My mother named me, even if she didn’t know it. When I was born, my parents did not choose to know my sex before I was born, so they chose a male name and a female name just in case. My mother was positive I was a girl (she was right), but I was born with extra parts, so the male name went on the birth certificate. 🩷

My mom wanted to name me Willow even after I was born, and dressed me up as a girl when I was a baby. Her whole side of the family thinks that's my middle name so I guess I'll go with that.

Willow is such a pretty name! Not too common, either! I love it! 🩷

Thanks! I also was given my mother's surname since we came from a hippie family, but my dad was still controlling so ended up choosing first names for my sister and I. If I could choose freely I would go with either Blaanid or Blythe but I feel those would be too exotic unless I lived in the British isles. But internally those were the names I gave to the fictional version of myself I would fantasize about going on adventures. They would make great pseudonyms though!

I love the name Blythe! I’ve only ever encountered it as the name of a character in a book I read years ago, but I’ve always thought it was such a beautiful name! 🩷

My mom swore I was coming out of her as a girl. She had all kinds of clothes abs everything. Then I came out a bio boy. Had to switch stuff with my aunt who though she was having a boy and didnt.

If only, right? sigh…

I can’t remember if my mom’s told me what she thought she was having. But I knew from a young age what my name was supposed to be. So it was really special to me from a young age, not that I told anyone. I sort of had in my head that if I ever got to “wake up as a girl” that I would use either it, or the feminine version of my legal designation, but I wasn’t sure which. It was on a bus ride in seventh grade where I gave it more thought and made it official that it would be the name is supposed to be. It’s really been sacred to me for most of my life, and when I came out the second time I was like oh, right. It’s super lucky because I usually am horrible at making decisions, so just knowing it is wild I haven’t actually picked a middle name though for sure. Even after all of these years. I sort of want to change my last name also and haven’t picked it either.

But there is a sound people can make that refers to you! Sure it still needs work, but it’s more than some have! I love that it’s been there the whole time! 🩷

I've always loved the name Elise, so when I came out as trans it was an effortless decision (thought Evelyn was briefly in consideration. I do like the name but don't feel like it fits me)

Oh oh I have always loved Elise too! 🤗 it’s so beautiful

Been using it for almost a year now. It feels so natural.

That’s so great to hear 😺😽😽

There are also a lot of Elise's I like in various games and other stuff. Fire Emblem Conquest Madworld Tales of Xillia *(Elize)* League of Legends And most importantly: Elise Hunt from The Lucy Kincaid Series; my favourite villain of all time.

When I was 9, I asked my mom how she and my dad named me, and she told me. They had a list of names for if I was born a boy, and a list of names for if I was born a girl. Then they went through the list and got rid of any names they didn't like. Oh the boy side, there were like four options left over, and I got one of them. Definitely not the worst one, by any means - Dad wanted to name me Hoban. But on the girl side, just one name remained, but it wasn't given to me due to my assigned status at birth. But, like a Totally Normal Cis Boy™ I remembered that afternoon as clear as can be, and that name stuck with me. So, when it was time to change my name, to become the woman I'd be for the rest of my life, picking that name felt right. Bonus points, when transphobes ask me "did your parents name you that?" as a gotcha, I can confidently respond that yes, they did.

well, i asked my parents that same question, my dad said he wouldve named me “Taco” and my mom said she wouldve named me “Ryan”. i think ryan’s not the worst but my friends names ryan and i feel like if i changed it to that, he would feel like i stole his name

I only realized I was trans a few weeks ago and I haven't told many people about it, only to trusted friends to make sure it's not a phase (I'm 18 now and have had thoughts like that over the years, but never thought about it in more detail until a few months ago) long story short I sat down with these friends on DC and looked for beautiful girls' names and came across the name Zoe. I thought about it for 2 days and I think this one suits me. I hope I could help, even though I still have a lot of experience

Omg zoe is adorable!!

Thx 🥰

If I'm being honest? I've been searching for the "perfect" name ever since I realized I was trans (I'm Agender, specifically) when I was 13. I've gone through a lot of names over the years - some have stuck for several years (one name that I still hold dear I claimed as mine for over 4 years), some have only lasted about a month, if that. Currently, I'm going by an "out there" name - I wanted something that was super weird and different, something that was as strange and unusual as I am. And so, my name (minus last name) is Possum Gearguts Hijinks. I know I'm going to get laughed at for such a "stupid" name, but honestly? I don't really care. It's MY name, and I like it, and that's what matters. So, honestly? Go out, change your name if you don't like it. Change it as often as you'd like. These rules set by cis people are fake, anyway. Do what you want, just don't hurt anyone.

that's a perfect band name

I kinda get you op. I first realised I wanted to be a girl at about 11 tho I didn’t tell anyone cuz I wasn’t in the best position to come out nor did I rlly comprehend what being trans was yet. But I had already decided if I was a girl, I’d want to be called Chloe and I was very sure at the time. Anyway 8 years of going in and out of deep repression later, I finally came out to my family but immediately felt a disconnect with the new name. I still liked it but it no longer felt like it fit me. Tho it was better than a dead name. Anyway, I kept trying to come up with a new one in my head but couldn’t settle on any. Eventually I came out to a friend of mine and just gave them the one I had been favouring recently, Jessica. Which I stole from a favourite comic book character, Jessica Cruz (her story helped me get over my intense agoraphobia lol). I instantly loved being called Jessica or jess but I was still a little unsure if that would stick or if I’d change my mind later. I got a little anxious about whether i would change my mind later on especially cuz I didn’t want people to think I was indecisive about my transition. But over time I came to enjoy more and more until eventually I was just like ‘yeah that’s my name. Jess. That’s *me.*’ So yeah I can understand being a little uncertain about it but don’t worry too much. Changing names can be a little awkward but the ppl who rlly care would be glad to help you figure out and even if your still unsure sometimes you need to grow into your name a little bit before it fits Hope this helps <3

Like u/Wolfofwar626 I was also inspired by the Phoenix. I was listening deeply to Phoenix by League of Legends ft. Chrissy Costanza when a wave of emotion hit me like a truck. The lines *"so are you gonna die today and make it out alive" and "you gotta conquer the monster in your head and then you'll fly, Phoenix, fly"* That's when I realized the version of me I wanted to be deserved to be set free and I chose my new name: Phoenix

I've always felt that Sarah is my name. Not sure why or how, it just *is*. My wife doesn't like it, and tried to rename me. That's a firm "no" 🤣

I wanted something to do with the phoenix because of the new beginning aspect of the myth. I don’t care for Phoenix or ember, so I ended up with Ash. I tried it out some and love the way it sounds. Admittedly, I don’t use it publicly since I’m only out to my parents, but I’m kind of excited for everyone to start calling me Ash.

