I chose my name become birth name is Tiffiny but my little brothers couldn't say it so they called me finny and one of my middle names is Lee so I put the 2 together and got finn-lee Oliver because it went together and my wife picked Oliver. Finn for short.
Things I considered: 1. SOUND + LAST NAME: How does the name sound together with my last name? (having a very common German last name and choosing, for example, an American first name might sound a bit weird - but this is a matter of taste, of course) 2. ABBREVIATIONS/STUPID NICKNAMES: Are there any abbreviations of that name which I would not like to be called or which could be used to make fun of me? 3. PRONUNCIATION/SPELLING: Will people be able to intuitively pronounce and write it correctly or will I have to constantly correct others and explain how my name is pronounced/written? 4. LOOK: How does the name (together with my last name) look typed out? 5. COMMON OR UNCOMMON: How many people have I met with that name? Do I want a rather common or a more uncommon name? Do I want a name that might be considered "timeless"/classic or do I want a name that might currently be trendy? 6. PERSONAL ASSOCIATIONS: What associations do I have regarding that name, e.g. do I already know someone with that name whom I don't like (--> negative associations), etc. 7. CULTURALLY SPECIFIC ASSOCIATIONS: Are there any famous characters (from books, films, etc.), famous people or cultural icons with that name? What kind of connotation does my name have in this regard? I made a list of names that I liked, and tried one or two out for a couple of weeks - just like you would try out a new item of clothing: after a while of wearing it throughout your day and during various activities, you will feel whether it fits or whether it sits too tight or too loose in certain places. You might realise that the fabric actually is itchy, or that the colour doesn't match your hair colour, or that the whole thing isn't your style and doesn't go well together with the rest of your wardrobe, etc. - if you ultimately find that you don't like it, just take it off and give it back. The process of "trial wearing" should have provided you with some hints and insights into your own priorities and predilections, which will help to guide you in your decision making process.
+I Come In Peace Thank you so much for your considered response and pointers, that will be really usefull to people. I did the same thing with the way names sounded together and they way they looked when written together, which is why I didnt like the spelling "jay" because it didnt look right next to Finlay comapred to how Jai looked.
+FinnTheInfinncible You're welcome! Thank *you* for reading and replying to my comment :-) Awesome videos, by the way! I enjoy them very much :-) Wishing you all the best regarding phalloplasty and hope that everything will turn out great once you're through with all of the steps of the surgery :-)
For me, I spent months playing around with names months before I ever came out. Asking my parents wasn't an option as they've always said they hate all male names. I tried to take into consideration names that were age appropriate, culturally appropriate and honour one of the reasons my parents chose my birth name - that it was common enough that everyone will have heard of it but unusual enough that I wouldn't be in a class full of people with the same name. In the end I chose Reuben. It fitted all those things and the meaning was perfect.
Really good advice, Finn! Names can be hard, I know how much I struggled with them when I first went about transitioning, I personally wanted to keep my first initials as N.M. so I ended up switching to Nikhil Marcus. Marcus being the name my father would have given his son and Nikhil being a name similar to my birth name and translating to "completed, whole" since the name makes me feel complete as a new person. But knowing how you picked your name is really comforting and inspiring, so thanks a bundle for sharing! :)
Finn, I love your videos. your so bright and happy, very informative. I'm not transgender, but to me its important to be at least somewhat educated on the subject, as I know a few people who are transitioning. you are wonderful! thanks for being you and helping to inform others. you rock!
I've actually wondered how you came up with your name. It suits you perfectly. Just a couple things..... Number one....that t-shirt is brilliant!! I want one. 😊 And how you chose your name warmed my heart. Especially the part about your dad. You're such a sweetheart. 💕
I'd be really interested to see a video where you talk about how your sexuality has changed (if at all) during transition and the transition of your partner, as well as your partner's sexuality (if he is cool with it). I realise this is quite personal but your channel seems to cover quite personal aspects of transitioning so I figured you'd be cool with me asking. If you already have a video on this let me know and I'll check it out.
hi my friend. I do indeed pretty much talk about everything on here! I've done a fair few vlogs now about my changing sense of my own sexuality and my relationship with Drew. I've come to just see it that I'm in love and which gender that person is really doesn't matter. labels are for boxes not people. however, as someone who is in a constant state of self reflection and as a student of psychology , I continue to mull over the way in which my sexuality has changed in many vlogs! this is one of them and it will link you to a play list dedicated to my talking about being in a relationship with a trans male ua-cam.com/video/XYY4lQ_ksF8/v-deo.html
I chose my name by writing a couple names down and tried them out in my head, but for the longest time, mostly when I was younger, I often wrote stories with a person in the story that had the name Kim. I don´t know if it was subconsciously that I named that person Kim, but I took it as a sign, so now my first name is Kim. My middle name is Elliot, ´cause I think it´s nice. Both Kim and Elliot have meanings that fit me also :)
I completely understand all of what you said in this video. Your middle name made me smile because my friend is also named Jai and I always loved it. I ended up choosing my name through asking my parents what they've would've called me had I been born biologically sexed male. Before then I had made a list and ran through them much like you and Drew had, (though Floyd was outlandish and never really fit me as a first name!)
