How did you get your name?

[Donna Joanne]

Mine isn't as complex as many. My birth name was Douglas John, Douglas because my grandmother liked the name and John after my mother's father who died when she was 6 months old. I always knew I wasn't a 'typical' boy, but didn't realize I was transgender until I was 14. We didn't have the benefit of the Internet back then, and the word transgender wasn't even in use. My first feminine name was Dominique, given to me by my french teacher in high school because there wasn't a french equivalent for Doug. I refer to Dominique as my 'stripper name' (no dispersions intended on anyone named Dominique).

But as I became older, Dominique just didn't fit. So I made-up a hybrid of my two names, Dominique and Douglas, and became DeeDee. Then five years ago when I finally made a long term plan to become me. And I decided on Donna Joanne.

The man who is listed on my birth certificate as my father (another story for another day) name was Donald. I would have hoped he would have been honored to have me named Donna after him if he were really my father.

The same with my middle name. Since John was my grandfather's name, I thought that Joanne would be to honor him.

So in a nutshell, I am named after two men that I never met, but have hoped that if I had a father and grandfather they would have loved me.

[Emma Beth]

That's a nice story, Donna.

I haven't changed my name yet.

But, when I do t will be Emma Janette.

At first I went with the Feminine of my birth name, which was James to Jamie.

After a while that didn't seem to fit. Then I liked and used Elizabeth, because I found out that was what I would have been named if I had been born a girl. But then again, after a while that didn't fit.

Then I thought hard and realized that my name had been with me all along. I realized that there was a Woman that had been in my life and influenced it more than I fully realized and that was my Grandmother. Her name as Emma.

Now don't ask me were I got Janette from.

I had been kicking around some ideas that sounded good and that was the one that stuck the most.

My Mom and my Aunt love my choice, and my Mom has even begun to use Emma. Even though I haven't legally changed my name yet.

[I Am Paula]

There's no cute story behind mine. Paul to Paula.
My middle name was Martin, but as I was filling out my name change, my lawyer said 'You're not really going to name yourself after the only woman on earth who has NEVER worn a dress' (Martina Navritalova). She then suggested Maria, my mothers middle name. Much better.

[Donnagirl]

I'm another Doug to Donna.... Wanted to keep initials the same and I really liked that name.

[GBJoker]

I was named after a goldfish. Seriously. Still debating a female name. Nothing's really hitting me right.

[KymberlyOct]

I think mine is a little interesting. Maybe not. LOL So in 2005 I went to a trans shop in suburban Chicago. bought a lot, had a makeover, spent weekend en femme. So they are entering my guy name in the computer as a new customer and ask if I would like to use a female name. So there was this woman that worked at the place I play poker. Absolutely gorgeous, but very tall and overweight but I used to look at her and think she's big but still gorgeous so why not me :-). So I said her name but spelled it with a 'Y'. hence Kymberly. Since then there are other female names I like better but the reason I stayed with Kymberly is that it just kind of happened. The same as when your parents name you - you just get stuck with it so that is why I have stayed with Kymberly.

[Mirya]

Back when my journey first started (when I thought I was a CD), I picked Mirya as my name. It's just a name I made up, but I later learned that it's actually a real name, and there are real women in the world with that name.

When I realized I'm a TS and started transitioning, I wanted a more common name to make things easier when introducing myself. At the same time, I wanted a name that none of my family, friends, or even acquaintances already have. As it turns out, nobody I know (or have known) has the name Emily.

When I did my legal name change, I took Emily as my first name and Mirya as my middle name. I like both names. :)

[tgirlamc]

Ashley was my father's middle name and my middle name at birth... I hated my first name and had used Ashley since right after high school so.. It still worked and I kept it....

I took my mother's middle name, Marie ...for my new middle name...I think she would have approved....

A:)

[grace7777]

When I started going out en femme, I decided to pick a name that had the same initial as my first name. When I change my name I will be Grace Naomi. Grace means goodness and generosity. Naomi is a Hebrew name meaning pleasantness. I like what the names mean and my initials will stay the same. Also, I have e-mail accounts involving my initials, so my new name will still reflect my initials in the email accounts. I have removed my first name from my e-mail accounts, but since I am not full time as a woman yet, I have not replaced it with Grace.

[Marcelle]

Hi Donna,

My name is a slight alteration of the gender spelling and changes to name. I was born Joseph Leslie Marcel (very Franco) I am now Marcelle Leslie Marie.

Cheers

Marcelle

[Starling]

When I joined this forum in 2009 I chose the name Lallie Singer because it seemed both feminine and eccentric, a fusion that appeals to me. But it's not a name for me to live with in real life. The first name I will adopt officially--and already use with my friends--is a gender-neutral diminutive of my born name, which many friends already called me as a nickname, before they really knew me. I'll use my born last name as well, and have been mulling over a new, female middle name. My actual middle name is also gender neutral, but it doesn't work with my first name.

