Hi Angela & welcome to TW!!
You should post in the new members forum to let the girls know your here & meet you.
I'm sure you'll injoy it here it's fun & very supportive.

As Minako said, this one gets re-circulated every once in awhile, but it's still a great topic and one that always seem to draw people in. I chose my name, as Wendy did, when I first started becoming involved with groups like TW and needed a name for myself. I chose Joni as my first name because it belonged to very beautiful g-girl whom I admired. She pronounced it as though it were spelled "Johnny", but I don't, I pronounce it with a long "o". However that may give you a clue to my real first name. I chose Marie because it contains all the letters of my surname with a few of them left out, besides I've always liked the name, and I chose Cruz as my last name because it means "cross" in Spanish and reflects my heritage. Ta-da!

I've thought recently of changing my name to something that sounds less like a dimunitive but so many people know me by that name, both in "real life", so to speak, and online in various groups and websites, that in some ways it has become more than an assumed name and seems more like my real actual name. Even if I'm in drab mode, if I hear the name Joni spoken aloud, I will turn around to see who's addressing me.<lol>

And Kelly, if you don't mind my asking, what's wrong with the name you're curently using? Not that you can't change it if you want, of course. But Kelly, as a girl's first name, while somewhat unusual is not unheard of nor so out of the ordinary that it would be a problem. At least that's how it seems to me. Besides, I think it's cute.

Hugs...Joni Marie

I tried another name while I was not in-public but was thinking it didn't fit me and my age and then one day Rose popped in my head and it juts seemed that mysterious 'right' we mention.

Hi Alexandra,

If I'd done it your way, I'd be Alanna Jamie. Just doesn't have the right ring to my ears....

Best,
Melody

My name came naturally. I always hated my male name but when my sister suggested the female version 'Rae' I instantly loved it. With the added bonus people could still call me 'Ray' regardless - though I swear it sounds slightly different...
My surname was just as straightforward. I wanted to link into my family name on the maternal side. Our Scottish name is 'Kelso' and 'Kelcou' is an early French variation - or even mispelling!
As for my middle name, that came through homage to my favourite character from my favourite author. 'Rune' has featured in three Jeffrey Deaver novels.
So, Miss Rae Rune Kelcou was born...

I'm really not sure why I picked my first name; probably nothing more profound than I simply liked the sound of it.

After many years where I didn't have a specific name I chose the name of an old girlfriend, because she was very feminine, and I think the pictures of Alice in Wonderland are the kind of girlie girl I want to be.

I chose the surname of Miles because being Alice is miles better than not being Alice (and it is an anagram of SMILE). (Its also an anagram of limes and slime but we wont go into that). 

I think having a name is important, because it helps you to identify with your persona. I dont think choosing an exotic name makes any differnece though. You can be as girlie with a modern name like Caitlin or Tamsin as you can with Joan or Alice.

I started off as 'Tina' and then lengthened it to 'Christina'. When my wife found out and I told her 'all about it' last year including the name I used, she said she would prefer I used a different name.... so over the next few days we thought of names.

 

 

 

My only requirement was that it should be a name that can be shortened, ie Jennifer/Jenny or Deborah/Debbie. She liked Stephanie/Steph which I wasn't really fussed on and I came up with Penelope/Penny which we both liked! I think it suits me.

 

 

 

I chose 'Diamond' for two reasons. One was that my wife was a 'diamond' or 'star' for accepting my dressing, but also I wanted a surname to do with my birthstone. That didn't work out though as my birthstone is Aquamarine .... and Penelope Aquamarina sounded too 'Thunderbirds'!!

This post was edited by Former Member at June 3, 2011 9:50 AM BST

The short version of my first name is pretty androgynous, so I can usually just go with that. Otherwise I just go by my nickname I've had since I was about 2 which ironically is "T". When I feel like having a little extra fun though I like to go by Porsche (after the car). My full lady name that I've coined is Chris T Porsche.

