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

[Guest My_Genesis]

If it feels right, I think you should go with it. There's nothing wrong with having a common name. And for pretty much any name you choose, there will be someone else who has that name, anyway. Honestly, I think unique names are overrated . A lot of times, they're hard to spell and hard to pronounce. That's just my own personal opinion though, if you want a unique name, then go for it. But don't not choose Bradley just because you know someone by the same name. There's too many people in the world to use that as a make-or-break criterion.

Pól

It's not so much the uniqueness as just finding a fit, and well i really can't make a choice they all seem the same to me, i need to find out that stands out...not necessarily unique, just something that stands out because it rings with me, i guess.

[Guest Neuro]

Did I post here yet? No? Oh well--I will again >8D

Michael is my confirmation name (in Catholic church) and my fathers middle name. Name of the archangel, as well.

Also, is the name of the boy my parent's didn't have (OR SO THEY THOUGHT BA-DA-BUMMMMMMM)

Joseph is my chosen middle name, another name they were thinking of.

Scary thing: Only recently I found out these were the names they chose, and I've had them picked out for a while!! XD IT'S DESTINY

Oh, and mi nickname Neuro is named after the detective with pointy teeth in Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro who eats mysteries, abuses the main girl character for the lulz, and sometimes has a birds head but mostly is infamous for his stalker stare eyes. He is basically me, if I were a manga character; we are kindred weirdo spirits~

I know whatcha mean, Nikk! My name (Sarah Marie) has almost NO manly way to put it--'Princess Mother of God' is literal meaning!! BUT James is a personal favorite name-o-mine, I have an uncle James who is awesome and looks like a wilderness caveman; and I have a character James Kanzaki who is my favorite son and half-Canadian. Even though he can be a turd I love him.

It's great to love characters~ they have a special connection to your inner self, when created.

I say go with Meowth, though.

[Guest _Michael]

Mine is the reverse of the name I picked for drag kinging: Elliott Michael, now Michael Elliott

Elliott is homage to Elliott Smith who got me through a major depression when I was in junior high, and I've always loved the name. Michael comes from this amusing little story that my parents told me once:

When my mom first got pregnant, they knew what my birth sex would be but they went around telling everyone that they didn't know what I was. They told people what they were gonna name if i was a girl (my legal name), and told everyone except for my grandmother that if I was a boy I would be Jared (which doesn't fit me at all). They told my grandmother that they were going to name me Michael, because she used to always tell them "Just don't name that child Machael, I just can't say that [explicative] name." (she could never pronounce the name correctly and always turned the i into an "a" so it rhymed with Cackle). After an ex girlfriend, who had no idea about this story, told me one night "You'd make a good Michael, you look like a Mike", I was set on it. Now I get called Michael, Mike, and Mikey, and i love it

[xanyx]

I picked mine from Final Fantasy game--Zack. I just liked that character (looks a bit like me anyway) and the name sounded cool.

Earlier, I had a different name that could be used for bother girls and boys.

[Guest Potter]

I chose Chris because that is what my parents would have called me if I was a bio male. I did consider other names but there was nothing that really rang with me.

[Guest Zajabr]

My friend actually named me, before I even knew I was trans. We needed a name for my online profile, in which I had put male (always did see myself as male....) and she came up with it! Zacharias as a first name. Her explanation was that since that was a prophet, it'd somehow make me feel a little bit more important. I just found the spelling cool. And middle name would be jackoby, which is just another weirdly spelled name! So it's zach or Jack. X3

[Guest joeytheman16]

My friend named me..as a joke! She's like "you're not an (insert female name here)...you're a Joe!" It quickly spread and it stuck.

Before that I though about some other names but Joe or Joey just seems to fit better.

[Guest Sydney_W]

I noticed that chosen names are usually a lot more interesting and inventive than given names. I guess it only makes sense, though.

I've been having some anxiety over my chosen name. I've never identified with my given name, so I've been thinking about a new name since before I realized I was trans. A few years ago I read A Tale of Two Cities, and even though I don't remember much, something about the character Sydney Carton stuck in my head. ("It is a far, far better thing that I do..." you know) Looking back it's pretty ironic, since he was killed so that his lookalike could live a full life. But anyway... since then I've become attached to the name and can't think of another one that I'd rather have, and I certainly think it suits me and how I imagine myself to be in the future. So it's all hunky-dory.