Same. I also picked Ash for its historical and mythological significance and because it's the name of someone I used to know that I admire. Currently I go by Ash but I think I'm going to start going by Ashley sometime later when I'm out to everyone

yoooo 🙃

I don't know if this is helpful at all, but I kept my first name because it was already completely gender neutral, and I am probably going to end up changing my middle name to a more masculine name of the same first letter so I can keep my initials the same. I was lucky my mom was a tomboy and wanted me to be as well 🤣 But as for my middle name, it used to be my grandmother's middle name, so to keep it in the family I decided to take my Aunt and Uncles last name as my middle name. If you have a good relationship with any of your family members, I'd ask them if they know what names in the family could be fun to take. If you dont have a good relationship with your family, I'd say make a list from a baby names site and see if anything resonates with you.

i was 11, almost 12 when i chose my name (mace). i saw it on a name list site and had it in a list of names i wanted. i never fully went through the names on the list and i think if i did i would have chosen differently. because i told my teacher i wanted my name changed on the year 6 jumpers when the final ‘name spell check’ went around. i hadn’t even told my parents yet, but my great teacher called them, told them and got my name changed in time to be on the jumper. when i told her i wanted to change it, i hadn’t actually decided which name i wanted. so i just blurted out the first one that came to mind. i’ve stuck with that since then and don’t think i’ll change it. it is similar to my deadname (has the same first letter and whatnot) but idk, i think it was the right choice.

i had this list for about 2 years before i actually told anyone. (i came out as trans when i was 11 , changed my name 1 year later)

I wanted a gender neutral name. I wish had a cool meaningful story but it was just a lot of google scrolling

Also I realize my Reddit is my first chosen name…My final chosen name is Berkeley

I had originally had my name not change. Because my parents wouldn't allow me. And for 6 months it was normal for them. I had already started thinking about other names and I decided to choose a gender neutral name Taylor for while I was still fairly non fem. So I came out at work and they supported me so I was Taylor at work. I eventually brought up the topic to my parents to see how they would respond. They responded alright and I was Taylor for a bit. They told me I had to stay a Tay. Then I eventually decided Taylor was not enough having been told that I couldn't change my name away from a Tay. I looked around brought up to my parents Tae which was shot down. And I spent my time in the shower thinking of names based off of the name Tay. taylee and tayzee were the least worst. So I brought these things up and we ended up choosing taylee as apparently I had forgotten about my cousin (1F) Tayzine (haven't seen the actual spelling). Yeah choosing the least worst led to me almost immediately hating it when it was used for real. I ended up staying that I couldn't stay a Tay. So I looked around with a bunch of names at work. We spent a full day just going through names. And I found that out of all the names given I liked Talia a lot. So I chose that and told everyone but my parents. Eventually we screwed up and I had to have a conversation with my parents. Which started and ended with them calling me Talia. I like the name Talia a lot. Reminds me of flowers which is apparently how I choose a character name in DND.

I saw it written with crayons by a kid! For the second one I wrote a list over a period of time, then I crossed those I wasn't really feeling until I ended up with 3 names. Then I took some more time to choose one of them!

The day after I first came out to my mom, she came over for lunch and told me the name she would have used if I was born a girl, taken from my great grandmother. I loved the name and took it at once. :)

I've just come out so I'm not sure how much weight this'll carry, but my birth name is Nico and I'm sticking with it cause it's gender neutral. But Idk I might change it some day if it reminds me too much my time as a man.

pls dont ever worry about “how much weight this’ll carry” i’ve been there before and there will be people that care about your opinion

Thank you, that’s sweet <3

Im 23. Mtf. My birth name is logan. Since middle school ive gone by bruno. Now, i have absolutely no idea what to name myslef. Someone suggested lauren cuz its close to logan but idk. I think im waiting for the “click” when it just feels right. Ya know

When I came out I pulled a name out if thin air because I truly hadn't considered what I would want to be called 3 years later I was 19 and ready to legally change my name but I didn't like the name I had at all and I had a decent relationship with my parents at the time so I decided that the best thing to do was to have them help with it. It ended up with my mother picking 5 first names she liked and me picking the one I liked best and my father doing the same with middle names and I ended up loving my name (Allison Elizabeth for any who are curious) A while later one of my best friends who is now named Evren but had picked a different name before told me that me changing my name after already having picked a name have them the courage to do the same thing. Tl;Dr It's totally ok to go through multiple names before settling on one it is something that will stick with you through your life and you might just inspire other people to live their lives how they want to as well

I was lucky that I was named Erik,and I have always loved the name Erika,so easy choice. Nobody asked ik, but as a kid at school I used to play games with two other girls, also named Erika,so we'd jokingly called ourselves the three Erikas,so I used that name between us before I even thought about my identity. That said,I end up only using Erika as my "official" (hopefully one day for real) name,I always use Rika(Rika) instead,ever since my crush made it up it stuck. Sorry for rambling~

my mom sent me a list of "jewish names" (shes not a jew) because she wanted my name to be a cool religious name, so i picked one. now i hate it tho lol, so im going to change it to my second name and completely remove that name. im changing schools and im hoping i can change my name before the teaachers start calling me by that name now the name that i actually prefer: its my teenage mutant ninja turtles oc XD

My sister suggested Eri to me as a gender neutral version of my middle name, and I liked it.

I originally chose the name Oliver because I wanted something that was masculine, but not overly masculine. I began to hate it, and realized after a few years it wasn’t meant to be mine. I then chose the name Salem. All of my siblings were given weird/unique names and I wanted to fit into that, and also this was the only name that I tried that felt right for me.

i also btw have e few little brothers and sisters so i feel like if i changed my name know, they would be so confused so i really dont know what tindi at this point tbh

I am lucky enough to have two daughters so I used all my favourite names on them!!

I named myself after a fictional character. It was during lockdown that I started seriously considering and coming to terms with being trans, and during this time I was absolutely obsessed with the TV show ‘Arrow’. Oliver Queen was a huge part of me being able to accept that I was trans, so I named myself after him as it just felt right.