I think it's interesting that so many women here wish to maintain a bit of continuity with their old selves. If I could go stealth, I might consider adopting a completely different name. It might be fun to start over with a bright and shiny new name.

:) Lallie

[BOBBI G.]

My screen name is Bobbi, but my legal name is E. Bobbi Gruetter. I wanted to have Erica, but there was so many dissensions in the extended family, I just changed it to E., still honoring her having been here on the Earth, and also my former middle name. Hence, E. Bobbi. The last name I kept.

Bobbi

[Brooklyn]

Ashley was my father's middle name and my middle name at birth...

Likely story... Our parents had great foresight, no?

[ClaudineD]

After my Aunt who was first to embrace who I was at 16.... great advocate I my early years and instrumental in educating my Mother to accept......helped with many a battle with relatives (I'd say 75% who fully accept to this day)......the magic moment as I have posted on prior occasions is when my Aunt asked me to doll myself up as best I could and took me to NYC for extreme clothes shopping.......it is a memory that will never fade

[tgirlamc]

Likely story... Our parents had great foresight, no?

They did indeed!!! ... When I was existing in male form I was often caught off guard in stores hearing people exclaim "Ashley!"... Thinking someone I knew recognized me and then looking up and realizing they were talking to their daughter...

Onward We Go!!!

Ashley Marie :)

[Tommie.]

This thread is so personal and so sweet. Donna just know they did love you... All of us are tied together by design sweetie. My name was Thomas James and now Tommie Julianne. My mothers middle name was Ann. Thank you for sharing and leading us all to think about this.

[Eringirl]

Straight forward for me. Took Erin 18 years ago. In some cultures, it means Peace. That works for me, as I am at peace with who I am. I know it is also Gaelic for Ireland, but that has nothing to do with me or my heritage. Middle name Leeann, is what my parents would have named me if I was born physically a girl. Who am I to deny them that!!! Ha ha.

[Nigella]

Mine is just a feminisation of "his" name, made things a lot easier and no-one had to get used to a brand new name, just a few extra letters to add. His middle name was in honour of a friend of the family at the time, but I decided I didn't want to feminise "Henry" so just dropped the middle name.

[NewBrendaLee]

I choose the name that my mom wanted to name me had I been born a girl

[Suzanne F]

I just knew that was what it was supposed to be. My old name was given to me at 6 months when I was adopted. It always felt like a made up name. I picked Nicole because I felt it went with Suzanne and again it fits me. I kept my same last name
Suzanne

[Valerie Sparks]

My male first name is Richard and I was named after my mother's brother who died at 17 from congenital heart issues. Now he went by Dick which is what I've been called my whole life. However, that is a singularly inappropriate name for a person on the transgender spectrum.

But my last name starts with V and sounds a bit like Valerie. So when I went searching for a femme name I switched my first and last names and then did a riff on them to come up with Valerie Dix. However, that didn't sit that well with me. But since my mom recognize my proclivities early in life I decided to use her maiden name as my "maiden" name. Hence Valerie Sparks.

Should fate allow that I ever truly transition, I may use Dee as my first name and keep my given surname. Everyone in the US with my last name is a descendant of my grandfather so I would like to keep that.

[Georgette_USA]

I just feminized my 1st/mid name and kept last name. Went from George Paul Cornio to Georgette Paula Cornio.

When I came out to my mother/family, my mother would sing that old song "Georgy Girl", lyrics kind of fit at times. Will sing it for Karaoke sometimes, with a thank you to my mother, died in SEP 2013, she was my only female role model. Was always known by family as Georgy, and some still use that. I never use it, and correct others when they try to.

Never bothered with my confirmation name Robert. It has come in handy, as when relatives that I didn't even know would Google Cornio, they would find me. Plus it is uncommon so people remember me as few others around. Have never met any others yet. Not many references in the on-line word for old name, because I changed it back in 1976.

I have heard from some Georgia / Georgina. I tried out other names but none felt right.
A character on the old "Mary Tyler Moore" show had a Georgette played by Georgia Engel.

[CarlaWestin]

Carla is just a fem of Charles. Easy enough.

But, when I was in my early teens, a new girl moved into the big house behind ours. She was about 15 and well endowed. Her parents were world travelers and she was just intoxicatingly exotic and progressive. Once, she opened her terry cloth bathrobe and asked me what I thought. At her young age and fortunate endowment, she was the perfect image of a voluptuous young woman. We were friends and she just wanted to show off. I will never forget how breathtakingly sexy and feminine she was. They moved away shortly after.

Her last name was Westin.