+94acidespresso I LOVE the name Floyd! But then Im a big fan of pink Floyd! A lot of people do ask their parents and it does make sense, its a lovely gesture too, did yours feel that way?
I chose my name because of my favourite author 😂 oh dear. Also because its my girlfriends favourite name and like you i wanted her to be part of my transition so it was like i was involving her. Love your story of your name! And you channel is so helpful and informative thank you so much for putting yourself out on UA-cam!
+Robert TheRobot Bless you my friend, thank you! I love that our names carry so much meaning and specialness, in the way we chose we carry our loved ones with us into our new future and thats just so beautiful!
Running into this issue right now. I have a couple of names picked out but between trying to keep the spelling simple. Considering that everyone shortens names also meant that a lot of names sounded "wrong" to me once shortened. And then how people sound saying certain names. AKA my female given name is Heather....Living in Canada, most people make my name sound very harsh and so it automatically feels like I am catching shit. So it has been a struggle thinking of names.
+ComeDownRedMolly Hi there :) Yeah finding the right name can take a while, and thats ok! If you have some supportive friends why not try a few out with them and get their opinion? One will suddenly come to you that fit! Good luck in your search!
+FinnTheInfinncible Yep I am just in the process of trying that right now. We have not told many people and have been mainly wanting to go to the gender therapist first to find out if this would be medically possible before dropping the bomb. It would be worse if for whatever health reason that I may not actually be able to do it. Last thing I want to do is yell false alarm lol. Thanks for all of the speedy replies tonight mate!
+ComeDownRedMolly yes I understand that! I was TERRIFIED that Id tell people and then change my mind, or be told no to transition...scary stuff!! It sounds like you are being very wise and taking things one step at a time. I always aim to reply my friend, smetimes it takes me a while but I get there eventually!
When I worked in a day care center a few years back, Finn was becoming a popular name. I like it quite a bit since I have Scottish roots. We named our son Ian for that reason. If I could choose my own name, it would be Sparrow Rose (for mostly spiritual reasons.) Do you think Drew will share how he came up with his name?
+friendoftherese1 Sparrow Rose is beautiful! I have asked Drew, he may do a vid with me, or he may join in with the comments on here, hes thinking about it, lol!
I've never liked my name, and although I'm not transitioning (I'm agender and transmasculine) I've unofficially changed parts of my name. Thankfully my birth name is gender neutral, but I still can't seem to give it up even though I hate it, so most people just call me Tee now. (I would like to be called TJ too though) My middle name is ultra feminine and I've unofficially changed that to Seth, I just randomly saw it online one day and really liked it. But I also have always liked my sister's middle name which is Jay as well, but obviously spelt differently. And it may be weird to steal your siblings name, but it almost seems okay because she treats it like a surname. So my unofficial full name would be Taylor Seth Jay Masters. And that's where the TJ would come from, Tee and Jay. (Seth Jay Masters sounds a lot better to me though ;A;) And the name I go by on here and a few other sites was just randomly chosen because I don't like having my real surname for everyone to see.
I totally agree with the advice to be cognizant of a name's popularity in your birth year. My taste in names tends towards the classical unusual and classical eccentric (e.g., Felix, Wolfgang, Ezra, Justine, Octavia, Echo), defined as classic names that have come back into fashion after several generations of slumber, and names with deep historical roots which aren't considered hip and trendy. Name Nerds has a quiz to help you determine your naming profile, and gives a lot of examples of names in each of the seven categories: www.namenerds.com/uucn/namequiz.html. As a writer, I understand the importance of not giving a character an obviously predated name (like a female Madison born in 1970 or a Caiden born in the 19th century), and providing a plausible explanation for an outlier name. I'm not trans, but if I were, I think the name Arthur would be a really good fit for my personality and appearance (so long as no one used the dated nickname Artie!). I'd also be keeping the same first initial. If I were going to transition, my second choice would be Wolfram, a name I absolutely love. I've never liked my given first name, which is why I used to go by my middle name, Ursula (which I spelt Uersula for too many years), and usually signed or wrote my name as A. Ursula [Surname].
+Baryshnitsa Even though you are not trans your name use and thoughts around it is just as complex, thats very interesting to me as I thought it was just us trans folk that deliberated about our names so much! I love Wolfram! Thanks for your thoughts my friend!
Wow! That was fun hearing your name story and then reading everyone's comments! I desperately wanted to use William,as it is a family name given to each male as a first name and then they have a middle name they are called by. But I was born 1st and then my brother and he was blessed with the tradition. However, it technically should have been mine. JS! So since I could not honor my beloved Dad, I chose to use my Mother's Dad"s name. She was adopted and never knew him so when I researched her bio family and found his name...that was it.
