There are threads on this, but I'm looking for some advice. While I'm nowhere near getting close to the name change process, I was wondering how some of you went about choosing your name, especially if you changed your last name. Due to some life issues, I'm thinking about also changing my last name but I'm not sure to what right now. I was thinking about doing what I did before with choosing the rest of my name and let it be a tribute to an actor, character or director, but again I don't know. Browning (tribute to the director Tod Browning) has been a consideration [So that would be Alexander Jerick Browning]. Uhm, any advice or tips would be helpful. *Due to personal issues, I will not be taking the name of any relatives; it won't be happening.
What I did was find a baby names website and searched for girls names only. I then went through and ranked each name from 1 to 5 on how much I liked the name. Once I went through the list a few times to make sure I was positive of my rankings, I eliminated everything except the ones that scored 4's and 5's. From there I found 3 names out of that group that I really liked. Then I presented those 3 to some people I was close to and got their thoughts. My top 3 choices were Vanessa, Katrina, and Rita. Everyone said I looked the most like a Vanessa, so I went with it. I would have been just as happy with any of the other 2 names though. For the middle name I used my Native American name Sinopaa, which means "little fox" in Lakota. So I went from having a crappy guy name that I had no connection with to one that I really liked.
My first name (Byron) came naturally. It was probably a day after I'd started questioning and realizing I was trans* and since I actually kept a list of boy's names for myself (and had for years) Byron was my first choice. A close second was Brian. So I'd think the best thing is to find a name (last or first) that either fits you or is a tribute to something personal. My surname (I'll be taking my current legal lastname if all goes well but if not, I'll change it to this, which doubles as my penname) I took from one of my favorite Animation directors. Since it was average sounding enough to not sound like an obvious penname, it worked out. Another thing- could look for name meanings or whatever sounds best with your first name, etc.
I wanted to be Simon, but my parents hated it. I decided on Isaac recently, naming myself after Isaac Newton, one of my favourite scientists. It's nice to feel a little connection to your name, something most cisgender people won't ever get to know. I guess there is an advantage to being trans*...
A lot seem to take their original name and tweak it. It's a known fact that people like hearing their own name so maybe it help's for individuals to associate themselves with their new name. I'm lucky my name is unisex, but it doesn't always read as male/female so I'm debating on alternate spelling or a middle name to go by. Examples: Joe - Joanne Bob - Bertha Kyle - Colette
I picked a first name that had the same first two letters as my old name and the same number of syllables. It's also a unisex name. I think it helped my friends and family to change the way they addressed me. I kept my last name and picked a simple middle name that did not take attention away from my first name.
Personally, I'm not changing my name, but that's because I was one of the lucky ones who was born with a unisex name. However, I like Alexander Jerick. That's a really cool name. I've never heard the name Jerick before. I also like the name Jaron. I'm a big fan of baby name sites (as cheesy as that may sound) because they're really helpful. On some of them, you can search by meaning.
I was going to wait on the last name in the event my boyfriend/partner and I change our names together, but I might just do it now so I can get the burden off my back. He told me he might take his mother's maiden name, but I don't know if that's still going to fly or we're going to be totally original here. And from where it stands right now, I might just stick with Browning as a pen name for the time being. Oh and thanks! It does sound pretty cool, and it's awesome that it's all just one big tribute to some heroes/idols. Oh, and I just noticed if I do go with Browning legally; my name is almost one big tribute to Alex Browning from Final Destination. Awesome.