But what messes me up is the spelling. I like the two "y"s. "Sidney" reminds me too much of other people, a friend of mine and some other guys. Sydney is more me. But for some reason I see it more often as the "girl" spelling. Aw man. Even the baby from Days of Our freaking Lives is named Sydney now. Awesome.

Plus, the few people who know me by that name are already spelling it with the "i". Ah well... my old name is pretty common and people misspell that too.

Even my middle name is freaking me out now. I want something beginning with "W", one because some friends nicknamed me that a couple years ago, and it stuck, and two, it would mean my initials would end up looking the same except for the middle "M" being flipped upside down. The downside? One word: Bush.

Even after going to some baby names site and looking through all the W's, the one that really stayed with me was "Walker"... which is the same as the Bush's W. Suuuuper awesome. I don't want to adopt that reputation.

So... basically, I've already picked my stuff out, I'm just stressing over it for little reasons. Oh well. It's probably not gonna change. It fits me, and I guess that's really the most important thing, here.

[Guest My_Genesis]

I was thinking of just going with what my parents were gonna name me...although I think for the most part they considered names for me and my sister after they knew our birth sex... (i tried to get my my mom to tell me what she would have named us if we were guys..yeah, WE, b/c my dad wanted weird names for both of us, so I was all slick about it and just said "man what would you have named us if we were boys?!" lol..) so all i got out of that was "Marvin." I don't think that name fits me well :/ Plus I've always been kind of viewed as an alien by others, Marvin doesn't help my cause much, lol. (someone actually told me that in like 3rd grade: that when they saw me for the first time in 1st grade they thought I was an alien.)

[Guest Evan_J]

(someone actually told me that in like 3rd grade: that when they saw me for the first time in 1st grade they thought I was an alien.)

Don't feel bad, my mother told me that when they first brought me to her in the hospital she didn't want to hold me because she thought I looked like an elf lol.

And Sydney? I like Sydney I also think you should run with Walker if you like it. Heck, I never knew what the heck his middle name was and I bet a lot of other people don't either. And guess what? In time his importance will fade anyway so.....

But, other W names? Windsor, Winchester, Whitmore.... Can you tell I'm all about the "dignified" names?

[Guest Jackson]

But, other W names? Windsor, Winchester, Whitmore.... Can you tell I'm all about the "dignified" names?

I think Winchester would be cool. Winchester is a good, well-known and respected historical name.

[Guest Justme]

I took alot of time in choosing my name. I always knew that Daniel would either be the first or middle name because it stands for, 'Only God is my judge.' but then I went into this website of names that used to be popular in the 1800's and that is where i made my dicision. First name of Jace...which means..The Healer...and middle name Daniel. thought that was a powerful combo.

[Guest Kurt]

Well when I signed up for this forum I was going by Kurt. Which I took after Kurt Cobain. Because Nirvana's music had a huge impact on my life and helped me out a lot. And my middle name I had as Alyxandir because had I been a bio male I would have been Alexander. I just love to find more fun spellings. But recently I have come to the conclusion that I don't think Kurt would fit me. But it kinda does. So I have 3 name options running through my head right now. They are...

Kurt Alyxandir

Kyler Alyxandir

or

Derrick Alyxandir

But I'm going into my senior year of highschool and my therapist is gonna write me a letter for the administation to use male pronouns and call me by my preferred name. Just I don't know which name to go by. But Kurt sounds weird with my last name.

My birth given name was Lauren Elizabeth...ugh. Lauren isn't bad but I want to get away from it. I want to be seen as male not androgynous. Not to sound against it but I'm working hard to be seen as male. Since I have been asked, "Are you boy or girl?" for well over ten years. And have been made fun of a lot. I'll figure it out some day. Soon hopefully.

Sorry I haven't been terribly active posting...I just haven't known what to say. I'm a tad shy.

[Guest Pól]

@Sydney -- How about William?

@Kurt/Kyler/Derrick. -- You should go with what feels like it fits well. This is going to be your name for probably the rest of your life. If Kurt doesn't feel right, don't be afraid to change it now. Derrick sounds more male to my ear than Kyler, but that's just me. And feel free to post as much or as little as you like! We'd love to get to know you better, but do what you feel comfortable with.