That's what I did with my first name, I had a name that was also the first name of an aunt (different spelling and not named after her) but still the same name. While my twin sister got a completely original name for the family no other person had it which hacked me off. I had to have one that no one else had. we have a lot of Nicholas' and Michael's in the family. My middle name is the shortened version of a great granddads name (witch was also what one of us would have been called if we were boys originally)
I had never considered searching names that were popular in the year you were born. I was oblivious to that resource being available. I always said to parents, "think what the initials are going to be" [I am always known as Mr S! [Initials MRS!!!] Peeps forgetting R represents a name] and "can you get souvenirs with your name on when you go on holiday".
great advice. I was struggling for months and no one seemed to understand the importance of choosing a male name since my first name is already Alex. Alex is to gender neutral! hello????? Haha so refreshing to k own I'm not crazy haha
I get a lot of people thinking my name is Rose or that Ross is short for Rosalyn. I originally picked Kaden because it was close to my birth name and I wasn't ready to come out to my family yet, but because it was so neutral and a bit new-age I was constantly being read as either female or a 13 year old boy. Ross felt a lot more masculine and being an older name that's not quite so common I thought it might help people actually see me as an adult (granted I'm only 19). Trying to find a middle name that sounds good with Ross was an ordeal, honestly, Ross is a difficult name and not much goes well with it. My mom wanted me to choose Lee but I thought "Ross Lee" sounded like an adjective.
ah yes! I see how in early days the name must have been miss heard. I used my full name in early days as people would hear finn and say nice to meet you fran!!!!! Ross is a great name and is indeed very masculine . feels like it goes well with a two or three syllable middle name like Anthony?
I'm going to permanently amputate my name this year. My birth name means "princess" which is difficult in itself but it's also a very feminine name. I don't ever use my full name on anything but official sorts of documents and almost nobody I know uses that name, so I'll be going with the short form instead. It's what most people call me and it's how I introduce myself.
I really enjoyed this vid Finn even with not transitioning I have always called myself Logan it works for me & my gf. It also feels very powerful & masculine. Yes I got it from one of my favorite X-men Logan aka Wolverine gah that's embarrassing to say. But I have always loved that name. I haven't figured out a middle name yet & as for my last I haven't changed that but I would change it to my mom's maiden name in honor of her.
+PoeBoi Kramere a lot of people choose names from their favorite heros or characters. Theres nothing wrong with that. Nice to honour your mum with your middle name :)
I'm in the process of transitioning as non-binary, my birthname is Amy Marie (Marie being my paternal grandmother's middle name) and I wanted to keep my initials the same but still have a nod to my parents family, Avery is a name used on my paternal grandfather's side and is also gender-neutral! I've had an attachment to the name Max for a fair few years now and have used it as my primary name for a while, so Avery Max seemed to work well! Very much looking forward to changing it by deed poll. Sorry for the ramble, thank you so much for your videos!
I've been going by Nicholas online (I'm not out irl yet :/) for just over a year, but I've never liked it when it's shortened to Nick, which is probably something to do with how close Nick Jones sounds to Nick Jonas honestly. A name I really like is Conrad, but I don't know if it's too unusual, so I just use my nickname (Newt) for most things
+Newt Jones Newt is an awesome nickname! Drew feels the dame about Andrew, he likes it changed to Drew but not to Andy. You can just ask people to not shorten the name? Conrad is unusual but not that different and that depends on your age really. Its all about what you are comfortable with
i still have to use my birth name but i want to be called wolfie. my birth name is sophie so the sound alike and i am obsessed with wolves. if i had been born male i would have been called ben but we had a dog called ben so that would have been weard
+Missy the micro dog Ah I see what you mean with the similarity! Yes thats another good option too, originally I was thinking of going for a name with similar sounding syllables to my birth name. I love the name Ban, but if you had a dog with that name I can see how it would be strange!
My mom went a bit back and forth between my first name and my middle name throughout my childhood so i never really had a strong connection to either.. So when i found out that neither of those names fit my identity, idecided to just have people call me by my surname! So i go by Ravn (Raven in Norwegian, which is a gender neutral ((though not usually used as a first name)) in Norway!. Gotta switch up my account though..
+Helene raven Thats a unique approach! I actually was galled by my surname as a nickname for years before I came out. I was "Gamesy" :D. Would you change it to Ravn officially and then change your surname?
I gave myself the name Casey because I thought it suited me. I wanted one that can be both genders just in case. I changed my middle name too, I choose Connor my Moms maiden name because my old middle name was the same as hers and I wanted to give my self a name that was hers. She died back in 2002. I didn't change my last name either. it is Dietz that name is German. There is Scottish in my Moms side. m Grandmas maiden name was Murray.
+Casey Dietz Ah Drew comes from a line of Murrays too! I absolutely love how our families are so tied into our names. Im sorry to hear about your mum my friend.
