So lately I've been considering changing my name. Not legally, but going by something different. I currently go by Tommy, but I've never really loved that name for myself. It's just so boring and plain. It feels so generic and I just don't love it. My plan is to go by something different once I go into college next year but I'm not sure what. I've considered just going by thomas, since it's close enough but still different, and I'm somewhat used to be being called that by certain teachers. But there is a name that I actually genuinely like for myself: Alex. I know I kind of reject the name Tommy because it's basic and so is Alex, but it feels different to me. It actually kind of clicks. I'm still not sure if I want to go by it though. What if I start telling everyone my name is Alex but I can't get used to it? I don't want to put Myself in an embarrassing situation with that. At least I'm kind of used to thomas, but alex is very different. Another thing is family. I don't know how they would react. I'm named after my grandpa who died before I was born so I'm worried that my dad would think I'm being disrespectful about rejecting the name. My family might not approve, and that's one thing that causes me to be slightly hesitant. I feel like changing my name is kind of closing a chapter of my life and saying goodbye to the current version of me. It's a big decision, I know, but I just don't wanna go by Tommy for the rest of my life. Any advice? I know a lot of people here changed their name, although for different reasons. Any help or whatever is appreciated.
I have a friend I met in 6th grade who went by Jimmy but his real name is steven. I never knew his real name until like 11th grade. Since you're starting college you can always tell people your given name is Tommy but you go by Alex. But you'd have to most likely explain why Alex. Don't know if your family would understand or if they'd call you Alex.
I'm just starting to use my middle name (the short form of which happens to be Alex, so welcome to the club ) instead of my first name, and I actually started today by setting up an E-mail address with the "new" name in it and I also introduced myself as Alex to a person I met today. Both of these things felt really great, and I instantly knew that I made the right choice. Maybe you could try something like this and see how it feels? Before today, I was really unsure if I should really go through with it but it just felt so much more natural to use my middle name instead of my first name. I never really cared for my first name, it was always some strange part of me that didn't really belong anywhere near me. Plus, Alex is a gender neutral name, which really is the perfect fit for me (my first name is gender specific/male).
