picking a name

[jaybutterfly]

hi all, Im making the first steps into my social transition, Ive come out to people and asked them to use she/her as a means of addressing me, but Im having trouble picking a new name.

My first name is Joseph, though I go by Joe as it sounds more gender neutral. Thing is, Im wanting something less neutral, more feminine, and while Jo as a spelling is something I do sneak into emails etc, I do want to go with something else.

Im tempted by Joanne, Joanna, Jay or to go with something completely different. Because this feels like a new dawn in my life, Im tempted to take the name Roxanne, but Im still throwing ideas around.

How long did it take everyone here to pick a name, assuming you went with a new one?

[Stevi]

?,

For me, it was simple.  I feminized my boy name, Stephen, to Stephanie.  Where the trouble came into the picture was that my wife wanted something to call me by that fit any occasion and appearance until I came fully out.  She tried all kinds of cutesy nicknames until she finally settled on Stevi.

Joseph does feminize to Josephine but I can understand that it might not suit your tastes.

Good luck with your search,
Stevi

[KathyLauren]

My old name was Keith.  There apparently is a feminized version of it: Keitha, but I thought that was hideous.  So I went with Kathy.  I picked the diminutive first and then decided later that it would be short for Kathleen.

My middle name was easy: Lawrence became Lauren.

[Jessica_Rose]

Picking a name was one of the first things I did. I chose a new name within about a week of deciding to begin my journey. I wanted to keep my old initials 'JR'. The name could not be similar to any of my relatives, and I did not want it to be the same as anyone I knew. I started by looking through a list of female names beginning with 'J'. There were only two I really liked, 'Jennifer' and 'Jessica'. Then I thought about the short versions of those names. I remembered that 'jenny' is also a reference to a female donkey, so I decided to go with 'Jessica'. As for my middle name I wanted something short that was very feminine and 'sounded' right when spoken in combination with 'Jessica'. I settled on 'Rose' quickly because it is a classic woman's name and just seemed to fit well with 'Jessica'. I eventually asked my daughters to help me choose a name, and I gave them a list of about six names to choose from. Luckily for me they both agreed on 'Jessica Rose'!

[grrl1nside]

My kids made a three page list with my partner. Some I eliminated quickly... the ones that sounded like in any combo would be a fantastic my little pony name. Waterfall, sparkle, etc. It came down to two. Feminizing my name Erica/Erika or Sofie. I just couldn't imagine always being reminded of my birth name. I don't know why but I just knew that Sofie felt right. I love it. I am so greatful to my partner for coming up with it. 

[Linde]

My Male name is/was Dietmar, a very old Nordic name, and my last name is an as old Viking name.  I decided to pick Dietlind, another very old Nordic name.  This way my Initials stay the same, my email address stays the same and my Nordic identity remains in tackt!  And I could go by the nick name DD!