Deciding on a new name, suggestions?

[NotSamuel]

Hey I’m pretty new on this forum but I thought I’d start it off with a pretty open-ended question. 

My birth name is Samuel, and for the last two years I’ve been identifying as transgender. I’m finally starting to come out and explore my identity a bit more, which is why I’m looking for a name.

Ive been experimenting with names a bit, Samantha being an obvious choice, and Chloe, which I used for a while online. However I need a name now that represents me more as a person. I don’t want to go by a name like Samantha jus because it’s the female of my birth name. I’ve asked my parents and they didn’t have a female name lined up just in case so I’m left to decide for my own.

One of my friends suggested an “earthy” type name, or something feminine but still a little tough. So far I’ve narrowed that down to a shortlist:

- Holly

- Hazel

- Erin

 

basically if you’ve got any suggestions, literally anything, I’d be really glad to take them. Or even if you have good advice or anecdotes about how you chose your own name, any comments whatsoever would be greatly appreciated. So yeah, thank you in advance if you do decide to make any suggestions:)

[Kole Rickard]

Hello! I am Kole. My birth name was Kaitlyn. I didn't exactly choose the first letter to be the same for my name. 

The name Kole or Cole was a name I really enjoyed. I don't exactly know how I came up with it or how I settled with it. It just kind of happened. Since I enjoyed the name, I needed to figure out how it suited me, so I did just that. I also tried a few other names but I didn't exactly like how any of them sounded with me. Cole was a name that a ton of my friends made up for me when I was.. around 7-8. I liked the name and I kinda stuck with it. The name didn't stick with me though. It was soon forgotten by friends but I still loved it. I would always sign papers, signatures, and things similar to that. It confused my parents and they disliked it so I stopped for a while. I am now 15 and I started to do it once more when I was 13. I messed with the lettering and found that the K is Kole is more like me. It is not used often and it has some contact with my birth name. It reminds me that I am still the same boy from the past. I have been openly transgender for 2 years now, but more comfortable for 1. 

 

Now on to you, as soon as I read Samuel, I though of Samantha. Though, I think that is too easy. Though I don't know you too well, I don't have a vibe of how you are. If your friend suggests more earthy or down to earth names I would say out of the 3, Holly. I would think a good name as well would be Juniper, Brook, or Fay.

[Lexi C]

what about BRUCE!!!!  lol ...I always like the name Zara...Zora..different and if you become a U-Tub star its really marketable..G.L …..oh and its closer to S then other names you mention 

[KymmieL]

My girl name wasn't picked because It is similar to my given name. You could probably guess. Mine actually came from a gals name at a vendor at a former job. I just thought it sounded neat. I picked Kymmbrill as a more formal name. The middle name I like because It kind of flows together. Kymmbril Lorain.

 

My suggestion is to see if you hear a name that just suits you. Yeah, It can be difficult but you will see or hear a name and bang it will hit you. I like that name.

 

Kymmbrill Lorain Hunter

[Matty]

I went with Matthew or Matt because it's my favorite male name and seemed to resonate with me.

[Arthur Trout]

I think that Hazel and Erin have more of the tough vibe you seem to be looking for. Perhaps Heather, Holly, or Katlyn would fit, although it would be helpful to have some personality information as well. I believe a name should sit right with you. Imagine someone calling you from across a crowded room. Are you comfortable with Hazel? Erin? Mary Sue? Whatever it is, you should enjoy saying it to yourself and others. Imagine introducing yourself. “Hi, my name is  X.” How do you feel? Would you be comfortable introducing yourself as X? This is how I chose Arthur for myself. Not too harsh and it fits with my face and overall vibe. Best of luck to you!

[Laura Beth]

I agree with Arthur on

5 hours ago, Arthur Trout said:

Whatever it is, you should enjoy saying it to yourself and others. Imagine introducing yourself.

 

I did this myself when I selected my name and as well as looking at my family tree for some names. You are the one that has to be comfortable with the name. 

[Micaela]

My birth name was Michael, but I always loved Micaela from the first time I heard it, so now it's my legal name. It allows me to more or less keep my same nickname (Mike), but I don't respond to my birth name any longer. It just seemed to make everything simpler for me, as my family still uses Mike.

 

With all the other issues we have to deal with, one thing you can control is that you get to pick the name you want. You could try some different names and just go with whatever makes you feel comfortable. 

[Charlize]

I do like the name you've chosen.  I did a similar change to my name as in a way it allowed me to remember what i was named for and remember that my father had named me after himself.  I just no longer have to use the Jr.

 

Hugs,

 

Charlize

[DawnD]

My given name was Donald, I went by Don. So Dawn was a easy pick, if I ever come out and people make a slip I won't know.

[Ellora]

31 minutes ago, DawnD said:

My given name was Donald, I went by Don. So Dawn was a easy pick, if I ever come out and people make a slip I won't know.

Ive often thought about changing my Name to one of two names that are close to my CIS name, but I used to be teased as a kid by other kids using those name(s). I may still do it, but I like Ellora and Zoey ??

[DawnD]

On 7/9/2019 at 5:50 PM, Ellora said:

Ive often thought about changing my Name to one of two names that are close to my CIS name, but I used to be teased as a kid by other kids using those name(s). I may still do it, but I like Ellora and Zoey ??

Ellora is such a unique and beautiful name. It's kind of funny I spent time with my relatives this last weekend who are of Appalachian descent. With they accents they pretty much call me Dawn now anyway....

[Bananarama]

NS,

 

You could try looking at the following:

 

https://www.behindthename.com/top/lists/united-states/1980

 

Enter your birth year in the drop-down field, and then look through the top 1000 names that were most frequently used at the time (you can also sort the list alphabetically). If you have siblings, you could also use that as clues to what your parents might have used.

 

For example, my birth year was 1960, and my sister's name is Melissa. Taking that and clues of other family members led me to select 'Melanie' as a logical given name (ranked #125 on the list from the above site, and 'M-E-L' the clue from my sister). I then selected my mother's middle name 'Jean' for mine, thus I became Melanie Jean, which IMHO has a nice ring about it (it also happened to leave my initials intact, as my friends usually call me 'MJ').

 

Best wishes on whichever you decide. ?

[NotSamuel]

On 7/18/2019 at 7:04 AM, Bananarama said:

NS,

 

You could try looking at the following:

 

https://www.behindthename.com/top/lists/united-states/1980

 

Enter your birth year in the drop-down field, and then look through the top 1000 names that were most frequently used at the time (you can also sort the list alphabetically). If you have siblings, you could also use that as clues to what your parents might have used.

 

For example, my birth year was 1960, and my sister's name is Melissa. Taking that and clues of other family members led me to select 'Melanie' as a logical given name (ranked #125 on the list from the above site, and 'M-E-L' the clue from my sister). I then selected my mother's middle name 'Jean' for mine, thus I became Melanie Jean, which IMHO has a nice ring about it (it also happened to leave my initials intact, as my friends usually call me 'MJ').

 

Best wishes on whichever you decide. ?

 

Thank you for the reply, I’m pleasantly surprised the thread is this active so long after I created it, and I feel bad for not being very active on replies. Anyway thank you very much and I’ll be sure to check out the link. ?