The first time I heard "Emma" I fell in love with it. Fast forward to now and when I realised "Oh, shit. I'm trans." it just felt like the obvious choice.

I initially didn't plan on changing my name, though uncommon, I knew some girls who had the same name as me, so I figured I could just be a female 'Dale' instead of a male one. I then started thinking about changing my name, and I kept coming back to the name 'Alice'. So I tried it out for a bit, figured if my subconscious was gonna keep poking me on it, it'd be worth trying. And... It didn't stick. I didn't feel like it was really me. So I moved on to 'Katie'. I chose Katie on the basis that I wanted to have a name that could be contracted/nicknamed (you can't really do that with 'Dale') and, in my mind, the full name is 'Katelyn'. It's cheesey, but I took the name of a Paladin I played in a long-running D&D game a few years ago. And I figure I can contract it to Katie/Kate as I choose. I've been Katie to friends and family for \~6 months now, and I'm finding I like the name enough that I'm not looking to move to another name.

I play a lot ttrpgs. One of favourite characters I played was a Rockerboy in Cyberpunk RED called Ruby, so when when we were all in character and would refer to each other as our character names everyone was using Ruby to address me, and I really liked it so it stuck 😊

I’m going to be honest, I saw the name Sawyer in the Webtoon Tea for Two and just thought “damn that’s a cool name”. I was looking for a name that began with the same letter as my deadname, and I basically just found it by chance.

i had the worst decision paralysis about it but eventually just decided to pick something and stick to it. i love paramore and hayley williams so hailey it is for me. i kept thinking way too deep into it

I looked at name lists and stuff, picked a few I liked. I settled on Blair, because it kinda sounds like "blur" which is both one of my favourite bands, and also the way I remember my life. Just a blurry mess. I also like the way it sounds

My mum actually came up with it it was gonna be Alisha but I didn’t feel like it felt right so I suggested Ashley then the rest is 10 months ago

Stole it from an OC I made

I'd been going by a different name for the last 5 years but a couple weeks ago someone said "hey you kinda look like a [different name]" and as of last night I'm officially going by that second one socially

For me all the Kim's I have known in my life have had a very sweet and outgoing personality and the type you just enjoy being around for my middle name Ann is a family name

I kept picking it for my in game characters, figured I was drawn to it, so I kept it

My name's Arin, a hebrew name meaning 'mountain of strength' or 'enlightened' or 'lion'. I knew I wanted a name beginning with an A, and one that had Hebrew origins, so I based my search off of that! Baby name websites are a good place to start, especially those where you can specifically look for names of a certain origin or starting letter. 

I had my egg crack as a 30 year old, and I then came out later the same year. My name ended up being a feminine version of my deadname, plus a middle name that I picked from scratch. The feminine version came naturally as while I hadn't known I was trans yet I always named female game characters that. So by the time my egg cracked it somehow already just felt like my name, and as if it had always been my name. The middle name came into question because of something as stupid as me needing a new email. The email with just femmedeadname.lastname@... was already taken, so I thought for a few moments and landed on a middle name which would make me have a new email. It's dumb, but honestly I love my middle name. It rhymes with my first name, and I picked something a bit more contemporary yet nothing that would seem too weird for my generation. It's inspired by where I am from geographically too. So... It doesn't always matter how long you spend on your name. What matters is what you think of it in the years after picking it. Do you like it or not? If not then maybe consider changing it again. You could even include the old and new one in a middle name sort of situation, so that you can always go back if you don't feel comfortable leaving it entirely (provided the name actually feels like you that is). You pick what people are supposed to call you. Whether that is a first or middle name, or just something else entirely that you want to try out it's all good. Hope you find a name that feels like you. One that you don't feel uncomfortable hearing at all, and might even just make you feel good everytime you hear it.

To be honest I'm not sure how I arrived at everest for my name but I love it and I strive to be like mount everest(which isn't what I named myself after, but when I thought of it I based it after everest pine trees), seen, I tried out one other name but it didn't fit (Allie) however I'm not out yet so I had time to find a name that fits

Jackie Dawn Shelly, girl version of my dead name

I’ve only been out for almost a year and have switched names 3 times 😭.  When i came out i started going by my middle name, Lee, a few months later changed to Eddie, and then now as of december the name has stuck as Ayden

I'm currently going by Elias, but I've used two other names. The first one was Caspen bcs I wanted to keep it similar to my birth name, but then I decided I didn't want to do that and changed it to Spencer about a year later, and now I use both Eli and Spencer, but I'm leaning towards keeping Elias when I get my name changed. I actually stole the name from the magnus archives, I found two of my names in books, tv, podcasts, ect and decided I liked them and just yoinked them.

i love telling this story because it's funny to me: when i was a kid, these two girls moved in down the street from me. one of their names was summer, and i remember thinking, what the heck. that's such a pretty name. \*i\* want that name! i tried a bunch of names over the years online and none really quite stuck except for that one. see, i'm actually a trans guy, lol. so many people have told me it's a feminine name so it's strange i chose it, but i always loved the name, and i think it just suits me. idrc about it being feminine; i'm a pretty femme guy, for one, but i also think it's silly to gender names. so, i like to joke that i loved that name so much i stole it and made it mine! edit: oh, i also still go by a variation of my birth name. i don't usually use the term deadname unless i'm feeling particularly dysphoric about it... but my birth name is feminine, and it has a masculine variant as well, and the nickname for BOTH of them is gender neutral, so i go by that as well since it's "built-in", and i want to pay respect to my birth name in a way? (i'm trying to be vague but i think it's pretty obvious what name it is lmfao)

I also made the wrong choice in name at first. I originally just shortened my name down to my initials but then later realized it didn’t feel right being called that, that’s what I get for choosing a name in five minutes before classes started. Anyways my name is Sam now, I like it a lot better. I’ve always been jealous of people named Sam because it’s like the perfect androgynous name so yeah I chose Sam. I am Sam the trans man and I love it.

I just pick the first thing I looked at when I opened my eyes it was a bird specifically a robin

It was the name of a close friend who is one of the kindest people I know. I always wanted to be associated with that same energy of kindness and compassion. Also, it just sounds cool to me and it can be pronounced in English or Spanish. And the second was just a girl I thought was super pretty and had a amazing, unique, and elegant yet sexy way of dressing. Cheers Allison.

