So How'd You Choose Your Name (ftm Version)?

[Guest Linus Thomas]

So out of curiousity, how did you choose your "new" name? I got mine, Linus, as a nickname from when I was a kid by my aunt. She called me Linus after the Peanuts character because even at a young age, I had adult answers rather than kid answers to questions.

So what is the meaning or reason for your name?

[Guest Evan_J]

Actually? When I was signing up for this forum I had tried a LOT of names prior and had selected this one to try out because it was soooo "me" and pretty much described my personality (a little clean cut, sort of "preppy", conservative and definately not African American (which actually was important since I was endlessly accused of "being an oreo" or "not authentic" as a kid) -and I had decided to "embrace" that actually very painful experience of being kind of excluded by my own racial group as a kid. Plus, when I have my glasses on (which I hate to wear) I actually "look" like an Evan. So I decided I would use it on site to "see how it felt to be called that" lol. The rest is history. Oh, the J just got added cuz I thought there'd be another Evan around (kind of a common name) but there wasn't.

[Guest bronx]

When I was younger in my dreams people would call me Angel and I was boy, So when I got to around 18 or so I started asking everone to call me that. So That's my nam. I just use Bronx as my screen name thought it sounded kinda cool, since that's where I grew up.

[Guest Jackson]

That's funny. I'd just finished reading the other forum's thread about names when I saw this one. I find it interesting how people choose names or vice versa.

Having been an amateur writer for decades (since I was eight or nine) I was always keeping a list of various male and female names that I liked for characters. However, all of the names were unusual or old-fashioned. How I ended up with Jack is weird since it is such a common name. Which is exactly why I like it now.

I've always been interested in Jack the Ripper and with psychiatry in general. Then came along an old TV show with another serial killer named Jack. I liked the idea that such a common, run-of-the-mill name could conceal so much. Not that I have anything to hide. I just like the idea of being underestimated by people.

So when I had to find a name for my reenacting first-person impression, that's what I chose. The more formal Jackson just kind of resonated with me. So I've been Jack for a number of years. Way before I thought of going through this or legally changing my name.

When choosing a middle name, I was either going with Lynn (which was already my middle name) or Lee (which is my father's middle name). Since my parents chose Lynn, I stuck with it.

I personally liked my married last name better than my maiden name, so I kept that too. Why change a good thing?

[Guest Sergei]

I think a lot of you might already have heard about how I got my name. I think we talked about it once, but that was a long time ago. Its funny really, because before I even worked out I was male I always thought of myself as Sergei. I chose Sergei after the great Russian composer, conductor, and pianist Sergei Rachmaninoff who has been my hero since I first heard hs music at the age of 14. I swear his music saved my life.It was at a time when I was so distressed about everything to do with my gender, I didn't understand what I was going through, and there was absolutely nobody I could turn to for help. Rachmaninoff's music was just so beautiful that everytime I wished I was dead it would all of a sudden occur to me that I didn't actually wish that because if I died I could never hear another piece of Rachmaninoff again. It seemed only fitting that I should honor my hero by naming myself after him. My second name, Hailivich is a patronomic form of my original name. It's a Russia thing for boys to have a patronomic version of there father's name as their second name, so I figured I'd run with that but with my old name instead of my father's. I kept my same surname.

[Guest YaManShane]

Shane sounds to me like the male version of my female name. Also didnt want to stray to far away from my birth name.

[Guest YaManShane]

...and I had decided to "embrace" that actually very painful experience of being kind of excluded by my own racial group as a kid...

Thas interesting. Do you still feel excluded from the group? I dont see you at all as an oreo or anything like that.

[Guest Jackson]

Wow, now that is way cool, Sergei. Sadly, I'm pretty redneck and not sophisticated enough so I've never heard of Sergei Rachmaninoff. I'll have to look for some of his music. I've learned something today.

[Guest Evan_J]

Thas interesting. Do you still feel excluded from the group? I dont see you at all as an oreo or anything like that.

