Okay, so this is going to be long, but I think very interesting!

So I hang around an Aussie fish forum, and I posted a picture of one of my tattooes in a thread on there, all fine, but as a side note I commented on how some of the people in previous pages had talked about how they had their kid's names tattooed on their skin. What I said was:

I should also say, the comments from forever ago about never getting a name tattooed unless you're married or it's your kid's name, I have to disagree. It's a good thing neither of my parents had my name tattooed on their skin, because I changed it. I hate my birth name, and if one of my parents had it written on them, I'd hate that more than anything. Just something to think about parents.

I didn't go into details about why I changed my name or anything, and don't plan to, but these are some responses I got:

I have my kids names tattooed on me and they both think it is great, they are happy with their names so I guess that helps. I'll be getting my wife's name soon. What they do in the future doesn't matter as the tattoos reflect who they were to me when I got them. If they change their name or who they are to me I'll probably get another tattoo to reflect that. I've got plenty of skin and as certain areas don't seemed to have stopped growing (my toes are a distant memory!) plenty more to come!

Just sayin'.

And:

i dont thikn it matters what the kid thinks at all. the parents chose a name for a reason.
whether they want to get their kids name tattood on them has no relevance to what the kid wants, i think having a parent tattoo their child's name onto them is awesome, its a really loving gesture that they want their kid's name permantly on their body..

no offence max, but i also think that changing the name that your parents gave you is a slap in their face. it's like saying that you wish you weren't theirs or that what they chose for you as their child and son/daughter was just not good enough.
i obviously know nothing about your situation so i'm not attacking your decision, ok, a little bit, but yeah.. im just generalising.

btw, what does expectations of who you are going to be have to do with what you are named? surely they are independant of each other unless you think that a name defines you?

I think I'm probably going to give myself away with my next response, but I think it doesn't matter as much as getting the point across, so this is what I wrote in reply:

'Okay, well we're really getting off topic here, but I want to get this point across.

btw, what does expectations of who you are going to be have to do with what you are named? surely they are independant of each other unless you think that a name defines you?

Okay, so you name your son Simon. Simon starts to grow up, and when he's thirteen he realises he's actually a girl, that the chemisty in his brain is all wrong for his body, and that as he grows up he's going to change into a woman. You've tattooed Simon's name on your skin. For him it will forever be a reminder of what you expected him to be, and perhaps he will feel pressured because of it. Perhaps as Simone grows up she will grow to resent you for having such a clear reminder of a traumatic childhood etched forever into your skin, whether your intentions were good or not.

I have a few friends in this situation, I asked one of them what she would have thought about having her birth name tattooed on one of her parents, this was her reply:

'I think I would hate it. People calling me by my birth name brings back traumatic memories, I had a terrible childhood because I didn't like who I was, or the way I was being treated, and being called by my old name brings back all of those feelings. It's like it invalidates the person I am today, like the girl that I am isn't real, when I know this is who I really am. I think if my mother or father had my name tattooed on them I would feel horrible every time I saw them, I would probably avoid going for visits and things like that, because I wouldn't want to see it. It was hard enough telling my parents I was a girl at heart, it would have been even worse if there was permanent proof of my being born male written so plainly for everyone to see.'

Deep eh? I'm not saying the chances of this happening to your kid are high, but they are there. It's a new world, and calling your son Simon is still an expectation of who he will grow up to be, you are expecting him to grow up male. At any rate, it's not a risk I'd ever take, not with something as permanent as a tattoo, not when things in our time can change so quickly.

I think getting a tattoo of someone's name IS supposed to be a heartfelt gesture, but I'm not sure it's ever the right one to make.

Oh, and just a note forocious (forocious was the author of comment):
no offence max, but i also think that changing the name that your parents gave you is a slap in their face. it's like saying that you wish you weren't theirs or that what they chose for you as their child and son/daughter was just not good enough.
I was seventeen when I had my name changed, which meant that both my mother and father had to sign legal documents allowing the change, they did so with no fuss at all, they're totally on my side. '

Okay, so I made up the female response myself, but I didn't think it was too unreasonable, pretty much just put my own thoughts into it.

