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Name Change

Discussion in 'Gender Identity and Expression' started by pointofnoreturn, Feb 6, 2018.

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  1. pointofnoreturn

    pointofnoreturn
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    I'm nonbinary. Specifically, I'm a genderfluid-bigender person who doesn't identify as trans, and my presentation leans heavily toward the butch/masculine side of things. Rarely am I female, which means my name almost never sounds right. Lately I've been really thinking about changing my name, not legally or anything and maybe not offline*, but there are a few hurdles I'm encountering at present:
    1. I don't want a male name--which seems like a popular thing for AFAB enbies to do.I'd like to keep two letters from my birth name if possible. But that means my options are limited.
    2. Of the so-called neutral options available, most are either too gendered or too out there. And I want a name that...feels normal, I guess, though that can't be the most eloquent way to put things. What I mean is, I want a common name. One that could be anyone's.
    *Maybe I should've put this first: I'm terrified to even think about a name change, online or off. Amy has been my name for almost 21 years and the female part of me loves it; more than that, the people around me love it too. What if I change it only to realize I screwed up? I'm not sure about changing it.
    Any suggestions, name and otherwise?
     
    #1 pointofnoreturn, Feb 6, 2018
    Last edited: Feb 6, 2018
  2. Wesley007

    Wesley007
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    Amir, Amber, Ambrose, take one thing at a time. Just some names to think about.
     
    #2 Wesley007, Feb 6, 2018
  3. BrookeVL

    BrookeVL
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    Jamie. The "a" and "m" are still there(I know it's not exactly how you meant), and tbh, it's the one name I consider truly neutral. It works really well for any gender, and I don't immediately think of either. I can't really say that about most other gender neutral names.

    Plus it rymes with your birth name. :wink:
     
    #3 BrookeVL, Feb 6, 2018
    Last edited: Feb 6, 2018
  4. MaxDanger

    MaxDanger
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    I like Ambrose. Also, Amadee is a good one as it is in the same "family" as Amadeus and Amadea and feels like it's the neutral version of the two.
     
    #4 MaxDanger, Feb 6, 2018
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  5. pointofnoreturn

    pointofnoreturn
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    That's so funny...Jamie was the name in my signature for the longest time!:smile: I love the sound, the letters, everything about it, but I'm looking to expand my horizons if possible.
     
    #5 pointofnoreturn, Feb 6, 2018
  6. denouement

    denouement
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    Andy, Ainsley, and Ashley come to mind.

    I'd suggest you pull up a couple baby name websites and sort through to see if there's anything you like. Some of them filter results by masculine/feminine/unisex, and looking at the meanings and cultural background of the names could help you pick.

    Any name, even the best name ever, is going to feel weird for a while just because you're not used to it. So keep that in mind when you try something out... Do a test run online or with a couple friends. If it still feels wrong after you've got over the "this is a new name!" weird feeling, you can always switch to something else. Yes, it will be a bit awkward if you've gone by that name for a while or to a bunch of people. But a bit of awkwardness is worth it in the end.
     
    #6 denouement, Feb 6, 2018
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