I never liked my name growing up (Salime pronounced Sa-Lee-Meh) because the obvious nickname I got was Salame, all my life, very annoying, also it's a very uncommon name in Mexico (it's Lebanese, means Healthy) but it's funny that once I moved to the US and told people my name everyone said it was a very pretty name, so I kinda like it now because of its uniqueness :)
I myself actually chose my name because one day about 1 year ago last summer I was telling my friends how if I were born a boy that my name would have been hand roof and then they said, you look like an Andrew, then they just started to call me Andrew that day and then it just kind of stuck and now everybody calls me Andrew and all of my teachers do it but my family does not accept for my cousin and my little sister sometimes and my mom does not neither does my dad grandparents etc.
+Andrew Johnson Thats lovely that you came to the name with your friends. Sometimes family can take a while to come around, keep the door open for them my friend
+Andrew Johnson keep gently revisiting it with them, writing them letters if you need to about how painful it is to have your wishes ignored. Sometimes family need a lot of time, not because they are trying purposely to hurt you but often because of a misguided attempt to protect you, they fear a transgender life as a difficult life and they dont want that for their child. With gentle educating, gradually seeing that your choice is right for you and makes you happy, they usually come around. in the meantime, make sure to spend lots of quality time with those that do support you and use the right name, it helps to booster our confidence
Unfortunately I've stuck myself with an unusual name, i like it but it doesn't help me fit in. I chose it as a teen after an ex's siblings kept mispronouncing my birth name. I was so happy to be called something other than my birth name, and it was gender neutral - i just went with it. I haven't officially changed it yet partly because my anxiety around it. My friends have finally got used to calling me it so I can't just change my name again :/
+Katistic1 Its important that you are comfortable with your name, at the end of the day what other people think doesnt matter. If you wnt to change it again then do so, people will catch up eventually!
I've picked my name, though I'm pretransition at the moment. I hadn't looked up the meanings when I picked them, but now that I have they are quite suitable. Jack is medieval slang for man, and Maddox is derived from the Welsh for maddog, which is my nickname derived from my birth name. Funny how that worked out...
I'm non-binary(assigned male at birth) and I wanted to change my name to help me start my new journey and to identify with my new identity. I chose Florence which is a girls name but I couldn't find any unisex names which appealed to. Florence stood out to me so I chose it. I've been questioned a few times but I don't really mind about passing or being out.
+Thatidioticidiot I love that name! It must be extra complicated as a non binary person to decide on a name. It sounds as though you are very secure in who you are though and I am sure that helps!
Thank you :D I'm still finding out who I am but I'm getting there :) My middle names are gunna be Vivian Cormack Virgil. Vivian is another name that just appealed to me. Cormack because I'm quarter Irish and Virgil is the pilot of Thunderbird 2. So I've got a good mixture of names :)
I chose drew I would have been Matthew if I was amab. Which ya was a popular name in 98. Personally for me I didn't like the name Andrew it was to common so I didn't go for it. But tbh I wanted a gender neutral name. So Wikipedia gender neutral names got a list asked a group of friends first one that came up was drew that they liked from the list I kept thinking about it months. I tried it out on younow for a bit along with all other names I was thinking on using. Those didn't work to well. My friends said that drew Hunter is a hot white boy name. Hunter was also on the list but ended up being my middle name. I was thinking about either Hunter or Matthew as my middle name both to honor my parents one keep same middle initial the other what my name would have been.
Hey Finn I have reached out to you before and you were very gracious to respond back. I am a 34 y/o transman and going to be in London in several months. I would love for my wife and I to meet you and Drew. I know you have some stranger danger things going on but I thought if we started to get to know one another now that you might consider. Please let me know. We can private IM possible. I am woefully under educated on the tube. But please let me know. Thank you Quin.
+quintessential88 Hello my friend! Yes that would be great, always happy to meet new friends! Drop me a message over on my facebook page facebook.com/transactualize/timeline
+FinnTheInfinncible - I will do this. My wife previously had a Facebook but we had shut it down some number of years ago. We have been thinking about restarting now that I have transitioned at work. One more reason to do so, I will chat with you soon! 😀
I chose my name become birth name is Tiffiny but my little brothers couldn't say it so they called me finny and one of my middle names is Lee so I put the 2 together and got finn-lee Oliver because it went together and my wife picked Oliver. Finn for short.
+MsHonda215 I absolutely love that story!!!!
Things I considered:
1. SOUND + LAST NAME: How does the name sound together with my last name? (having a very common German last name and choosing, for example, an American first name might sound a bit weird - but this is a matter of taste, of course)
2. ABBREVIATIONS/STUPID NICKNAMES: Are there any abbreviations of that name which I would not like to be called or which could be used to make fun of me?
3. PRONUNCIATION/SPELLING: Will people be able to intuitively pronounce and write it correctly or will I have to constantly correct others and explain how my name is pronounced/written?
4. LOOK: How does the name (together with my last name) look typed out?
5. COMMON OR UNCOMMON: How many people have I met with that name? Do I want a rather common or a more uncommon name? Do I want a name that might be considered "timeless"/classic or do I want a name that might currently be trendy?
