So, it's pretty rare that one's assigned name at birth can be applied to who they really are inside or who they transition to be. Which means, that many of you have chosen new names for yourself. You certainly don't have to post the chosen (or given) name in this thread, but I'm just curious as to how people do choose a name. Is it something super meaningful? Is it just a name they always liked? Is it the name of someone they admire?

For me, I chose a name that literally means "bird" because I felt like I could just fly away and escape reality with being known by that name. Kinda dorky really, but I like it and that's the real reasoning behind it.

I told this to someone quite recently in an email.

I was about 6 years old. I was looking at myself in a mirror. I imagined someone asking me who I am and I said ----

It just seemed right. I stuck with it.

Hope this helps.

It's a male variation of my birth name. The nickname is the same as well, which is proving to make things easier for me and my family and friends. I don't particularly like the meaning of both names (listener of god, etc) since I'm not a Christian, but I do view it as respecting and honoring my mom's decision while staying true to myself. Samantha changed to Samuel.

I just picked a name that I liked and that felt right.

There are certain names that I've always liked, and as a kid I would sometimes think "If I'd been born a boy I'd wish my name was _____."  But once I got to this point and tried to think of one, I couldn't see myself with any of those names.  I decided to go with the male version of my given name, since it's very similar and it feels like me.

I went with a name that I've been thinking about naming a child for the last few years, assuming I ever had a child.  I always wanted the name for myself, but I didn't know there was such a thing as transitioning when I thought of it.  Lukas Gabriel (first and middle name) were names I've always loved, and the last name is Charlot.  "Charlot" isn't my legal last name and I don't know if I'll have my last name changed to that or not, regardless of if I legally change my first and middle name to Lukas Gabriel.  It's my great-grandma's last name and it's very meaningful to me because I feel she saved my life when I was a kid.

As it turned out Janet is a feminine version of my male name.  I chose it because I like it, it is from one of my favorite cult films.

My original name was rather masculine.  Fortunately the diminutive form of my old name translates well to the nickname of my name as it is now.  I went down that road for a few reasons, the first being that I didn't particularly mind my old name, secondly I wanted to respect what my parents had chosen for me, and finally because it just made it a bit easier on everyone (myself included).  This doesn't directly correlate to that choice but it was a limiting factor: I wanted a name that doesn't stick out too much.  I was almost tempted to go with something exotic but I figured that would draw some attention to my trans-ness so I nixed the idea.