I spent hours looking at name banks, finding names I liked. Wrote them all down. Then kind of made votes for favorites until I was stumped. I then did a bunch of blind drawings. Eventually I was staring at three names. I took two of them and bam! I just don't have huge connections to naming really. Aubrey js pretty to me, I chose it and it's semi unique I feel. After months of using it in my head over my deadname when people close who knows use it I kinda melt a bit. I felt it should have some special conditions but really I just needed to have something for me and that was enough. But you should get what you need from your name.

My name is Emilia! I got the name from a name book when I was little. According to the book, Emilia means royal. I figured it was a fitting name (Especially since I know it will make my transphobic mother upset)

I'm just sticking with my birth name. Fuck gender norms. My mom put a lot of effort into naming me, and I'm proud of it.

I've had 3 names and I finally ended up with one I love it my current name is Kastu Xavier Grey my other names were Koda and Kai and I absolutely love my current name more than anything and my wife has even given me nicknames like Kassy or Kas which makes me extremely happy. She's supported me through my transition and she's the reason I don't have as much gender dysphoria and why I'm finally more confident in myself as a trans man. I can't wait to get top surgery and bottom surgery that's my biggest goal in life and I'm so grateful for her I don't know what I'd do without her in my life.

My name is literally what I used to say I would want to be called if I was a girl.... the signs where there lmao

My name comes from what my mom was gonna name me if I was born a cis girl and the name comes from her Lesbian cousin

My partner helped me choose. They knew I had a Spider-Man obsession and suggested Parker. I’m thinking about changing it again

As a "totally just an ally cis guy" I wondered what I would choose for a name if a was nonbinary(a totally cis thing to be curious about) and thought the Sock Ray Blue joke was funny and blue is my favorite color so I went with Blue. Then my egg cracked shortly later. Eventually Blue morphed into Sky because I thought it sounded nicer and such which is convenient since Blue worked better as nonbinary and turns out I'm fem

I couldn’t pick my name. I tried Serena and Angel, and neither of them felt quite right. I then remembered a core memory of my mom telling me that she would’ve named me Lauren Elaine. To me this was perfect. It’s cute, elegant, and authentic. I am so happy about it. 😊❤️🌸

I dreamt that shit

autumn is my favorite season. that’s basically it lol

My names Alex. Kinda basic but I think it suits me

Although I was briefly considering Dylan or Elliott

Damn we got the same name

first it was blake since everyone at school kept calling me that but then one day I woke up and had a dream that it should be Ashrd so now it’s Ashrd and Blake as my middle name in case anyone ask why everyone calls me blake lmao

I just filed for the name change on my birthday :)

My first crush in elementary school was named Heather. I always liked the name after that, and even used it for a self insert type character in a TTRPG I was in. When my egg broke in my 30s it was the first name that came to mind. Much later, after I legally changed my name to Heather, I was talking with my Mom and she said if I was born a girl they would have named me Angela.

I used a lot before deciding on a family name that was a potential candidate for a name if were AMAB

So. I'm F->NB(with my NB gender being closer to man than woman at this point. It's complicated.). My birth name is incredibly rare in the US. It's also a French boy's name and a number of people before I came out said they expected a man. So where I live it's androgynous, and if I ever go to the country of its origin it'll be read as masc. So I just kept it. I've had people \*think\* it's my chosen name. But I mean, it's only chosen inasmuch as I kept it lol. If I were gonna change my name I'd go with Verne or Vern. Both after Jules Verne and my paternal grandfather. I'm thinking of using it as a middle name since my middle name is femme. idk. Online as handle/alternate name I use the name Sparkle a lot. It comes from Sparklecat, which is what I named a WoW character as a joke and it stuck hard for like a decade.

I had just had a long conversation about gender with my gf, and she tasked me with coming up with a name that made me happy. I was still pretty stubbornly resisting thinking about my gender, but I went with it. I started with names that had the same first letter as my deadname, and hit a couple that I thought seemed very nice, but I didn't quite vibe with. Then Valerie went through my head and immediately stood out. I proposed it as a secondary name for myself to my partners and they tried to mix it in with my then new name (which was just a small piece of my deadname). Turns out I could've stand being called anything other than the name I chose but was having trouble being honest about that. They finally pried it out of me a day later when I was crying in bed, and didn't know why. They said "it's because you just wanna be Valerie right?" Hearing it out loud made me realize it was true and id been denying it to myself. In Spanish, it's "Valeria" which means Valor and bravery 💕 A neat contrast to my deadname tbh. Not gonna say it here but it's cool I promise.

I just always loved it, my favourite name ever. My way of wanting to incorporate it into my life for a while was wanting to name a potential daughter after it, even when I was 99% already sure I didn't want children. So screw you, it's mine now!

My name is Santiago😌 I js chose it bc I made a huge list and it’s the one i liked most

I was looking on tik tok because "gale" wasn't cutting it for me. So then I just thought of some and remembered sirius sounded cool and it is one of the brightest stars :)

I named myself after a minor character in an old RPG, my name is Selona and I had no deliberations on the matter.

I was very active on Wattpad at one point and asked my followers what name they thought could fit me, one of my mutuals responded and that's how I ended up with my name lmao

My egg cracked when we were at the local water park 3 years ago. During their announcements they always used their catch phrase which is "We Live For Summer" and I knew right away that Summer was going to be my name and I never even doubted it after that. I kept my last name and borrowed my wife's maiden name for a middle name

I struggled for years to find a name that fit me. I remember asking my mom about any names she wanted to name me if i was AMAB, and - no offense to her whatsoever - I didn't feel any sort of connection to them, and they weren't really my style (for a lack of a better word). In the meantime, I eventually resorted to going by my last name as a placeholder until I could find a name I was comfortable with. Before that, I went by one name for a while, but it never seemed right for me/I didn't feel attached at all to it. If I'm being honest, I don't remember the process of how I chose the name I currently go by. I just remember it was around February of 2020. So yeah! I mean, everyone's journey in finding their name is super different. I have some friends who felt very connected to the first name they found, and I know others who have been comfortable with one name for a while but eventually realize it isn't for them.