6. PERSONAL ASSOCIATIONS: What associations do I have regarding that name, e.g. do I already know someone with that name whom I don't like (--> negative associations), etc.
7. CULTURALLY SPECIFIC ASSOCIATIONS: Are there any famous characters (from books, films, etc.), famous people or cultural icons with that name? What kind of connotation does my name have in this regard?
I made a list of names that I liked, and tried one or two out for a couple of weeks - just like you would try out a new item of clothing: after a while of wearing it throughout your day and during various activities, you will feel whether it fits or whether it sits too tight or too loose in certain places. You might realise that the fabric actually is itchy, or that the colour doesn't match your hair colour, or that the whole thing isn't your style and doesn't go well together with the rest of your wardrobe, etc. - if you ultimately find that you don't like it, just take it off and give it back. The process of "trial wearing" should have provided you with some hints and insights into your own priorities and predilections, which will help to guide you in your decision making process.
+I Come In Peace Thank you so much for your considered response and pointers, that will be really usefull to people.
I did the same thing with the way names sounded together and they way they looked when written together, which is why I didnt like the spelling "jay" because it didnt look right next to Finlay comapred to how Jai looked.
+FinnTheInfinncible You're welcome! Thank *you* for reading and replying to my comment :-)
Awesome videos, by the way! I enjoy them very much :-)
Wishing you all the best regarding phalloplasty and hope that everything will turn out great once you're through with all of the steps of the surgery :-)
For me, I spent months playing around with names months before I ever came out. Asking my parents wasn't an option as they've always said they hate all male names.
I tried to take into consideration names that were age appropriate, culturally appropriate and honour one of the reasons my parents chose my birth name - that it was common enough that everyone will have heard of it but unusual enough that I wouldn't be in a class full of people with the same name. In the end I chose Reuben. It fitted all those things and the meaning was perfect.
I really love the name Reuben! Thank you for sharing that :)
Really good advice, Finn! Names can be hard, I know how much I struggled with them when I first went about transitioning, I personally wanted to keep my first initials as N.M. so I ended up switching to Nikhil Marcus. Marcus being the name my father would have given his son and Nikhil being a name similar to my birth name and translating to "completed, whole" since the name makes me feel complete as a new person. But knowing how you picked your name is really comforting and inspiring, so thanks a bundle for sharing! :)
+Aquatics Thanks my friend, I love your name and its meaning, thats just wonderful! I love our collective choices!
Great video Finn! We are identical twins who are both transgender ftm and we love your videos so keep up the good work.
Ah hello both of you! Thanks for watching and for your kind message!
Finn, I love your videos. your so bright and happy, very informative. I'm not transgender, but to me its important to be at least somewhat educated on the subject, as I know a few people who are transitioning. you are wonderful! thanks for being you and helping to inform others. you rock!
thank you for such an incredibly kind comment! I think it's wonderful that you are wanting to educate yourself, so you rock!!! thank you 😀
I've actually wondered how you came up with your name. It suits you perfectly.
Just a couple things.....
Number one....that t-shirt is brilliant!! I want one. 😊
And how you chose your name warmed my heart. Especially the part about your dad. You're such a sweetheart. 💕
Bless you!
I'd be really interested to see a video where you talk about how your sexuality has changed (if at all) during transition and the transition of your partner, as well as your partner's sexuality (if he is cool with it). I realise this is quite personal but your channel seems to cover quite personal aspects of transitioning so I figured you'd be cool with me asking. If you already have a video on this let me know and I'll check it out.
hi my friend. I do indeed pretty much talk about everything on here! I've done a fair few vlogs now about my changing sense of my own sexuality and my relationship with Drew. I've come to just see it that I'm in love and which gender that person is really doesn't matter. labels are for boxes not people. however, as someone who is in a constant state of self reflection and as a student of psychology , I continue to mull over the way in which my sexuality has changed in many vlogs! this is one of them and it will link you to a play list dedicated to my talking about being in a relationship with a trans male ua-cam.com/video/XYY4lQ_ksF8/v-deo.html
I chose my name by writing a couple names down and tried them out in my head, but for the longest time, mostly when I was younger, I often wrote stories with a person in the story that had the name Kim. I don´t know if it was subconsciously that I named that person Kim, but I took it as a sign, so now my first name is Kim. My middle name is Elliot, ´cause I think it´s nice. Both Kim and Elliot have meanings that fit me also :)
I love that!!! Its wonderful how our names come to us!
Yes, it really is!! :)
I completely understand all of what you said in this video. Your middle name made me smile because my friend is also named Jai and I always loved it. I ended up choosing my name through asking my parents what they've would've called me had I been born biologically sexed male. Before then I had made a list and ran through them much like you and Drew had, (though Floyd was outlandish and never really fit me as a first name!)