For me it was more or less the same as for many others. I tried to use Erica because it was close to my male name but it didn't feel right. I thought of trying to find a name that started with a D in order to keep my initials the same; I didn't like any of them. I then talked to my mom when I told her who I realy was. During the conversation I asked her what the girls name was she had picked out for me. I was born in the seventies and aparently they weren't sure about the ultra-sound results back then. She told me it was Megan. It sounds very right and felt right. When I told my wife she agreed it sounded perfect.

I have decided to keep my sur name. Even though I have issues wih my father I still have a strong connection to the rest of my family so I don't feel a need to change it.

My middle name is Lane which can go either way so I've decided to keep that as well. Plus it honors a family tradition of keeping the same initial for the middle name as one of the parents.

Kelly as far as passing I do feel that having a name picked out helps. However as mentioned before in this thread it's not the only thing. I have done a lot of acting and other work with theatre and I have came to the conclusion that passing as something in common with being a great actor/actress. As a dear friend of mine who is a director and teacher is fond of saying:

     You must own the role you are playing. Make the words and actions your own and a part of you. If you don't become the character then the audiance will never believe you.

Now for many of us that is not a problem because we are truly woman on the inside and the male persona was the character. So Kelly I think the main thing that you need to pass is confidence in yourself.  

Hi,

Well I was lucky, Shirley is my given middle name.   So for me it was easy and I have grown to ove it.

Shirley

I chose the name Samantha (I'm Sammi for short) just because I liked the name.

I didn't go with the feminised version of my male name as that's my mum's name and I thought that would unduly upset her.

Just last year I found out that if I had been born female I would have been given that name!

Talk about co-incidence!

 

 

 

 

This post was edited by Sammi Gray at August 26, 2011 1:29 PM BST

I think if you are a TS, having a name commensurate with your age is important, I mean like, if you're over 50 it is a bit of a give away if you choose an ultra modern name.  Probably not so important if you are TV/CD and don't intend making any sort of transition.

My name is rather an emotional one for me (and my mum) as I chose Carol - firstly because it fits the above criteria

secondly because I like it (and had always liked it)

and finally (and maybe subconciously the most important) was my mother's first born child was a baby girl who, very sadly, was still born - but my mum intended to call her Carol.  So it was in honour of my big sister who I never had the fortune to meet.

This post was edited by Former Member at January 9, 2012 10:21 AM GMT

The name I chose is actually my "guy" name spelled phoenetically ... as it would be pronounced in certain parts of Northern Scotland.

 Aye, and where's me Troosers!

for me, picking my femme name came from my manicurist. she was so sweet and made me feel at ease when i had my nails done. her name was simone and I picked her name for me when im en femme.

Once when I was still a child, I had a moment of clarity where I realized I should have been born a girl. How I made my choice is beyond me. I just knew my name was supposed to be Karen Lyn and I've never wavered from that.

By asking my lovely Mum what she would have called me if I'd been a real girl.

I tried asking my mother but she'd never picked a girls name. I'm not sure I would have changed my name at that point anyway.

I have no idea why I picked Carla, I like the way it sounds tho. My last name is really similar to my given middle name.

I must be one of a very few crossdressers who do not feel the need to have a female name.

People ask me, 'so what do you call yourself when you're dressed up?' I say, nothing. It never enters my head!

when i was young i rad theMabinogion (welsh mythology). i liked the name rhiannon. when i started dressing, i shortened it to rhiann.

I chose Emma because MA are the first two letters of my male name - well it kind of works :-) Middle name Louise because I've always liked the name and knew a Louise who was hot and had great dress sense.

Sara Lynn Baker said:
I to got my name from my mother .....she nad a list of names she was going to call me if i was to be born male of female .... i don't think she expected to use them both.. oh well
My middle name came from Beverly out of love and respect for her.

But no matter how you get your name as long as it feels right it is good for you

Sara, that's exactly what happened to me, she told me what she would have named me had I been born in the tirght body, and my middle name is her middle name.  I chose 'West' but she recently told me that if she had married the guy that asked her first, our last name would have been 'West'!!

for me it was real easy. I asked my mom if she had a girl what would she call it ,she said Michelle,Rose, , so that was that .

my first name came about 27 years ago as i was reading a book called "clan of the cave bear@ by Jean M Auel. the main character is called Ayla, which i thought was a very beautiful name.  my email is in the name of ayla, and ive used it ever since, and always will ( im a sentimental girl hehe) .

bear in mind my name was never an issue, as no one else ever knew about her, until about a year ago.