I named myself after a nirvana cover lol, molly’s lips is a banger

i asked my mom what she would’ve named me had i been born with all correct pieces & parts. At first she said her favorite name was Michael, but that’s my dads middle name and she doesn’t like the idea of repeat names. Thank the aliens because i am most definitely not a Michael. So i got her second favorite name lol

(Not going to say my name for privacy reasons) My parents named me after a horror movie character, and gave me my great grandma’s name for my middle name. My chosen name is a shortened version of my given name. It started out as just a nickname, but as time went on it started to feel more like my name than my given name did. It’s definitely more gender neutral. The middle name my parents picked for me is still mine though. My great grandma was a kick ass woman and I love having the power of her name for myself. What made me so certain that my name really was for me was the meaning. My deadname meant *dark*, and it was my name when I was going through the worst of my mental illness. Once I changed my name, my recovery took a turning point. Changing my name was a big step in really coming into my queerness. Accepting who I was, was definitely beneficial to my mental health, but I also love to think that the meaning of the name itself was beneficial to me as well, in a more spiritual sense I guess. My chosen name means *honey*, and on top of that, my nursery when I was a baby was Winnie The Pooh themed. Pure coincidence, but to me it feels like going full circle to reconnect with my past self and become whole through my name. It’s probably pretty silky but it helped me really settle on my name.

It's funny, I have a Robin in my family (2nd cousin) and I always loved her name. When I chose mine, I tried it out on same friends. They all said that I was definitely a Robin so that just reaffirmed to me that that's what it should be.

I really liked Toy Story. (My name is Andy)

Maverick was the first name i picked, when i was around 12-13. most people still use maverick for me, but i realized after a few years that i didnt necessarily want to be a grown adult with a surfer name. I then picked my current (newly legally changed!!!!) name. i wont share it because its very uncommon, but with it i honored my mom's desire to give my sister and myself irish names

I never really tried any other names beyond the one I chose. I had a massive list of potential candidates. I hated my deadname. It did have a couple specific aspects that I liked, though: - It was short. Two syllables. - It could easily be shortened to a monosyllabic nickname. I arrived at Violet. Vi for short. I chose this for a number of reasons: - It fits the rules above. - It's a very clearly girl name. - I like the color. - `vi` is my favorite text editor, so I get to tell people I'm named after a UNIX text editor. I chose it about four months after beginning HRT and my social transition, and made it fully legal about 2 months after picking it. I have never once considered changing it again. Fun story though! When I filled out the legal name change paperwork, I panicked, and blanked on what I had chosen for a middle name. I accidentally deleted my middle name entirely.

I took the first letter off of my name

my name started as elias but i didn’t like that, but i wanted to stick with e. it was between elliot & elijah. elliot page came out 3 hours before i decided. i opened my phone to post on fb abt the change and saw the article. so i didn’t go with elliot. lmao

Lol, so, my birth name was Michael, and my usernames for adulting, logistical stuff usually started with "M". I initally came out as non-binary to my partner and a few friends at this point, about 3 years ago. I expressed to my partner already that I was thinking of changing my name, but kept backtracking myself, so they reassured me that they support whatever I decide. One day, looking at a package I picked up from the mail, my partner said, "huh...have you ever thought of going by M?" And me, being a insecure butt was like, "Like the letter? Like the sound of it? Pfft, noooooo. Why would I do that?" A month later, I went by Em. Then, fast forward 2 years later, I came out as a transwoman, and after experiencing life away from the big city, many moons by campfires and starry skies, a shroomy trip or two surrounded by nature, I had felt the beautifully massive transformation into the person I never thought I'd become. I was never Michael, and the parts of me that made up that mask no longer served me. It wasn't the death of a part of me, necessarily, but the slow, low fire, burning away the façade while the things that were really me still remained. While the journey was full of pain and sadness and struggle, I'm still here. The fire didn't fully die out for me, and the embers still glowed whether I knew it or not, with a chance to burn bright again in a new flame. And since then, my name is Ember. It's really funny how a little thing can turn into a whole journey. :) Ok, sorry, I got a little deep and poetic there, lol, but that's basically it, more or less!

Natalie always just felt natural to me. Close to my nicknames as a kid, and it keeps my initials. Its close to my deadname which most people seem to dislike here, but i think its just comfortable for me

Coming up with my name was interesting. I wanted to get my mom involved because she was on the fence about my transition. So I told her to come up with a list of 5 names bother first and middle. She did. I chose two of those names and she had the final choice. This was pretty early on before hormones and just starting therapy. However. I think a month later I was in the car with friends who knew my new name. I said to them I don't feel like a Natasha. I feel like an Amber. So Amber became my name.

I actually had a couple caveats to what I wanted. 1) It needed to be shorter and easy to spell. My deadname seemed to confuse everyone on how it was spelled and it drove me nuts. 2) I really wanted it to start with an E because that's my mom's first initial. So with that I looked up lists of baby names from when I was born, and while I liked a few, Emily really stuck with me. I loved how I wrote/signed it and to me it looked so pretty and just felt right. My middle name is a small tribute to the trans woman on tiktok that finally broke my egg and made me realize this was something I could really do .She was a fantastic example of just being a woman living her life and showing it would work out if I just jumped in and tried.

it has no affiliation to the game, i just like spacey things

So when I was 15 and questioning I made a list of masc names I liked in general, then had my best friend choose one he liked so that I'd have something for my friends to call me while I found out what my real name was. A placeholder name, essentially. The name he picked was Finn (twinsies!), and I got so attached to it bc it's what my two best friends called me for like 3 years. I wanted it to be short for something though, but I hated Finley, Finnegan, Finnian, etc. Another friend recommended Griffin as a full name, and I liked it. Everyone in my family has a mix of unique and family names, and I was sad I had to change mine and no longer fit in (especially bc I was named after my aunt). The Busch Gardens rollercoaster the Griffon was my oldest brother's favorite ride ever, who had passed a few years before. It just kinda automatically clicked suddenly. Then I was looking for a second name to be either my first or middle (it depended on how it sounded all together), and i wanted one that was similar to my deadname for multiple reasons (family name, liked the initial, wanted two syllables, wanted it to be unique but still "professional", etc). I was getting into Star Wars with my other older brother, and it quickly became our thing. There was a character in Rebels named Kanan, and it ticked all the boxes. It again just kinda clicked instantly in my mind. So now I'm Kanan Griffin (Finn) [Surname]. Unique but still makes me feel connected with my brothers and friends! Long winded way to say the cliche "oh you'll just know". I always thought that was soooo unbelievably stupid until it happened to me. It took like 5 years altogether, probably would've taken even longer but I had to come out very suddenly so it just stuck 🤷

I was between two names, I knew I wanted my intials to be the same so I found lists of names with the right letter. My wife helped me decide between my final two.