[PretzelGirl]

When I finally decided to log in here, instead of lurking, I went to the login and Sue flowed right away (it was actually Sue_CD for a while). Somewhere in my mind it felt it had been there all along. When it was coming time to transition, I just naturally came up with Ann for a middle name and may be because my middle name was Andrew, who knows, but it also flowed out. I started wincing a little as Sue Ann sounded a little more country than I was looking for. When I came out to my oldest sister, she told me that if I was born a girl, I was suppose to be Susan. I don't consciously remember that, but maybe I was told many years back. So I switched to Susan Ann and kept being called Sue. Interestingly, my father's name was Shirley.

[Rianna Humble]

I was walking home around midnight one night and wondering what my name would be. Selfishly, I did want to continue using my monogrammed luggage, so I was wondering what my name was. Suddenly a thought occurred: "My name is Rianna Humble", so I came home and googled it and at the time it seemed to be unique. I have since discovered another Rianna Humble who is less than half my age and lives on the other side of the Atlantic to me.

Later, I needed a middle name and I asked a couple of friends to help me choose. Thus I became Rianna Joyce Humble.

[Donna Joanne]

And knowing you the way I do I can't imagine any other name for you than Sue!

[Starling]

...Interestingly, my father's name was Shirley.

Trans life would be a whole lot easier if we all had given names like Shirley, Ashley, Lee, Chris, Robin, Joyce, Dana, Taylor, Pat, Sean or Frankie.

:) Lallie

[kristyk]

A true friend in grade school and high school had the first name of Kristy. When it came time to name my feminine side I went with the name associated with a beautiful person I knew growing up... Kristy.

[MarieTS]

The very short version is that I had always wanted the name Mary, but I came to believe that Marie is an even cuter French version of it.

[Kris Avery]

Well, see...after the whole Jenner thing......

Seriously, I am still Wendy internally in my mind but I'm also very much a realist.
I knew that name would never work in my blended life - trying to do what I'm doing...
If I insisted on it - I'd never be able to change it without losing everything. (Immediately)

Meanwhile - once I had been on injections for almost 2 years, things started to get VERY uncomfortable when I whipped out the male ID containing a very male name. Security, isle 3. Some woman has this guys wallet.

One day my lovely wife and I were talking about my plight and we decided to look for an androgynous name that also wouldn't change my present initials - since our full initials match. Kris immediately came to mind. It was only after further reflection we realized we were now a couple called Kim and Kris. (Bang head). No, the last name is *not* Jenner.

The middle name is a bit more interesting.
While my wife and I *also* had a middle name all picked out.... I also wanted to involve my supportive adoptive parents to honor them - so I asked them for a new middle name beginning with an "A". They REALLY got into it and after 2 weeks of waiting - I told them I would take whatever they came up with as I was going to an attorney in the next few days. (Gulp).

Mom rattled off 4-5 names and then said she had a favorite. (Avery was not listed in her rundown - so hopes were not high). We held our breath on the phone line. She said she and dad really loved 'Avery' and Kim and I screamed. Mom and dad also obviously got excited..I quickly explained that we immediately knew it was meant to be - as that was the name we had come up with - but wouldn't reveal to them before they decided. Woah...

I never felt the need to update the last name.

I remain happily married to my best friend and our full set of initials.....still match.

Kris

[whowhatwhen]

I stole mine.
I thought the one I picked was meant for me if I was born a girl, but as it turns out it was for if my brother was born a girl.
They didn't have a name for me until after I was born.

So.. by the time I realized I stole the name I had already been using it for several months.
Welp :P

[Tommie.]

This has been such a wonderful thread with amazing stories just like Kris'.... words 'like flowed' and 'feelings of felt right' to me proves the reality of the true soul emerging from the cocoon we lived in... this is all a really big deal and thank you all for sharing... i have benefited from you all... huggs... tommie

[Jmichelle60]

I don't know how many times in my life the Michael was pronounced Michelle.

[Amelie]

I was dumpster diving with a friend when a brick that was tossed at us hit me in the head. The ambulance guys arrived as I was coming to and one of the guys asked me what was my name. I was a bit dazed and looked to the left of me and there was an empty video box of the movie Amelie. So I told him Amelie and it's been my name since. But that was really my second choice, my first choice was Brick.

[misschris]

my name is Chris so it was easy, missChris

[Starling]

...my first choice was Brick.

Heh-heh.

:) Lallie

[Leanne2]

Wow Claudine! You were so lucky to have an aunt like that....................Leanne

[karenpayneoregon]

I was born Kevin Sean Gallagher, in my early childhood decided on Karen as it sounded like a good fit so Karen stuck with me for 50 years. Prior to gender reassignment surgery I decided to change my last name. Several weeks went by but no decision was made.

