How to pick a permanent name?

GOD I have the same problem. I've been going by one name for a while now, and before that another. Now someone told me my name sounded a bit pretentious so I'm considering changing it again! Ugh. Idk man, I think the best thing to do is to try out different names till you find something that stick. And maybe try not to make a big deal of it if you're not really comfortable with names.

 

Been there too.

Ask anyone here on EC and I've probably gone by about 5 different names at different times. I too have the tendency to switch to something new - including my name - once I get tired/bored/find something wrong with the last one. But that's okay, it's just a part of the process.

I think, when you find "the one" you'll know it. Here's a tip - when you're "trying on" a a new name imagine people calling you that name the rest of your life. All different sorts of people from family to strangers. Would it feel right?

In the end a name isn't everything. You as a person are what's unique and special, not the title you're called. Too, picking a name isn't an overnight process - but it is a process nonetheless.

Don't sweat it. You'll find it, and grow into it, when the time is right.

Cheers.

Christopher
Emmett
Peter
Grayson
Alec

 

Honestly... I had the same problem. What I did was I made a list of all the names I really liked, and thought through it. For me, I prayed, and felt that these two names worked best for me. I hope this helps you.

Emma Juliet

 

Several people have already made this point, but it's good advice; just try out each name you like until you find the one that sounds absolutely right for you. I must have run two dozen names through my head until one just clicked. You'll figure it out.

-The transguy now known as Matthias

 

It will take time it even takes time for cis people who dont like their birth name

Cara (f) or Darragh (m)
Ill find out later down the road

 

Honestly, sometimes you just need some time to adjust to it.

Think about it, cis people don't get to choose their names at all, but it just feels familiar to them because it's what they've been called all their lives. I used to be kind of iffy about 'Jack' and thought of changing it several times, but after a while it just felt natural since that's what everybody calls me.

 

I've given up on telling people my "name" at this point and just changing my skype name and stuff like that. Ash stuck with me though because I used that for a while but it doesn't fit with me too well.
My advice, like a lot of other people have said, just try names. Generate a Random Name - Fake Name Generator helped me with some ideas for some of the names that I've used over the past few months, and I'm still in the process of figuring out my own permanent name.
Hope this helps!

Ash, Becky, Kris, Kristina, Jessica, Helena, Merida

 

I have a gender neutral name.

Let's just say naming my characters in video games or report titles are a pain. Choosing a name is even more important.

Try a bunch. See what makes YOU happy.

 

I can NEVER settle on a name. Even when I was still presenting as female, I could never settle on a shortened version of my name for people to call me. If I could, I'd honestly just have people call me "Bean" and never tell anyone a "real" name.
Ugh.

 

If you have supportive parents at some point along the road of your transition, you can always ask them what they would have liked to name you if you had been born a boy. You don't have to go with a name they pick, but it can be interesting to know the name you might have grown up with.

I picked a name what was similar in origin and meaning to my birth name because my parents don't know I'm trans yet. I was named Kelley, which is an Irish gender-neutral (mostly female) name meaning "warrior" or "strife", so I wanted something that started with a "K", had an Irish origin, and a similar meaning. I settled with Kael (short for Kaellen), which is a gender-neutral (mostly male) name meaning "warrior" or "slender and fair". Conveniently, my best friend always called me "Kel" growing up, so "Kael" wasn't a difficult change.

My new name still feels weird to me sometimes, but that's because it's new and unfamiliar. I'm sure if I had grown up being called "Kael", it would be perfectly natural. I think it's just something I have to learn to accept, just like I learned to accept my birth name. Sometimes I think about changing my name to something less unusual, or maybe even something more cool (Kael sounds like kale... a kind of lettuce), but I like the reasons why I came to this name.

 

I wen't through several different names before I got to Mateo. After a few months I would get really bored of the name and revert to calling my self my nickname when i was in high school which was Tayo or Tay. When I fond the name Mateo bells started ringing cause it sounded like Tayo and it felt right.

But now i'm having second thoughts because I have family who I know are gonna have a hard time with the name change thing cause their creatures of habit so they have suggested me going by Josh cause its pretty much the name they have always called just with a different first letter. I hate my birth name and I hate anything that sounds like my birth name.