trans and nonbinary people (and cis if you apply!), how did you pick your name? (beehaw.org)

submitted 1 year ago by thumbtack@beehaw.org to c/lgbtq_plus@beehaw.org

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just interested in hearing peoples stories for how y’all have chosen your new names! doesn’t have to be particularly profound or interesting really, i just like hearing about others experiences.

i’m actually planning on changing my own soon socially despite being cis, and just really like hearing how others came to find their names, as well as am curious about if anyone had to go through more than one to find what’s right for them. i figured this would be the best community to talk about the topic even if i’m not trans :)

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[-] nxtequal@beehaw.org 11 points 1 year ago

I wanted a science-based name because I'm a little nerd lol. I considered Kelvin at some point. In the end, (and I really can't remember why I specifically chose it) I named myself after Edmond Halley -- Hal as a nickname, as a reference to HAL 9000 of course.

Honestly, I sort of regret it, because Halley isn't as gender neutral as I thought and everyone considers it a girl name. I wish I'd been more out there and straight up decided to call myself Truck or Brick or something.

[-] thumbtack@beehaw.org 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

aww :( that’s really too bad, i’m sorry to hear it. even with hal? i can see halley being a bit feminine, but hal reads as neutral or masc to me more.

for what it’s worth, i think halley is cool as fuck, and the origins of why you chose it are super sick.

[-] nxtequal@beehaw.org 5 points 1 year ago

Wow, thank you! <3 Hal is a masculine name (and I pretty much go by it all the time) but if I say my name is Halley, people just tend to assume I'm a girl. I really thought it was a gender neutral name... I'm autistic so I can't tell as easily as other people lol. I guess my advice is: when you've picked your name, ask other people whether it reads as fem or masc! I know you're cis but it can still be really annoying for people to assume you're a gender you're not because of your name.

[-] AlexisLuna@beehaw.org 5 points 1 year ago

To be fair, whether a name is considered fem/masc/gn is so arbitary, the same name can be fem to one person and masc to another, even in the same country. So I doubt that non-autistic people have an easier time with it, they'll probably just assume their own opinion is the prevalent one lol.