Trans people share the inspiration behind their names
File photo. Protesters demonstrate during a rally against the transgender bathroom rights repeal at Thomas Paine Plaza February 25, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Mark Makela/Getty)
Trans people have come together to share the inspiration that went into their name.
Discussing on an AskReddit thread which asked trans people the inspiration behind changing their names, people shared the reasons and thought that went into finally finding their true identity.
(Photo by PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images)
Some people had pretty simple but lovely reasons.
“Milo. That dude from the Atlantis Disney film, man I wanted to be him when I was a kid. Also, it sounds like a dog name and I like that,” one person explained.
Another said that they wanted to keep their name relatively similar to their dead name not only to make it easy for their friends and family but also because they liked their old name.
“My birth name is Matthew, most just called me Matt. I like that name, I don’t hate it, but it has masculine connotations, so I just feminized it.
“I chose Matilda for a few reasons, but mostly because 1) I like it and 2) my friends can call me Matt or Mattie (which I prefer) without stuff being weird,” they said.
Others wanted their name to have powerful connotations that reflect their transition journey.
“I picked Victoria,” someone explained. “For one, it literally means victory. Finally getting to be yourself and becoming comfortable in your body is a huge victory, hence the name.
“Also, I have a late grand aunt who was also named Victoria. So it is also sort of a family name as well.”
Another backed this reasoning as they chose the name Jordan to give them confidence because of their love of basketball.
They also wanted an androgynous name because they “did not know how transition would go”.
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Others wanted to keep their name family-based, with some taking their mothers, fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers names.
But some simply adopted the name that they would have been gifted if they “had been born a girl/boy to begin with”.
A separate person explained that she wanted a name with “the least associations” possible.
“Not easy to pick a name when you have a life full with names behind you,” they explained.
Somebody else added that it was all a learning process as they tried a couple of names “but eventually settled for a name I felt comfortable with”.
