be such a Cassandra!"  Well, I'm not!

My middle name is my badge of courage.  When I was graduating from grade school, the principal mispronounced my middle name and it came out as Louise.  My *friends* taunted me with that name mercilessly until I cried.  I now carry that name proudly!

Choosing your name can be almost as daunting as the act of coming out.  But if you examine your feelings, I think you'll find the name that is truly yours.

-Sandy

I noticed alot came to their names later in life and only one at a young age , may need a double take to confirm this but any ways , At the same time that I was shown that I was female and not male I also had my name it was just there and so was I just there and the clouds opened and my life has never been the same, as I know you all would say the same...

I was five and I had asked god for the answer to why I had been feeling the things I had been fealing, I had a dream and the answer had come to me from that point on I have had to hide away to the world until I found the net and I could be at ease and show myself to a at most times cold and cruel world.

I was also awair late in life that I could not keep my last name for the hassles that that holds in its self. so when I get to the point that I will need all my legal stuff changed I will change it to my families ancestory name, still who I am but before the family started in this country , I am a third generation Irish(woman) my great grandfather for some odd reason felt it was needed to change it when he came over on the ship from ireland. no biggy easily fixed back. just like transitioning a few steps to become who we are so a few steps to change the legalities...

There was a girl my ex-wifes brother dated 10 years ago. Her name was Kelsi. Its close to my birth name, and I think its a cute name. 

Quote from: stephani-ryan on February 19, 2009, 07:43:54 PM
I am a third generation Irish(woman)

Gotta love the Irish

Many names are unisex or a different gender in a different language. Like Nicola, Andrea and Luca are all men's names in Italian for example.

My own real name is unusual and can pass for virtually anything.

I'm boring and just picked the male version of my female name.  I always hated my female name, though.


Jay

I met a man called Alyssan - thought that was quite a good name, Adam is such a dull name.. if I feminised it, I'd call myself Eve, would cause a really strange pararhyme with my surname though.

I'm looking for a snazzy gnome de plume.

Quote from: Pica Pica on February 20, 2009, 08:40:23 PM
I met a man called Alyssan - thought that was quite a good name, Adam is such a dull name.. if I feminised it, I'd call myself Eve, would cause a really strange pararhyme with my surname though.

I'm looking for a snazzy gnome de plume.

Adama wouldn't be a good choice as it's still a man's name in various places.

How about Eva Or one of my favourites - Amina/Aminata (sort of meaning trustworthy)

Sorry to be so boring, but I didn't have to make one up.  Beverly is my given middle name, so I felt right at home, just as I do in my female skin.



Bev

Quote from: Miss Bev on February 21, 2009, 09:10:35 PM
Sorry to be so boring, but I didn't have to make one up.  Beverly is my given middle name, so I felt right at home, just as I do in my female skin.



Bev

I kept my real name, Armine.

When I was 8 years old my aunt started calling me Linus as a nickname. She did it because I was like the Peanuts character: had adult answers to kid questions. 30 years later, I decided to use it as my new name. It is a variation on my birth name and does keep my initials the same so that's good.

Trent, I jus liked it

1. It's meaning: "God is my Judge" seemed appropriate for my situation. I'm agnostic, I don't really believe in a God, but God to me represents fate/existence.

2. Dan Aykroyd:



Haha. Yeah, I do what I want. I could have named myself after ANY actor, see, but a lot of people told me, "You do look like a Dan." They disapproved of my other names: Edward (I'd be Ed), Gregory (I'd be Greg), Stephen (I'd be Steve), and a few others. So I chose Daniel (I go by Dan). I was going to go for "Daniel Edward" but Dan Aykroyd's middle name is also Edward, so I chose "Daniel Gregory," which doesn't sound as good as Daniel Edward but I didn't want to steal 2/3 of his name.

It took me a long time to choose my name... I kept hesitating, thinking that everyone would think I transitioned because I'm such a huge Aykroyd fan. But no, that isn't the reason, and it never was. Yes, his character Elwood Blues was the first character I openly "crossdressed" as, but my gender identity did not start there... I know I'll never measure up to Aykroyd's awesomeness level. My gender identity presented at a very young age, but I was very secretive about it. I didn't care about actors or film when I first started calling myself "Jason." I never kept the name Jason because I feel somewhat disconnected from the name.

---

Post Merge: February 22, 2009, 07:29:43 PM

---

You know, now that I think about it, I might give up and use Daniel Edward anyway. I don't know. I really freakin' like that name. I could go by Ed if I wanted to. Damn this confusion.

So yeah, my middle name is still up for debate.

hey Dan. I think you should just go with Daniel Edward. Most people won't even know you named yourself for Dan Ackroyd and besides most people don't even know his middle name. Both Dan and Edward are pretty common names. I'm sure there's tons of 'Daniel Edward's around who don't even know they share Dan Ackroyd's first two names.

Quote from: Nero on February 22, 2009, 07:39:07 PM
hey Dan. I think you should just go with Daniel Edward. Most people won't even know you named yourself for Dan Ackroyd and besides most people don't even know his middle name. Both Dan and Edward are pretty common names. I'm sure there's tons of 'Daniel Edward's around who don't even know they share Dan Ackroyd's first two names.

Mayyybe. I did come up with it BEFORE I looked up his full name.

My first name on here Victoria or Tori, was completely a chosen name... and it was chosen because I thought it was a beautiful name, and I loved it.

But Emily is the name my mom would have given me if I had been born female, so if I transition and get a name change I will respect her in this way at least by getting the proper name.

My friends call me Emma, which I think is cute too and it's related to Emily.

Only one of my friends ever gives me trouble by calling me by the male name and male pronouns. I don't really get it, even the one guy who wasn't so supportive and said it was all weird never messes up. I really wish he would get it already. I get called by the male name and male pronouns by my family all of the time and I'm just sick of it.

My last name is only 1 syllable, so I wanted a first name with some presence to balance it off.  I also wanted to keep my original initials, so I looked through the J's in a baby name book, and the name I liked best was Jamison.

My original middle name was Heather, so I looked through the H's and found "Haddon", which means "hill of heather", and "Hadley" which means "heather meadow".  I'm still debating between the two, but I'm leaning toward Haddon.  (Is that like leaning toward Ferguson's?)

I like names from which you can pick a nickname, and Matthew (Matt) was a name I always liked for whatever reasons. It was the first one I thought of when I came out and everyone told me it fits even though in Germany this name isn't very common.
And since I like double names I chose Ryan as my middle name and everyone around here thinks Matthew-Ryan sounds quite well...there were no other thoughts about it but how it goes with Matthew I guess, I cannot really tell.

My mom said Christiana but I had no desire to go by "Chris" for short.

I considered Jocelyn for awhile because I rather liked going by JoJo. Now I think I am going to go with Zenny (it's a play on my longtime online persona Zenwhoa). It's unique and that's what I really wanted. I've realized I love being "different".

Ashley was my given middle name anyway.  I always liked it, so I'm sticking with it.