+94acidespresso I LOVE the name Floyd! But then Im a big fan of pink Floyd! A lot of people do ask their parents and it does make sense, its a lovely gesture too, did yours feel that way?
I chose my name because of my favourite author 😂 oh dear. Also because its my girlfriends favourite name and like you i wanted her to be part of my transition so it was like i was involving her. Love your story of your name! And you channel is so helpful and informative thank you so much for putting yourself out on UA-cam!
+Robert TheRobot Bless you my friend, thank you! I love that our names carry so much meaning and specialness, in the way we chose we carry our loved ones with us into our new future and thats just so beautiful!
Running into this issue right now. I have a couple of names picked out but between trying to keep the spelling simple. Considering that everyone shortens names also meant that a lot of names sounded "wrong" to me once shortened. And then how people sound saying certain names. AKA my female given name is Heather....Living in Canada, most people make my name sound very harsh and so it automatically feels like I am catching shit. So it has been a struggle thinking of names.
+ComeDownRedMolly Hi there :) Yeah finding the right name can take a while, and thats ok! If you have some supportive friends why not try a few out with them and get their opinion? One will suddenly come to you that fit! Good luck in your search!
+FinnTheInfinncible Yep I am just in the process of trying that right now. We have not told many people and have been mainly wanting to go to the gender therapist first to find out if this would be medically possible before dropping the bomb. It would be worse if for whatever health reason that I may not actually be able to do it. Last thing I want to do is yell false alarm lol. Thanks for all of the speedy replies tonight mate!
+ComeDownRedMolly yes I understand that! I was TERRIFIED that Id tell people and then change my mind, or be told no to transition...scary stuff!! It sounds like you are being very wise and taking things one step at a time. I always aim to reply my friend, smetimes it takes me a while but I get there eventually!
When I worked in a day care center a few years back, Finn was becoming a popular name. I like it quite a bit since I have Scottish roots. We named our son Ian for that reason. If I could choose my own name, it would be Sparrow Rose (for mostly spiritual reasons.) Do you think Drew will share how he came up with his name?
+friendoftherese1 Sparrow Rose is beautiful! I have asked Drew, he may do a vid with me, or he may join in with the comments on here, hes thinking about it, lol!
I've never liked my name, and although I'm not transitioning (I'm agender and transmasculine) I've unofficially changed parts of my name. Thankfully my birth name is gender neutral, but I still can't seem to give it up even though I hate it, so most people just call me Tee now. (I would like to be called TJ too though)
My middle name is ultra feminine and I've unofficially changed that to Seth, I just randomly saw it online one day and really liked it. But I also have always liked my sister's middle name which is Jay as well, but obviously spelt differently. And it may be weird to steal your siblings name, but it almost seems okay because she treats it like a surname. So my unofficial full name would be Taylor Seth Jay Masters. And that's where the TJ would come from, Tee and Jay. (Seth Jay Masters sounds a lot better to me though ;A;)
And the name I go by on here and a few other sites was just randomly chosen because I don't like having my real surname for everyone to see.
Keri Lawson I might do but I'd probably wait a few years so I know that I won't want to change it again :)
+Taylor Rie Absolutely agree with above, its yours to feel comfortable with so do what feels right my friend. I love the name Seth
I totally agree with the advice to be cognizant of a name's popularity in your birth year. My taste in names tends towards the classical unusual and classical eccentric (e.g., Felix, Wolfgang, Ezra, Justine, Octavia, Echo), defined as classic names that have come back into fashion after several generations of slumber, and names with deep historical roots which aren't considered hip and trendy. Name Nerds has a quiz to help you determine your naming profile, and gives a lot of examples of names in each of the seven categories: www.namenerds.com/uucn/namequiz.html. As a writer, I understand the importance of not giving a character an obviously predated name (like a female Madison born in 1970 or a Caiden born in the 19th century), and providing a plausible explanation for an outlier name.
I'm not trans, but if I were, I think the name Arthur would be a really good fit for my personality and appearance (so long as no one used the dated nickname Artie!). I'd also be keeping the same first initial. If I were going to transition, my second choice would be Wolfram, a name I absolutely love. I've never liked my given first name, which is why I used to go by my middle name, Ursula (which I spelt Uersula for too many years), and usually signed or wrote my name as A. Ursula [Surname].
+Baryshnitsa Even though you are not trans your name use and thoughts around it is just as complex, thats very interesting to me as I thought it was just us trans folk that deliberated about our names so much! I love Wolfram! Thanks for your thoughts my friend!
Wow! That was fun hearing your name story and then reading everyone's comments! I desperately wanted to use William,as it is a family name given to each male as a first name and then they have a middle name they are called by. But I was born 1st and then my brother and he was blessed with the tradition. However, it technically should have been mine. JS! So since I could not honor my beloved Dad, I chose to use my Mother's Dad"s name. She was adopted and never knew him so when I researched her bio family and found his name...that was it.