Nah, I went through a really wierd thing with it. It lasted through high school. After that though I was like "quintessentially ghetto" lol

Making up and feeling good I guess. Then I quit trying to "over ghetto" after a bunch of stuff went down and a bunch of people -young bio dudes -one after the other left the world (very sad thing). Then "ghetto" became a "playful" thing when I hit like 30. It wore off of course. Thats called getting old lol. Now, I "don't care" and fit right in lol.

[Guest Mel7]

I don't know. I have come up with two names for myself that are not on here.

The reason I put Mel as my screenname on here was because I wanted to talk to someone like me as quickly as possible so I shortened Melissa so that it wouldn't seem so feminine.

Buuut,

I have chosen Danny and Kage.

I like Danny because sometimes I just like confusing people because I'm pretty androgynous. Sometimes it's fun, others it's not. But then I thought about, you know, Daniel and I just don't sit well with Daniel, that's too formal and all for me. So I am starting to push Danny away because of that.

I really like Kage because it's sort of different and I think, you know, the hot, mysterious sort. I don't know. I just really like that for me. It seems to fit my look and personality I guess, but I have too many friends that would never call me that. : /

I'll have to wait to have any other sort of different name. I can't wait to meet new people. x_x

[Guest Cody_T]

I don't know. I have come up with two names for myself that are not on here.

The reason I put Mel as my screenname on here was because I wanted to talk to someone like me as quickly as possible so I shortened Melissa so that it wouldn't seem so feminine.

Buuut,

I have chosen Danny and Kage.

I like Danny because sometimes I just like confusing people because I'm pretty androgynous. Sometimes it's fun, others it's not. But then I thought about, you know, Daniel and I just don't sit well with Daniel, that's too formal and all for me. So I am starting to push Danny away because of that.

I really like Kage because it's sort of different and I think, you know, the hot, mysterious sort. I don't know. I just really like that for me. It seems to fit my look and personality I guess, but I have too many friends that would never call me that. : /

I'll have to wait to have any other sort of different name. I can't wait to meet new people. x_x

ooh I like Kage. That would be a really cool name, and I think it fits your look well. Not to mention, you don't need to make your name Daniel. It could just be Dan.

For me, I just sort of looked around baby names sites. I mean, I was super attached to names like John and Brian and Jack and Ryan and Tom, but I've had a friend named John since I was 8 and my brother's name is Sean. Brian doesn't fit me. My cousin is named Jack. I have an enemy named Ryan, and it's also a girl's name. Two of my uncles (one on each side) and my grandfather are named Tom. And my parents were gonna name me Rory (??) if i was a "boy", but now we have a dog named Rory. I have two brothers so that took my parents' other names. So I pretty much had to start from scratch.

I wanted to be Tyler because of Tyler Durden, but I currently know a girl named Tyler and a boy named Tyler. I'm never gonna see either after high school, so I still might take that as my first name, because it's more professional sounding than Cody. Right now, it's my middle name.

So anyway, I came across Cody and liked it, and as a bonus I didn't know anyone named Cody in real life until after I picked the name. I know I don't necessarily need to not pick a name because other people have it, but I want something that is my own. Which sucks because if I do go with Tyler at my first name, I really want to make my middle name James so that I can be TJ, but I have an uncle TJ (different names, at least). Who's on my dad's side and thus has the same last name. And is also gay. So that's way out of the question. But ultimately, if my parents react well in the future I'll give them a chance to collaborate with me on a name, so hopefully they'll actually use it. I haven't attached my chosen names to my last name because I want their blessing before I'd do that. And if I get disowned, I'm going with Tyler or Devlin for my last name. I love the surname Devlin.

[Guest leo]

mines a shorten version of my real name and i am used to being called it,

or i get called lee

[Guest Mitchel]

Mine is really just a nickname that I've sort of adopted. Sadly I had to go to an all girls highschool, and there were several others with my birthname. To set me apart my friends shortened my name to Mitch. Then as the name became more popular, people started to forget my birth name. So lengthening the nickname to a name became Mitchel. I have many friends who only know this as my name and who don't believe that I ever had any other name before it as it suits me.

