Hey guys; so today my therapist and I were talking about names, about what I liked and was thinking of and introducing myself to strangers by a male name (she discouraged all but new friends since no one is going to believe I'm male when I open my mouth and so I don't have to deal withbeing challenged) anywho she was saying that my name has to mean something to me since I was kinda conflicted on my name.

Originally I was just going to go with a masculine version of my birth name cause I didn't want to possibly offend my parents, but now I'm kind of doubting that thinking.  I don't particularly like any masculine version of my name, but I can't think of any name that has particular significance or meaning for me.  I was thinking maybe taking both my grandfathers' names for first and middle?  I really don't know...how did you guys choose your names, if you have already, were they just ones you liked or ones that had significant meaning for you?

Nobody is going to believe you're male when you open your mouth? Your therapist is talking crap.
Introducing yourself as male to strangers is a good way to build confidence and get a feel for living a new role. But whether your voice has broken or not, people need to respect that you are a man. Your identity is not their decision to make.

I avoided the masculine version of my birth name because I was bullied with it as a kid. I didn't want to choose a random name so I chose the name my parents would have given me. Failing that, I could have gone named myself after a grandparent or even taken the middle name of my dad. If you're comfortable enough with your parents, you might want to ask them for ideas.

I chose Raphael as my name. Partially because it's the name of one of my favorite Ninja Turtles. I would've preferred being named Michelangelo, but I doubt there's a Mexican parent out there that would name their kid that :'P. It also doesn't help that my boyfriend's youngest brother is named Michael, so we'd both be Mike or Mikey XP. Yeah, too creepy xD. So I went with Raphael, but with the original spelling rather than the Spanish spelling (Rafael). The name also has some non-nerdy meaning to me. Raphael is suppose to be Hebrew for "God has healed". As a Christian, that means a lot to me.

Then there's my middle name. I want to have two, as revenge for my parents not giving me one and giving me two last names instead! D:< One I want is Link. There's no special meaning, I just love Legend of Zelda :'P. I want my boyfriend to choose the other one. He's still working on it. Kind of a risky decision since we're young and no one knows what the future hold, but we've been going good for 3 years already so screw it.

Nothing wrong with using the masculine form of your birth name.  If you hate it then choose something else.  I'm not overly fond of my male name, though it is one I used to think about as a child.  My nickname now is one that has a long history on my stepmom's side, which is why I almost did NOT choose it (and the nickname isn't one I'd ever choose).  But then I didn't really like my F name either, and most people are stuck with what our parents named us.  It wasn't overly complicated for me.  But then I am older with a longer history, and keeping my initials and using the male version of my name was much easier than choosing something else.

I disagree that your new name needs to have some significant meaning.  If you like it, that's all that matters.


Jay

I would have been called Matt by my parents, but in the past I've known two Matt's, they've both been a bit weird and we never got on.  I'd not want to share a name which I can't even spell the full version of it confidently.  I chose my name with my boyfriend, we both came across the name Adam at the same time and liked it.  I felt like Luke just fitted with it, and just last night I remembered that when I was 7 or so I used to use it as my middle name then.  I always thought I'd end up being called Alex, I was going to change my name to that at one point a few years ago, but I know that it meant a lot to my boyfriend to be able to choose my name.  I also realised just how many Alex's I know already.

So the actual name Adam doesn't have a real meaning or significance to it, but the fact that my boyfriend chose it and was able to be comfortable with the whole situation to do has given it a meaning.  I think names grow on you, and if you've chosen one, even if it's just because you like it, it'll feel special.  Because it's yours instead of some girls name.

I was really conflicted on my name. I originally liked Gregory Danger (the middle name because of Austin Powers and Billie Joe Armstrong's son ^_^) but that changed to Greggory Dean (Much more professional and I like the double g better). But then I didn't like that name at all.
So I asked the FtM community on my blog site and one of them suggested Troy, which I fell in love with immediately. My middle name (Freeman) comes from my great-grandfather on my mom's side, and my chosen last name is my mom's maiden name.

I started with Jordan. It sounds like my birth name when I mumble so every time I went to starbucks they'd write Jordan on my cup, then I just started saying Jordan. But I realized I didn't like it so I started searching around. I found Kameron, which means crooked nose (my nose is a little crooked, more so before I had it broken in 07). But after a while I realized I wasn't down to introduce myself as Kameron and so I went back to another K name I'd been playing with, Kaleb, meaning the devoted one. I thought that was romantic, so I took that on but after talking to my mom yesterday I've changed my mind again. She didn't like how christian of a name it sounded and suggested Kyle (as it's also kind of unisex) and I loved it expecially since I've been watching Kyle XY reruns lately. Therefore, I am Kyle XX

Quote from: Ryan on August 09, 2011, 04:33:58 AM
I avoided the masculine version of my birth name because I was bullied with it as a kid.

This happened to me too, so I decided to choose a name that was close to the masculine version of my first name because I still wanted something that was kind of close to my birth name.

I lucked out and went with the male version of my name. Everyone's called me Nick or Nix for years, and I like it. I'll probably legally change it to Nikolai (Because my mom and everyone else likes it, and I've always secretly wanted someone to call me that) and still have everyone call me Nick. The middle name I finally settled on is a double-homage, to my best friend and a character that I've always really, really liked from one of my favorite books.