So now my question is, what do you guys think? If one of your parents had tattooed your birth name on their skin what would you think of it? What reactions would it invoke in you?

Also, if I get any more replies on that thread I'll post them here so you guys can see what the everyday public thought of my oh so shocking argument  I have the feeling the ->-bleeped-<-'s about to hit the fan...

My dad has my name tattoo'd on his arm, and my mum has it on the small of her back. i hate it so much, because they always show me it and say ''I understand what your going through, but you'll always be (insert legal name here) , my little girl to me'' . I can't stand it, one because they don't understand, they hate that im going through with this, and second because they always say im their special little girl, because they're trying to change me back.

I hope the people on the other forum see what you were meaning about the tattoo name thing (:

Wow, you handled the situation really well.  I guess it just goes to show that the general population has a tendency to not consider others outside of their own "normal". 
I personally wouldn't get anyone's name tattooed on me because of a tattoo mistake I already made - I have a small infinity symbol on my wrist and plan to get it covered as soon as I have the funds! If that had been a name, I'd be in deep ->-bleeped-<- now, but at least the symbol is more generic and easier to make up an explanation for.

It looks cheap.

My cousin has his two kids' names tattooed on his neck.

Anyway, I would hate it if my parents had my girl name tattooed on themselves. I would be so embarrassed.

Not quite the same subject, but still totally related.

My mom wants to get my 10th grade school portrait tattooed on one side of her chest and when I start getting facial hair she wants that tattooed on the other side of her chest. Sort of a before and after thing, that she'll always miss her daughter but that she's happy she got a son without having to give birth again.

She's one of my biggest allies, so I'm not too concerned or unhappy about it. However, I do think it's kinda odd how attached she is to me sometimes.  I will say if she gets it done, I hope she doesn't go around showing it off to others without my consent. I mean I understand it's her body and her tattoos, but they will be likenesses of myself and I feel as though no matter what I, and I alone, should have final say in when, where, and to whom I come out to. While I know my mom respects me, she has a tendency of both directly and indirectly outing me in public. She'll come right out and proudly say "he's going through the transition!" or sometimes she'll innocently forget and misgender me out of habit.

Still, I wouldn't want her using before and after portraits of me just to get a reaction out of people....so we'd have to have a chat about that. Frankly I'd much rather she and I just get dragon tattoos like we were planning on before.

Not only does my dad have my name tattooed on his chest...he has a portrait of me in like 5th grade tattooed on his back. My mom also has my name tattooed on her leg. I always thought it was cool, seeing as how I'm the first born, they show a lot of pride in me, but of course I wish I had a time machine so they could go back and put the right name. I understand though that they didn't even think about their child being trans at the time, and I didn't help by not opening my mouth sooner, so I can't really resent them for it. Even if parents are supportive of their children, its understandable for them to want to hold onto their "former" child a little bit, no matter what the situation is.

As far as names as tattoos go, I wouldn't get anyone's name tattooed on me, because there are way more creative ways to describe an important person in your life, even if it is through a tattoo. For instance, my dad's late brother's name is Robert A. Murphy, so my dad has a ram tattooed on his arm to symbolize his brother's initials.

my brother and sister both got their siblings' initials tattooed. So they both have an L there now to represent my birth name....I kind of feel under the obligation to change my name to something that starts on L now...and there isn't a single male name with an L as first letter that i like....that said, back when my sister got her tattoo, i thought it was really cool - at the time i never even hoped i would get to a point where i could have a name change...so i didn't mind the L and didn't keep her from doing it.

I'd lose my mind. My parents can't stop calling me as it is, if I had to see it every time I was back home I'd probably put my head through a wall. If it was just an initial though, I wouldn't mind at all. I'm just going to eventually change it to what *most* everyone calls me already, so that'd be completely fine (and admittedly, kinda cool) to me.

my uncle is getting my birth name tattooed on his leg, he said that he wants to remember my childhood as my birthname, so like how he has my grandparents on his leg once they passed away he wants my birthname right next to my grandmoms to show that me as a little girl is gone but never forgotten.