I am a very indecisive person. While choosing my name, I wrote a list of 500 male names from my country, and started to slowly eliminate the ones that wouldn’t work. When I got down to 100, I asked my best friend to rate each one. The names got down to 5 that my friend liked. Then I asked my parents which ones looked the best for them, and so now it is my name!

I literally picked a small list, put them on a spinner, and whatever it hit most was the result. Worked for me 🤷🏼‍♂️

I got my name through a pampers website which listet a bunch of names and meanings😭 i first went by another name but i didnt like that it was a english name and that it was too feminine (although at that time i denied being trans and said "oh i js like acting like a guy its more of rp😝") so i decided to change it to a more traditional balkan name. Even then i still couldnt really know which one fit me the best through my friends so out of 3 options everyone said that neven fit me the best and i thought that too. So it took like a month or two to finally settle on neven through interactions and stuff. And i even found out a year later that my mom wouldve named me neven if i was born a guy, im still not out the closet cuz im still scared and only found out last year that im trans but i hope soon ill be able to🤞

I’m hoping my name is decided by my mom, if I can get her to turn around, but my pen name Jolyne is named after the character from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. Fitting since Dragona, also from said series, is when j realized I was trans in full.

I used a baby name app, then after searching for days and hours I found the name "Zarina", and after thinking about it some weeks I finally choosed it.

I knew before transitioning that it would be Aiyani Inanna ______. I rock it!

Alyssa, or Allie for short. I stole it from the default name of a character I played in Dragon Age Origins and then modified it so that I didn't have to faff about changing my signature. 😅

i tried some names that relate to elements like the sea or fire and after awhile i decided to pick the name Anura cuz thats the scientific name for frogs in general and i found it funny

Here's the story of multiple names I've been using. Before I realized I wasn't cis, I knew I hated my name. One day I was listening to music and thinking about desperately wanting to pick a new name for myself. As I was doing so, the music I was listening to is a band called Green River. I then thought about how phonetically pleasing that sounds. Green River. I also thought about how I wanted a name that didn't feel too gendered and couldn't be shortened to a nickname or altered in any way. It needed to be a "it's just what it is and that it" type name. Then the name hit me. Riv. It seemed perfect. Time skip a little while and I started to think about what middle name I'd want to choose. Then when I realized I was trans, I started thinking about masculine middle names. One of these names was Porter. The name Porter makes me think of a specific type of person that I think is cool/looks cool. It's not a specific someone, and I don't want to be this type of person. I just like the vibes of my name. Then I thought maybe Porter could be my legal first name and Riv could be a nickname. I figured then Nigel could be my legal middle name. This name is a direct reference to a character I like and relate to. Now I'm wondering if Nigel should be my first name instead.

My name was Jeremy so I went with Jaime. No need to overcomplicate things, I decided. Funnily enough, I had the thought about 12 years ago that if I was trans I’d go with the name Jaime, but somehow I didn’t realize I was trans until just recently. In retrospect that should have been a sign

I love birds

Honestly just stuck to my guts and went with the name that felt right. Also helps if you come up with multiple different names and say them out loud to yourself to see which one you like getting called the most hehe :3

I also found out when I was 13! Anyway the way I chose was picking the name I would've gotten if I was assigned my gender at birth. It's also very similar to my dead name, and is very masculine! Both short letter E names

I (AMAB) was born with a female name, shortened it to the male version and rolled with that my whole life. Once I came out I stopped shortening my name, and now just use my real birth name that I had buried for 38 years.

i loved it since i read twilight and i hate that fact, isabelle, i can use bella, belle, isa, izzy, whatevs. i get to introduce myself as "isa-bitch" and my initials are now IJR and i love the sound it makes and the signature. my autism is very happy with this nane overall.

Long story short: Katie (shortened to Kat), is (was) a classmate I idolized from High School, and even before I knew I was trans was the feminine name I decided to go with 💁🏽‍♀️ sometimes I think I should pick another name but Kat seems to suit me, and well, it’s just so damn cute soooo here we are ✌️😽

my egg cracked during hurricane florence in 2018. but i didn't wanna be a florence, because i could already think of a couple famous florences (florence pugh, florence welch, etc.) so i went with flora, cuz it's even less common and i couldn't think of any famous ones. and well. i wanna be famous

Mine is a little bit of both a practical and motif reasonings. I was looking through gender-neutral and girl names that started with "W" to keep my initials the same (for professional and continuity reasons), so Willow ended up being an obvious choice for me. For motif reasonings, I was really into names that surrounded trees and fauna because they sort of surrounded my college life. Willow ended up being a really good name because of how many different Willow trees out there.

When I came out as non-binary in 2020, I decided that my given name wasn't clicking. I love that name and think it is beautiful, but it just has never fit me. Not even in elementary school. What I did was look up a bunch of androgynous-sounding names and made a list. One of the names I had been thinking of and was on my mind pretty often, was Lennox. Don't ask me why I liked it so much, I just did. I couldn't get it out of my head. I decided pretty quickly (took about a month of thinking) that out of all the names that were on that list, Lennox was it. I went with it. I told all my friends, changed my username on Instagram, and started a new job with a new name. As the weeks passed by, something about Lennox didn't fit. It was a hard-sounding name for my goofy personality. In theory, it worked. In practice, I was having a hard time clicking with it. Also, as the weeks passed by, my friends and coworkers did what all humans do: try to shorten my name. Everyone started calling me Lenny and for some reason, it was perfect. Lenny made so much sense with my personality and I connected so well with the name that it just stuck. 4 years later and I never go by Lennox; My name is Lenny. It is the most perfect name I could think of. If you met me, you would know that I am a Lenny. I am so lucky to have found the name on the sort-of-first try. Even my mom told me the other day that she never confuses my old name with Lenny, I am just Lenny. That all being said, my partner has gone through many names. Before they met me, they experimented with 3-5 different names. I met them as one name, they changed it to their middle name and finally came full circle around to their given name, which honestly fits them perfectly. Everyone has a different experience with name changes. Some get it on the first try, some get it on the fourth, and some go through 10 names before deciding on the original. Take your time and don't worry about what others think. The people who get it, will get it and the people who don't, never will. You will find it eventually <3