After using my preferred name for years I met somebody and we became friends. Over time she suggested that I use a "male version" of my birth name even though I had already used my chosen name for a really long time (she was a bit of a pain). It took me a long time to pick my name. The first name I chose I started using at places like Panera...'cept they would mispronounce my name and make it a clearly female name. So, I went back to the books. I looked at baby name books, came up with a few names, asked people "if I were male what name do I look like." Then I took this list of maybe 50 or so names, said them out loud with my last name and stared at a mirror. Odd, I know but it ended up helping. I would look at myself in the mirror while "introducing myself" by my first and last name. From that I started crossing off names that didn't sound right, that I thought didn't fit how I looked, or just didn't seem quite right until I was down to maybe 5 names. I'd do this process for those 5 names (looking in a mirror, saying the name out loud, asking friends and family about their thoughts) until I was down to one name that fit.

Quote from: N.Chaos on August 09, 2011, 01:01:28 PM
I'll probably legally change it to Nikolai (Because my mom and everyone else likes it, and I've always secretly wanted someone to call me that) and still have everyone call me Nick.

Nikolai is totally the best name ever. Biased, me? Haha.   Yeah, I went with Nik, short for Nikolai... and there wasn't much of a deeper reason than the fact that it had always been my absolute favourite name.

There isn't really a male version of my birth name, and the closest commonly used male name to it is my half brother's name, so that was out. I tried for years to find something similar either in sound or in meaning to my birth name before it suddenly struck me that I could just use my favourite name. I don't know why I didn't think of that earlier. My birth name is going to be my surname, so I'm not entirely getting rid of it. I like the idea that if someone calls me by my old name accidentally, it's not "wrong" per se, just a bit formal perhaps.

Sorry to jump in with the boys here, But I couldn't resist. ^_^

I started going by my chosen name about 2 months ago at work, and it is so much easier getting strangers to call you by your chosen name than with your friends, co-workers, etc. And Ryan is right about it building self confidence. I mean who is going to question that your name is Nickolai? they just met you and have no reference from the past to give them conflicting information. I still get called by my male name by co-workers who knew me by that name and it's kind of aggravating. But a good example to share is my Manager. I introduced myself as Keaira to him from the start. I explained that he might hear someone call me by another name and it was because of my transition. He has never used my male name or male pronouns. And it felt great! At first you will kind of feel like everyone knows your dirty little secret. Everyone is calling you by a secret name only a few have used before. You eventually get used to it and it's as normal as your old name. But it doesn't sound like nails on a chalk board to you. And that's another aggravation that melts away.

BTW, I like Nickolai too

EDIT: I chose Keaira because my Father and I are both Scottish. it means 'Little Dark One' in Gaelic. My middle name, Elisabeth, is the German version of Elisabeth and that's for my Mother. They both mean a lot to me and I thought this was a good way of honoring them. my male name was John David. Both are really common male names too.

I'm still working on legally changing my name, filling out the paperwork and getting documents together.
But I kept my middle and last names. Actually, I've always been fond of my middle name, Jo. Simple, two letters, and also for the obvious reason that it's a masculine name. But for my name, I chose Orion.
Before coming up with my name, I always took nicknames of characters I cosplayed, (current nicknames are Grell, Akaito, Ludwig, West, Gil, Prussia, and in one case "Bruder"). So that's how all my friends knew me. But upon coming out to family I decided it was time to change my real name. It was almost surprising how instantly I just...knew. From the time I was 8 I'd always loved the name Orion. It was my favorite constellation, and I always wanted to be as strong as the great Hunter. It just, stuck with me all these years as the one name I associated with myself, but didn't share with anyone else.
It wasn't until later that I realize it has a similar rhythm to my given name, "Moriah", so it's easier for people to get used to.

Quote from: nogoodnik on August 10, 2011, 02:36:23 AM
Nikolai is totally the best name ever. Biased, me? Haha.   Yeah, I went with Nik, short for Nikolai... and there wasn't much of a deeper reason than the fact that it had always been my absolute favourite name.

That's 'cause Russian names are always awesome.
If it wasn't so unisex, and if I wasn't attached to my N, I probably would've gone with Alexi or something.

My S.O. wanted me to go by Artemis because she said she cant spell or pronounce my name and because I own a bow. Artemis is seen as a guys name these days, but it was the name of the Greek Goddess of forests and hunting. She had a golden bow. Later, she became known as Diana, Goddess of the moon.

Once you find that special name, I dont think you will ever let go of it. I didnt.

Quote from: N.Chaos on August 10, 2011, 12:24:12 PM
That's 'cause Russian names are always awesome.

True fact.

I too like the name Nikolai (in general, that is) and am working on getting over the association to a guy I went to school with who was kind of a dick and who I didn't really like. Almost there. But, yea, Russian names are very awesome.

Quote from: N.Chaos on August 10, 2011, 12:24:12 PM
That's 'cause Russian names are always awesome.

And I think you're awesome for saying that!   Granted, Natasha is my middle name and I didn't choose it specifically because it was Russian, but I've fallen in love with the fact that it's of Russian origin.

Hey I just wanted to thank all of you guys for replying.  I'm taking some of your advice   Haha and I totally ended up picking a name (that I really love) from Jane Eyre cause I'm a huge freaking dork, but it's not Rochester, that's just a mouthful of a name.

Quote from: N.Chaos on August 10, 2011, 12:24:12 PM

That's 'cause Russian names are always awesome.
If it wasn't so unisex, and if I wasn't attached to my N, I probably would've gone with Alexi or something.

Haha, when I was picking a middle name, I was tossing up between names like Alexi, Alexei, Alexander etc. for a long time. In the end I chose Felix, though, and that's stuck for a couple of years now so I figure that's "it".

My birth name is Jacqueline, but I'm not sure if I really like Jacq. It sounds kinda plain to me, but people have always called me it. I like the name Aleksandr, and I'm surely going to change my last name but I can't really decide on a middle name.  It's  leah (like lee), from my uncle and I'd like to keep it. I was thinking for a middle name Jaylee to keep some sort of the name my parents gave me. Any thoughts?