I'm not sure about my middle name. Shortening my original one, I end up with Chris, which is fine with me. But I'm thinking about changing it. I have a love for the name Kaiden but I also like Caz and Tye, which are also nicknames I can't remember how I adopted them.

[Guest Evan_J]

I have chosen Danny and Kage.

Actually, before I read the explainations, my thought was "you look like a Kage". As young as you are, you will not keep the same friends, take the name you like.

[Guest Emily1]

but I have an uncle TJ (different names, at least). Who's on my dad's side and thus has the same last name. And is also gay. So that's way out of the question.

Is that out of the question cause someone else has that or cause hes gay (im sure its the first, but it sounded like the second when I read your post, so i want to clear this up if anyone else is unsure)

[Guest Jackson]

And if I get disowned, I'm going with Tyler or Devlin for my last name. I love the surname Devlin.

Actually, Devlin was one of those names, as a first name, that I've always kind of liked. Dante too. How cool of a name is Dante (short for Durante) Alighieri? But then again, not everyone wants to be named after the guy who wrote The Divine Comedy either. There's just something in me that really likes the old-fashioned, formal names.

[Guest Linus Thomas]

Heh.. I haven't been disowned and probably won't be. I ended up with my bio-last name at the age of 22, after being adopted by my bio-father (long story on that one). But if I was to choose my own last name it would be as it appears above. A friend gave that name to me and if I ever write books (an aspiring dream) I may use that as a pen name.

[Guest Crossroads]

I've been called "Jewels" by my mother since I was little, but went by "Juli" and "Julie" from other people. I was named after my great-grandfather, Julian. Angie jokingly says that my parents destined me for this by naming me after a man. In order to give myself a different identity than I had in high school, I changed my nickname to "Jules" for high school in honor of Jules Verne, whom I LOVE!! Upon deciding to transition, Angie and I have gone through not too many names. We had already been talking about changing last names to get rid of my family name. So "Midou" and "Verne" were at the top of the list, although I thought "Jules da Verne" would be the greatest thing ever. Anyway, once we started thinking of male names, we got to talking. Every person I've ever looked up to has been a male, and been an evil character in some movie....except for Augustus Octavius. And after a bit of jumbling, we've decided (although not rock solid) on Gaius Julian Augustus.

There are two problems with Julian. The first is, like I said, it's a name taken from my great-grandfather. On one hand, I'll be keeping a family sort of name, which I hate. On the other hand, it'll be a nice slap in the face of my father, or that's how he'll see it. When I was younger, I wrote a short story about a war, and there was a gay man named "Georg", which is my other great-grandfather's name. My dad had a fit. So this might actually be a good thing.

The second problem with Julian is sort of weird so I won't mention it here, but it's not that big a deal anyway.

And I do like Julian more than Julius, after fighting with Angie. And we both wanted a name that she could still shorten to "Juli", since that's what she calls me.

to Evan: Angie went through the "You just want to be white" thing when she was younger, living in the poorest part of town. I was raised on the rich white side of town and had a lot of problems understanding just how cruel our own communities can be, even as a child. She even speaks of teachers harassment because of "talking white". I always tell her that she's lucky to have a normal name like Angie. Although we will be changing her middle name to Livia.

What's even funnier, I went to a high school where kids from all over the city went (That's where Angie and I met). We were 40% white, 40% black, 20% minority, 50% male, 50% female, nice and balanced. I hung out with a lot of lower income kids, because they weren't snobs, and my parents were constantly saying "Why do you want to be black?" "Why do you want to be poor?" They thought I had an obsession with this!!!!

[Guest YaManShane]

"Why do you want to be black?" "Why do you want to be poor?"

lol thas funny i can picture your parents sayin that

[Guest jantonio]

Jose is my dad's middle name.

Jose Antonio...