[Guest Cody_T]

My birth given name was Lauren Elizabeth...ugh. Lauren isn't bad but I want to get away from it. I want to be seen as male not androgynous.

Dude, you got to be kidding... that's my given name too. The middle name is the worst part, because it makes the whole thing seem so feminine. Although I feel like Lauren (and only when spoken or spelled Loren) is only androgynous if you haven't been living with it before transitioning. It has come in handy when I'm around family but getting read male by other people, but it still has the cringeworthy female association for me.

I like Kyler, but even though it's a male name, you'll probably get a lot of people who won't know whether it's male or female. Derrick has always been one of my favorite names, with that spelling, and seems to go with Alyxandir a little better than Kyler. I agree with Pol that if you don't think Kurt fits you, you should probably change it. Especially now rather than later. But don't worry too much about picking the right one, because there really isn't a right one. You'll get used to answering to that name, and it'll feel normal over time. Almost no one gets to pick their name, and most are fine with what they've been given. I think it's really a matter of getting used to a name rather than getting the exact right one, although if you know it's wrong by all means change it.

[Guest Jean Davis]

Just a variation of my first and middle name. Something that went well with my last name

Jean Davis

[Guest KageBoy171]

lol, i just had to reply to this because I feel kinda guilty about it. I haven't really come up with a name that fits, and I have a serious lack in creative ability, so every time I start thinking about what I would want my name to be, and I really don't know how I came up with this so please don't laugh at me or get mad or anything (esp. the women) lol..but the way I try to figure out if a name fits me or not is by imagining it being screamed out in a girl's voice

So far I haven't had much luck with that so I thought I should find a different way to determine how well a name "fits", but I mean, c'mon, that's the ultimate test!

Omg! I did that too!! Only...it was a guy's voice. XD and I was also a guy. XD And I decided on Kage Monroe, cause it rolls off the tongue really well. : ]

[Guest Oli]

I started indentifying as Oli as a sort-of joke. I think it was the beginning of me finding out about transgenders. Actually, I think I'm going to start identifying as David. I really like the name, it fits, and I used to go by Davey, anyway.

[Guest Pól]

I started indentifying as Oli as a sort-of joke. I think it was the beginning of me finding out about transgenders. Actually, I think I'm going to start identifying as David. I really like the name, it fits, and I used to go by Davey, anyway.

Would you prefer being called David or Davey here?

[Guest Oli]

^ David. (: Haha. I would feel weird if everyone called me Davey.

[Guest My_Genesis]

Omg! I did that too!! Only...it was a guy's voice. XD and I was also a guy. XD And I decided on Kage Monroe, cause it rolls off the tongue really well. : ]

lol. so I'm not crazy

[Guest nik]

I place the blame solely on 80s goth rock.

When I first started looking for names, I thought I would go by Vincent. And, as much as I love that name, it was just too formal for me. I don't quite remember what made me decide on it, but I always really liked the spelling Nik Fiend's (of Alien Sex Fiend) name. It was unusual. I asked people to call me it and it's been that way ever since. But, as far as the longer version, I haven't really decided whether I want Nicholas, Nicolas or Nikolai. Nikolai is currently my pen-name, and I really love it. Plus it reminds me of Nikola Tesla, who is the best scientist ever.

For my middle name I've settled on Edward, and partly because I love the movie Edward Scissorhands. He doesn't really fit in, and neither do I.

I have no idea what I'm doing about my last name. My legal last name is awful and German, so I might take my mother's maiden name (which is far easier to spell). I might also just take my own last name, which feels like it would be harder, because I'm already indecisive enough.

[Guest Nikk]

@Nik: Hey there name buddy, minus a k Just thought I'd pop in and say hi to you. (Nikolai is actually my full name (too?), but I use Nikk with two K's 'cause it's more fun).

~Nikk

[Guest nik]

Name buddies! Awesome! :]

[Guest Keane]

.... since I was endlessly accused of "being an oreo" or "not authentic" as a kid.

Oreos are delicious though.

I'm still trying to pick out a new name. I'm borrowing baby name books from the library cuz I don't have internet at home for a while :/