+Charlie Strickland Isnt it wonderful seeing everones name choosing process! You very much look like a charlie to me :)
That's what I did with my first name, I had a name that was also the first name of an aunt (different spelling and not named after her) but still the same name. While my twin sister got a completely original name for the family no other person had it which hacked me off. I had to have one that no one else had. we have a lot of Nicholas' and Michael's in the family. My middle name is the shortened version of a great granddads name (witch was also what one of us would have been called if we were boys originally)
+Zandolie3 Im glad its not just me that was paranoid about that!
fionn is Ireland - Finn in Scotland
Yes that's why I chose it as I have a spiritual connection with Scotland
I had never considered searching names that were popular in the year you were born. I was oblivious to that resource being available.
I always said to parents, "think what the initials are going to be" [I am always known as Mr S! [Initials MRS!!!] Peeps forgetting R represents a name] and "can you get souvenirs with your name on when you go on holiday".
I love that thinking! Wish I had thought about souveniers....my spelling of Finlay is never in tourist shops!
@@FinnTheInfinncible I'll find you something
great advice. I was struggling for months and no one seemed to understand the importance of choosing a male name since my first name is already Alex. Alex is to gender neutral! hello????? Haha so refreshing to k own I'm not crazy haha
+corona4806 I understand that my friend, in early days especially I needed a name that told people I was male . You most certainly are not crazy!
I get a lot of people thinking my name is Rose or that Ross is short for Rosalyn. I originally picked Kaden because it was close to my birth name and I wasn't ready to come out to my family yet, but because it was so neutral and a bit new-age I was constantly being read as either female or a 13 year old boy. Ross felt a lot more masculine and being an older name that's not quite so common I thought it might help people actually see me as an adult (granted I'm only 19).
Trying to find a middle name that sounds good with Ross was an ordeal, honestly, Ross is a difficult name and not much goes well with it. My mom wanted me to choose Lee but I thought "Ross Lee" sounded like an adjective.
ah yes! I see how in early days the name must have been miss heard. I used my full name in early days as people would hear finn and say nice to meet you fran!!!!! Ross is a great name and is indeed very masculine . feels like it goes well with a two or three syllable middle name like Anthony?
+FinnTheInfinncible Oddly enough, that's the middle name I ended up choosing! I had it changed last September.
+Ross Herndon How funny! Just shows its right I guess!!!!
I'm diggin the Jai.. might take it from ya ;)
+corona4806 :P
I'm going to permanently amputate my name this year. My birth name means "princess" which is difficult in itself but it's also a very feminine name. I don't ever use my full name on anything but official sorts of documents and almost nobody I know uses that name, so I'll be going with the short form instead. It's what most people call me and it's how I introduce myself.
+Sal Altschul Ouch, difficult name, I can see why you want to amputate it!
I really enjoyed this vid Finn even with not transitioning I have always called myself Logan it works for me & my gf. It also feels very powerful & masculine. Yes I got it from one of my favorite X-men Logan aka Wolverine gah that's embarrassing to say. But I have always loved that name. I haven't figured out a middle name yet & as for my last I haven't changed that but I would change it to my mom's maiden name in honor of her.
+PoeBoi Kramere a lot of people choose names from their favorite heros or characters. Theres nothing wrong with that. Nice to honour your mum with your middle name :)
I'm in the process of transitioning as non-binary, my birthname is Amy Marie (Marie being my paternal grandmother's middle name) and I wanted to keep my initials the same but still have a nod to my parents family, Avery is a name used on my paternal grandfather's side and is also gender-neutral! I've had an attachment to the name Max for a fair few years now and have used it as my primary name for a while, so Avery Max seemed to work well! Very much looking forward to changing it by deed poll.
Sorry for the ramble, thank you so much for your videos!
+maxy pan That wasnt a ramble, its an awesome story!, I love the name Avery Max, sounds like a superhero! Thanks for sharing :)
I've been going by Nicholas online (I'm not out irl yet :/) for just over a year, but I've never liked it when it's shortened to Nick, which is probably something to do with how close Nick Jones sounds to Nick Jonas honestly. A name I really like is Conrad, but I don't know if it's too unusual, so I just use my nickname (Newt) for most things
+Newt Jones Newt is an awesome nickname! Drew feels the dame about Andrew, he likes it changed to Drew but not to Andy. You can just ask people to not shorten the name? Conrad is unusual but not that different and that depends on your age really. Its all about what you are comfortable with
i still have to use my birth name but i want to be called wolfie. my birth name is sophie so the sound alike and i am obsessed with wolves. if i had been born male i would have been called ben but we had a dog called ben so that would have been weard
+Missy the micro dog Ah I see what you mean with the similarity! Yes thats another good option too, originally I was thinking of going for a name with similar sounding syllables to my birth name. I love the name Ban, but if you had a dog with that name I can see how it would be strange!
My mom went a bit back and forth between my first name and my middle name throughout my childhood so i never really had a strong connection to either.. So when i found out that neither of those names fit my identity, idecided to just have people call me by my surname! So i go by Ravn (Raven in Norwegian, which is a gender neutral ((though not usually used as a first name)) in Norway!. Gotta switch up my account though..