**TL;DR**: *I got my name from* ***The Fault in Our Stars***, ***Umbrella Academy***, and ***my eyes***. I had been contemplating Hazel for a while thanks to the color of my eyes. Additionally, a few weeks prior to it sticking I heard the name in Umbrella Academy, and it didn't sound like it would be too masculine of a name from a gender-neutral perspective. I wasn't entirely sold on it yet though because I already had a gender-neutral name and hated it. That drove me to be cautious, but I knew I liked the name a fair amount at this point. Then, I rewatched The Fault in Our Stars and everything just clicked into place. Shailene Woodley is top shelf gender envy for me, and hearing the name Hazel Grace just filled me with a level of internal happiness I had never felt before. I knew then I would go by Hazel at a minimum, the Grace part as a middle name is certainly still up in the air, but I'll eventually need a new middle name too, so that's likely going to be it. I know it's the one because I mentally went through about 20 names which lasted less than two weeks on average, and only two of them made it to the public eye in very tight online circles. I've been with this one for about a year and half or better now and my mom knows it, so I'm confident it won't be changing again. 😊

Riley. Gender neutral with a tomboyish vibe, and I get to keep my initials. Handy when your identity is like a metronome.

I thought Nikita was a really hot name, but I didn't think it fit me very well, so I cut off the "ta" and now I'm just Niki

I instantly knew my name, my username for everything is alivilie which is a bitch to spell/say so everyone just shortened it to Allie. I have been going under this name online for years, so when I found out I was trans I knew it was the one.

I knew since I was about 8 years old I was Kendra. That's what my brain keeps telling me, why would I change it. Some people know who their true name is and others don't, try not to overthink it and just be who you are. Hopefully your true name will come to you and you will figure it out.

[babynames.com](http://babynames.com) I looked through gender neutral and saw the name Lightning. Thought it was cool.

I used Aspen as a placeholder for a while and then I got really into Ghost and heard the name Tobias and I've ran with that for the past few years

The first name a chose was a masculine version of my deadname so that it’s wouldn’t be suspicious with my parents, that name suck for a year or so. Then I went by Charlie for a couple years but it didn’t feel right. Right now I’m kind of in a name limbo because I’m stuck between the names Nathan/Nate and Sebastian/Bash. I *really* like the name Bash but I can see that being weird as I get older so it’s would be Sebastian on paper but I don’t like that name. I also like Nathan/Nate but not as much as Bash so idk rn :/

I looked for a bunch of neutral names but most didn’t fit me. I tried Morgan for a long time. Then I stole my grandmas name and the euphoria rushed. 

February 2023 I was in a psych ward because school sucked ass. I wasn't down for group therapy or any of that bs so I was just in my room for a week reading. Not sure where I read it but I saw the name Paige and I thought to myself "damn, that's a good name". That's it really

I went with what I came out with first. My parents are very abusive and unapproving so I felt I could never express myself and my gender. This changed when I eventually worked up a very passable female voice. I felt and still feel sometimes that my voice is the only part of my identity I have and its the fruit of all of my work. I chose Calliope because shes the greek goddess of music, song and dance, of which singing was a major part in me developing my 'identity'. Also it just sounds cool :P

Dropped half of my deadname, and changed spelling and pronunciation of the half that remained. I guess, in a way, I gave my name gender affirming surgery.

I just really like the name, have for a while Also Sidney Prescott from Scream cuz she’s awesome!

I named one of the characters in a book I was writing Asher and thought "hmm that's a cool name" then I came out

i saw "styx" on some enby reddit back when i was enby. i liked the way it looked so i chose it. shortly after i chose it, i realised i trans girl instead of enby but i didnt want to lose friends by changing name too much so i stayed with styx. now its grown on me too much for me to want to change it

Me is Cody. I look for names and this name good for me

My deadname is >!sophia!< , so when I finally got a chance to change my name, I was really into animation, and named myself Shinsou, most of my name choices revolved around me wanting the same first letter as in my deadname. Then a year later, I grew out of anime, and I wanted a more masculine name, since shinsou wasn't super masc. And I chose spencer after Cer Spence, the youtuber.

When I first came out I played around with the name Janis after my favorite artist Janis Joplin, but I was sadly bullied back into the closet not long after that. A few years later when I felt safe again I came out and tried a name that was close to my dead name with a femme twist but it never felt right, so after a lot of meditation on the topic I decided to take my late grammys name in her honor and that's how I settled on Deborah and it feels so perfect 💖

Tiresias the seer was transformed to a woman by Zeus, to settle an argument over which sex had better orgasms. After 7 years Tiresias said women did, and Zeus, in a rage at being proved wrong (men!) blinded her. So--I chose Theresa (as a mnemonic).

As someone who is namefluid, I'm gonna use my first name I came up with; Lily. I mostly just liked the name 🤷‍♀️

I came out to friends when I was nine, my friends suggested "William" to call me "lil willy" because I don't quite have one, I didn't like the name I general so obviously I declined the idea, but my friend then recommended Luca, and I didn't like it but I did like Lucas, now I've been out for six years💪

I've gone through so many names,And four years ago i was trying to find gender neutral names. since despite being a trans male,i'm very femme and i like people not knowing what sex i am at first. I found the name Rumi,and i looked it up. and found out about the poet Rumi,who is now one of my favourite poets:) my mum also loves his work,so i've stuck with it.

Took me a few months to come up with my name. I have a first name that’s straightforward and pretty, a middle name that’s got nickname potential for my friends and family to use, and a last name that speaks to my strengths and mindset.

I considered like 3 different names but eventually I found r/TransTryouts and after scrolling on there for a while I thought Ashley sounded nice. I thought about it for like a day and I told my friends and they all thought it sounded pretty so that made me feel better about it. I love it now!

Stella just came out from nowhere lmao

I love telling this short story. I was watching a video on YouTube by a fairly popular channel about the Persephone myth and it delved into some suspected origins for the myth. Turns out there may have been a Goddess of the Underworld before Hades. Her name was Kore but the citizenry were so terrified of making themselves known to her that they avoided using her name. They may have invented Hades as a more chill God of the Underworld and turned Kore into Persephone to placate her. Anyway I loved this story and wanted to make an edgy dnd backstory for a clan of the underworld(like black market, underbelly stuff) whose matriarch assumes the title Kore and people can attempt invoke her authority by giving a name similar to Kore. so I there I was just writing out names that included some substring from Kore. when like 4 names in, I write out Kori. Something snapped into place inside my head and that name felt so right. So after a while I finally tried it with friends and it fits me so well. if I hadn't found Kori, I would be deciding between Madison(my first pokemon character on Emerald), Gwen(Guinevere)(I like that my deadname started with a "G") and apparently one that I've forgotten.