[Guest Zabrak]

Although I'm sure I've posted this somewhere before I'll write it again here.

Back when I was little and was able to use the computer for the first time without a teacher or parent looking me over the shoulder I found a online game to play. It wasn't much, infact it was called "The Palace". I needed a name for it and ended up calling myself Kyle. From then on I was said I was a guy and went by that name online. I met and have friends to this day that only know me as the guy named Kyle. Best friends too. Just last year I started to do it in real life - I mean calling myself Kyle and saying I was male.

[Guest Mel7]

ooh I like Kage. That would be a really cool name, and I think it fits your look well. Not to mention, you don't need to make your name Daniel. It could just be Dan.

For me, I just sort of looked around baby names sites. I mean, I was super attached to names like John and Brian and Jack and Ryan and Tom, but I've had a friend named John since I was 8 and my brother's name is Sean. Brian doesn't fit me. My cousin is named Jack. I have an enemy named Ryan, and it's also a girl's name. Two of my uncles (one on each side) and my grandfather are named Tom. And my parents were gonna name me Rory (??) if i was a "boy", but now we have a dog named Rory. I have two brothers so that took my parents' other names. So I pretty much had to start from scratch.

I wanted to be Tyler because of Tyler Durden, but I currently know a girl named Tyler and a boy named Tyler. I'm never gonna see either after high school, so I still might take that as my first name, because it's more professional sounding than Cody. Right now, it's my middle name.

So anyway, I came across Cody and liked it, and as a bonus I didn't know anyone named Cody in real life until after I picked the name. I know I don't necessarily need to not pick a name because other people have it, but I want something that is my own. Which sucks because if I do go with Tyler at my first name, I really want to make my middle name James so that I can be TJ, but I have an uncle TJ (different names, at least). Who's on my dad's side and thus has the same last name. And is also gay. So that's way out of the question. But ultimately, if my parents react well in the future I'll give them a chance to collaborate with me on a name, so hopefully they'll actually use it. I haven't attached my chosen names to my last name because I want their blessing before I'd do that. And if I get disowned, I'm going with Tyler or Devlin for my last name. I love the surname Devlin.

Yes!! I was so hoping it would fit me. XD

And dang, that's a lot of ifs and ands and dilemmas. That's almost...hilarious, no offense!! I like Devlin and Tyler, too, though not for me, of course. Good luck, : ]

[Guest Timortinel]

I wrote a poem and a little short story about a boy named Timortinel. I thought it sounded nice and unique, so I named my "World of Warcraft" avatar the same. The avatar was male, and that made everyone I met online to see me as a guy, and I guess having that name and being percieved as male made me attach to it. I shortened Timortinel to Timo, because I thought it was too long and weird, and Timo is actually an existing name, so now that's the name most people know me by.

[Guest Mel7]

I was curious about why people want to change their last names?

I forgot to add this stuff, haha.

Just curious.

I am in love with my last name, mainly because I totally think of a male everytime I hear it and because it's a well known name that I am related to.

I would definitely change my middle name. I mean, come on! My parents gave me the girliest name known to man!!

Melissa and Ashley do not belong together!

I was thinking about Kage Asher or something like that. I have an obsession with names with K sound at the beginning.

Kage Jackson? Kage Pierce? I really like Pierce too. Haha!

YaManShane: I really love the name Shane, too!

Evan_J: Thanks for the advice, I think I'll just have people start calling me Kage out of High school.

Zabrak: You look like a Kyle, actually. : ]

Cody_T:

I forgot to say this, also, I don't think I could be 'Dan' either because I keep thinking of Dan Connor from that show Rosanne. Haha!

Good names, good names.

[Guest Konnor]

Konnor Joseph. I wanted to keep my same initials, KJ. Joseph is just the masculine form of my middle name now. And I thought about many different K first names, and tried out a few. Konnor seemed to fit the best and it's the one Andrew liked the best too. I would be very happy to keep his last name, I really like it. My family's last name...not so much. It's very german and hard to pronounce!