To whomever this applies to, how long after you came out to yourself did you start going by your chosen name? How long did it take for people to catch on? And how did you chose a name?
Around a month. My birth name is ridiculously feminine so it made me want to punch a puppy every time I heard it. I hated the "male" version of my birth name but I wanted to choose one which started with the same letter, so I literally just pulled up a list of boy names on the internet and mulled over it for a while with my best friend. It was a toss up between Julian, Justin, Jake, and Jack, and it's obvious which one I chose :icon_wink I was actually anxious about using my chosen name and only started to use it in public a week after I chose it. As for how people caught on, I explained my chosen name to them once, and made a point to ignore them when they tried to call me by my birth name. It didn't take people long at all to start using my chosen name, since my birth name solicited as much of a response from me as from a rock.
I was in a sort of limbo for a little while after I came out to myself, but once I had gotten over the initial shock (and mild depression-meh) I started calling myself my chosen name, and eventually told all of the people whom I hang out with to call me as such. Since I still go to school, I don't yet have the option of being known only by my chosen name, but whenever a new instructor comes along I just make sure they get the note. So, in a way, nobody really "caught on", I just let people know The way I chose my name was pretty much just juggling around with names I considered, and once I had found what I thought was a pretty good one I switched some letters around to better personalize it. My chosen name has the same number of letters and starts with the same letter as my legal name, but that was honestly a coincidence (not to mention I just genuinely like five-letter names). A good way to find names or name bases you like is to go onto on of those "baby names" sites and browse around and compile a list of the names you like, then chose out of your list. Keep narrowing down if you have to. What it really comes down to, with choosing a name, is to find something that feels natural and that you like a lot when it's applied to yourself.
I was going by my chosen name immediately after coming to terms online first, so that was almost five years ago. I didn't formally come out about it until last April or so, around that time maybe. I think. It's been too long.
I've been out to myself and my brothers for few months now. But I can't go by Natalie yet. It would just be wierd and confusing if it's just between us. Especially since one of my brother lives with someone who doesn't know yet.