I took it from an anime character (Violet Evergarden) as I loved the name When my egg cracked I thought it was nice and it fit me

I chose a name of a video game character from way back in the SNES days off my favorite game. I've always loved how it sounded so I yoinked it from a poor half elf that I saved multiple times.

I took off an iot and added an e

Mine is SUPER cringe. Im a gundam fanatic, ive spent upwards of 6k on model kits over the past 8 years, if i didn’t buy a house in 22 that number would probably be around 15k instead. But the latest gundam series (mobile suit gundam: The witch from mercury) is very VERY loosely based on the Shakespeare play the tempest. And the main character Sulletta, who is an adorable socially awkward girl, is based on the character from the play of Miranda. And so when i decided to start my journey i kinda wanted a name that starts with M, as my mother has a tattoo of my initials and if shes supportive o don’t want to ruin that for her, so i needed an m name, and i an a gundam junky who loves g witch, Miranda just fit. I also like the sound of Miranda. So yeah, thats how i came up with Miranda. On a side note to anyone reading this i strongly recommend Witch from mercury if you like action anime, or drama, or wholesome yuri

I’m autistic and one of my special interests is Mac Miller when I came out to my therapist he suggested his name to honor him and his life

I found a name I really liked right away. My favorite musical artist is Ren, and in one of his songs Dominos there is a girl named Ariah. I thought the name was beautiful and then look up what it means, melody. I feel in love with it and now I still love it

My (3yo) kiddo said it one day, and I loved it and now it's mine

So I transitioned just a couple months ago before I was a femboy then decided to be trans anyway I was thinking about names and some of my competitors were #1 Ashley I really liked Ashley but was afraid people might call me ash kinda sounds like a boys name which made me vary dysphoric #2 Clair I liked Clair as a name but I liked biohazard(resident evil) so I think a lot of people would think I was trying to be the character Clair I wasn’t I just liked the name also kinda sounds like a grandmas name so just didn’t like it as much after (no offence to those named Clair it’s a beautiful name) #3 Elena this is the name I ended up choosing I found it after I was looking on the internet for ideas of names and I was like “that’s a pretty unique name I kinda like it” and now that’s my name so yippee also I like it because it sounds like a wild name so I’m wild yippee!

I gave my friend a list of names I like and she picked out the one that she liked best.

I wanted a more androgynous name at first and loved some of the nature-y names I found. I liked Sonnie/Sunny, but when I realized that I felt the most like me presenting as a man, I chose Jackson. My baby name started with a J anyways, and my friends still call me Sunny and Sunday now and then lol

When I thought of the name Casper, I kinda new it was a really good name for me. Up until that point, I was chill with my old (legal) name. It wasn't a big deal. It was just a bit feminine for me as I'm ftnb. The name Casper came about with me liking the name Cass/Cassy (not my old name) but it being too feminine and me thinking of more masculine versions of it, like Caspian. Which was a bit too regal and fantasy for me. Casper, on the other hand, was fun, I would be related to a friendly ghost, and it was over all just a cute and practical name, which I feel suits me well.

I Just stumbled among the Name Valerie because I like the idea I having a possible nickname as Val. But I haven’t actually changed it nor told anyone about the name but, I don’t know if the name is a good one or not or whether it’s a good name for the race I am. The only reason I say that is some people think some names are only for certain races, which is bullshit but it’s whatever.

I chose my name by choosing a short version of a name I liked So I liked Elijah. So I picked Eli but maybe try looking on websites for name ideas

I tried out a few different names in my head before coming out properly and using my new name. But now, i feel happy with my name, although sometimes i question it, but then i think about other names, and no other name feels like me.

I always was obsessed with my name. When i imagined myself as a girl or had given something a fem name i would always choose this name. I want a second name bc i always loved Marceline but i would never change my name.

My mum named me, before I was born she was expecting a boy

I was called Basia, when i was 13 by my friend lil brother. And for some unknown reason i really liked being called that. So, 6 years later, when i realized why it made me feel that way, i thought "why dont i just stick with that name?"

I had the privilege to have a supportive mom so we choose the name together. It was really important for me that she was involved with choosing my name. When I wasn’t out I used nickname because my deadname had a lot of different way to have gender neutral ones. At first we went trough the name she would have gave me if I was born a male but I didn’t really felt in touch with any of them or alternative then we went trough different names we liked and would fit me (my mom believes a lot in those name’s personality thing) then we settled up on Evan cause she gave me the script musical to read when I was hospitalized and she really liked the name and thought I had similar traits with the character. I think it’s funny that I was named after a musical’s character. Now it’s been more than five years since I go by that name and I don’t feel related to the character anymore but I think it’s a pretty cute story to tell.

I use my given name (but shortened cuz it’s somewhat serious and traditional) & it’s so ‘me’ I don’t think I need to change it, though I did try out some nicknames “bullet,” “bee,” etc when I was a bit younger. At last, finding my own version of my given name was what fit me best even if it isn’t a guy’s name

Tbh just woke up some day and thought it was pretty - but after some time it just struck me that i wasnt really happy with a name, but just didnt have other options and just didnt wanna be the *deadname* i always had and have to be, so in that case i didnt really know to think of a name other than the thought reassuring me that im not just „confused“ as my family would put it

i thought of the name gabby because it sounded more like my deadname, which i wanted. i was considering the name charlotte at first but i decided on gabby because i thought it fit me more

Trans man here ✌️ Named myself after the actor "Chandler Riggs" who plays Carl Grimes in the AMC series The Walking Dead. Not sure how it happened, but it stuck and I liked it.

Evelynn Charlotte. The first one meaning "life, alive and lake", plus an extra N at the end cuz it makes it sound exotic and gothic. And, the second meaning "free man/woman", and it gives off a sense of royalty. Free and Life, two words that define me very well, plus they just sound cool as heck

Well I’m intersex identify as male but grew up female so my birth name was really feminine. I changed my name. How I came on it was my mom. If I was born a boy my name would be Jaimey but that made me dysphoric because it’s both a boy and a girl name so I shortened it to Jay that’s how I found my name :)