 

now i have a few friends who know about her, but only one of them has met her. hes an awsum guy, ver yopen minded and supportive, we've been away a few times and ive gone totally as her....

 

any way, the topic came up very shortly after i told him, about names, and i explained how it had not been something id thought about much as i have never told any one. Straight away he told me i was definately a stephenie, and it was like something clicked, because i felt very at ease with it. so to the people who know me now, i am Stephie. i hope one day, Kate will get to meet the real me, but cant push it on her, when shes ready, but in knowing the other me, she does say that Stephenie does suit me, and my character, and personallity.

Simiana is Simian with an A on the end. I'm obsessed with monkeys and apes, so when I was thinking about names, I went through various related ideas. Nothing seemed quite right until I thought I'd try Simiana. As it turns out, it is a real name, usually a surname with origins in Italy but it has also been used as a first name, mostly in South American countries. I still haven't fully committed to it as a name, but I do like it. I had considered finding a name that reflected my ethnic heritage (German, Lithuanian, Irish and Scottish), but I never quite found a name that suited me. I will probably keep my real surname (which isn't "Transgender", I only put that because I'm not out of the closet to everyone yet and was worried that someone might "find" me lol).

Devi Anne Strigoica
The word "devi", long long before Hindus worshipped a diety named Devi was an ancient Sanskrit word that literally meant "female diety". Later through the spred of the Catholic Church and the evolution of the English language, devi the word was transformed into words like deviant, deviate, and devil. Plus, my male name was David, so pretty close still.
Anne, I'm a big Anne Rice fan, plus my male middle name was Aaron.
Strigoica. Strigoi is an ancient Romanian word that is roughly translated to what we would know today as vampires (could also mean ghoul, ghost, monster or other undead thing). Adding CA to the end is the feminine way to say it in Romanian.
Devi - Anne - S.
Deviance.
This path is all about deviance. My full female name is short for deviance, it's my private little inside joke to the world.
Also, I was inspired to use the name Devi because I'm a big fan of Jhonen Vasquez and one of the characters in his comics is named Devi (if you know of anything by Jhonen Vasquez or anything by SLG, I swear, the purple hair and pigtails are a total coincidence lol )

Ps, "Devi Disaster" is sort of a stage name I guess you would say. It's a tattoo and hot rod and biker culture thing inspired by people like Dani Divine, Megan Massacre, Kitty Katastrophe, Candi Chaos and a few others I can't remember right now.


^_^

~Devi

My dear ol' mom was convinced she was having a daughter--and she did, just not the way she expected!--and named me Katie when I was in the womb and decorated my nursery in pink. It's weird. She got pregnant later in life (unfortunately lost the baby) and knew instantly she was pregnant. She has a spooky sixth sense about this. 

 

Anyhoo, despite the fact the she "knew" she was having a daughter whom she named Katie (because she liked the name) with the middle name Anne (after my aunt), out I popped with little boy tackle. 

 

I know for a lot of us, choosing our name is very important. Most of us don't like our given names. It's like buying a car or a new outfit--you want to pick something to reflect who we are. But for me, I opted to go with Katie Anne--even though I don't like the name Katie--because it was chosen for me. I know it sounds hokey, but that means something to me. The feelings my mother had of me in utero were eventually realized, so it felt to me that Katie should, and had always been, my name.

At first the name I chose was Jennifer Allison. I always loved both names. But later I found out that if I had been born female, I would have been named Rachael Ann. To me Rachael is a beautiful name, and I like Ann alot. But I didn't want Ann to be a middle name so I combined them to a first name. RachaelAnn. As for a middle name I haven't chosen one. I thought about going Jennifer RachaelAnn. Which is still up in the air. I guess if I go to legally change my name I'll go for the whole thing. As it sits right now, I just go by my male name.

 

RachaelAnn