I then told my students (who know of my transition) that I was changing my last name but was undecided. One student made a suggestion, the others nodded their heads in agreement. The suggestion was Payne. History, I teach defensive tactics and when showing techniques will invoke pain to show the method works so Payne is equal to pain laugh out loud.

I decided to forgo a middle name, did not see any reason for one.

Photo is pre-surgery

[AmyGaleRT]

My full name, as a woman, is "Amy Gale Ruth Tapie."

"Amy Gale" were the names my mother would have given me if I'd been born a girl. (Originally I used "Jaymie," a variant of my middle name, but, when I found out that fact from my mother, I became "Amy" then and forevermore. As her eldest, I have the best claim on the name; my other brothers acknowledge this.)

"Tapie" was my maternal grandmother's maiden name. However, if and when I legally change my name, I will drop "Tapie" and revert to my original last name. This will represent the final union of the two halves of my soul into a new, better person.

"Ruth" comes from the name of the original mesh avatar in Second Life, which is appropriate as SL turned out to have been very important to finding my feminine self. (There was a glitch for a long time where, when you teleported, sometimes your avatar shape wouldn't "catch up" with you right away, and you would have Ruth's shape for a short time. We called it "getting Ruthed." That glitch has long since been worked around, but Ruth's shape is still available in the system.)

- Amy

[Frances]

I picked a name that was not close to my original name. (My forum name is actually closer to my original than my current legal name.) I did not to use the feminine form of my original name, because I knew that people who knew me before would make a mistake while saying it. I also wanted a name that was bilingual (I'm French Canadian) and that did not have a cedilla (ç). Accents are confusing to people whose language does not have any. I did not want a name that was too exotic, too young or too old. Plus, it had to sound good with my last name.

[Peggie Lee]

Peggie Lee was the name my mother had chosen if I was born a girl.

[Heidi Stevens]

My given male name was Steven Merle. Since there are a boatload of Stephanies out there, I decided to use my favorite choice to name a daughter if we had one, Heidi. It also sounds a lot like the family surname. That lead me to my last name, Stevens. I thought my first name makes a good last name. So reversing my male name got me Heidi Stevens. It was after I started using it I discovered a Chicago newspaper reporter had the same name!
I don't know what I will use should I get it legally changed. I'll probably go with Stephanie Ann ****, but still call myself Heidi. The name is just part of me now!

[CDJoyce]

I just knew that Joyce was the right name for me. It came in an instant when dressed one day as a teenager. I'm Joyce!

[Miss Daisy]

Daisy is a feminine given name, commonly thought to be derived from the name of the flower. The flower name comes from the Old English word dægeseage, meaning "day's eye".[1] The name Daisy is therefore ultimately derived from this source. Daisy is also a nickname for Margaret, used because Marguerite, the French version of that name, is also a French name for the oxeye daisy.[2] It came into popular use in the late Victorian era along with other flower names. Authors Linda Rosenkrantz and Pamela Redmond Satran wrote in their 2007 book Baby Name Bible that Daisy has a "fresh, wholesome, and energetic" image.[2] The name has been used for literary characters such as Daisy Miller, the title character of the novella by Henry James, and for television characters such as Daisy Duke on The Dukes of Hazzard. Very short, form-fitting, denim cut-off jeans shorts are named Daisy Dukes after this character.

Daisy was the 166th most popular name for girls born in the United States in 2011. It was in steady use for American girls throughout the 20th century and was ranked among the top 200 names for girls between 1900 and 1940. It declined in popularity between 1960 and 1980, but has been climbing in popularity since the 1980s. It was the 294th most common name for all females during the 1990 United States census. Daisy was the 17th most popular name for girls born in England and Wales in 2010 and the 44th most popular name for girls born in Scotland in 2010.[3] It was among the top five names given to girls born in Guernsey in 2010.
Miss Daisy xx

[Christina Kay]

Given male name . The first pope ( or the greeter at the pearly gates) and I shared that name. Always liked the name Christina, remember first hearing it in 2nd or 3rd grade. And was fascinated with it. So I'm Christina K. K 1st initial of my last name hence Kay.

[Sarah V]

Friend of the family at church. It sounded modern and independent, and actually as it turns out it is old and biblical. But it works.

[Contessa]

Sorry haven't been around for abit, but have checked every now and then. So this is a good thread to reapply my words. My name comes from a 1969 TV show and is actually a title. The protectors had a character called Caroline De Contini. But her title was The Contessa. the widow of the count or the countess. Never having a daughter to have the name It was suggested by my soon to be ex to take or call me Contessa. I can Now view myself as my Mother and my Father and my daughter. I am also the woman that took my wife's husband from her.

[Charlotte1971]

I took my name from one of my favorite childhood shows. I always liked the sound of it.