+Helene raven Thats a unique approach! I actually was galled by my surname as a nickname for years before I came out. I was "Gamesy" :D. Would you change it to Ravn officially and then change your surname?
FinnTheInfinncible I'm still thinking about it, but for now i'll just have it as my surname that i'd rather people call me by :) Also thank you!
I gave myself the name Casey because I thought it suited me. I wanted one that can be both genders just in case. I changed my middle name too, I choose Connor my Moms maiden name because my old middle name was the same as hers and I wanted to give my self a name that was hers. She died back in 2002. I didn't change my last name either. it is Dietz that name is German. There is Scottish in my Moms side. m Grandmas maiden name was Murray.
+Casey Dietz Ah Drew comes from a line of Murrays too! I absolutely love how our families are so tied into our names. Im sorry to hear about your mum my friend.
I never liked my name growing up (Salime pronounced Sa-Lee-Meh) because the obvious nickname I got was Salame, all my life, very annoying, also it's a very uncommon name in Mexico (it's Lebanese, means Healthy) but it's funny that once I moved to the US and told people my name everyone said it was a very pretty name, so I kinda like it now because of its uniqueness :)
+Zublime75 I think its a beautiful name, especially the meaning, its interesting the social context being so different in the US for you!
I myself actually chose my name because one day about 1 year ago last summer I was telling my friends how if I were born a boy that my name would have been hand roof and then they said, you look like an Andrew, then they just started to call me Andrew that day and then it just kind of stuck and now everybody calls me Andrew and all of my teachers do it but my family does not accept for my cousin and my little sister sometimes and my mom does not neither does my dad grandparents etc.
+Andrew Johnson Thats lovely that you came to the name with your friends. Sometimes family can take a while to come around, keep the door open for them my friend
my family wont address me by my male name
unfortunately
+Andrew Johnson keep gently revisiting it with them, writing them letters if you need to about how painful it is to have your wishes ignored. Sometimes family need a lot of time, not because they are trying purposely to hurt you but often because of a misguided attempt to protect you, they fear a transgender life as a difficult life and they dont want that for their child. With gentle educating, gradually seeing that your choice is right for you and makes you happy, they usually come around. in the meantime, make sure to spend lots of quality time with those that do support you and use the right name, it helps to booster our confidence
Unfortunately I've stuck myself with an unusual name, i like it but it doesn't help me fit in. I chose it as a teen after an ex's siblings kept mispronouncing my birth name. I was so happy to be called something other than my birth name, and it was gender neutral - i just went with it. I haven't officially changed it yet partly because my anxiety around it. My friends have finally got used to calling me it so I can't just change my name again :/
+Katistic1 Its important that you are comfortable with your name, at the end of the day what other people think doesnt matter. If you wnt to change it again then do so, people will catch up eventually!
I've picked my name, though I'm pretransition at the moment. I hadn't looked up the meanings when I picked them, but now that I have they are quite suitable. Jack is medieval slang for man, and Maddox is derived from the Welsh for maddog, which is my nickname derived from my birth name. Funny how that worked out...
ah then it was meant to be! love it! thank you for sharing that with me
I'm non-binary(assigned male at birth) and I wanted to change my name to help me start my new journey and to identify with my new identity. I chose Florence which is a girls name but I couldn't find any unisex names which appealed to. Florence stood out to me so I chose it. I've been questioned a few times but I don't really mind about passing or being out.
+Thatidioticidiot I love that name! It must be extra complicated as a non binary person to decide on a name. It sounds as though you are very secure in who you are though and I am sure that helps!
Thank you :D I'm still finding out who I am but I'm getting there :) My middle names are gunna be Vivian Cormack Virgil. Vivian is another name that just appealed to me. Cormack because I'm quarter Irish and Virgil is the pilot of Thunderbird 2. So I've got a good mixture of names :)
+Thatidioticidiot I love how we each have such a unique story of meaning in the creation of our true selves!!!
I do too 😁
lovely name!
+Irish girl In Spain Thanks so much!
I asked my parents to chose mine, as if I had been born the way I saw myself xx
+TheImpossibleGirl12 perfect!
you could have spelled it jae although jai is good and its different as well
+Squirrel Backed Hedgehog Ive never seen it spelt like that
fair enough ive only seen it once or twice myself
I chose drew I would have been Matthew if I was amab. Which ya was a popular name in 98. Personally for me I didn't like the name Andrew it was to common so I didn't go for it. But tbh I wanted a gender neutral name. So Wikipedia gender neutral names got a list asked a group of friends first one that came up was drew that they liked from the list I kept thinking about it months. I tried it out on younow for a bit along with all other names I was thinking on using. Those didn't work to well. My friends said that drew Hunter is a hot white boy name. Hunter was also on the list but ended up being my middle name. I was thinking about either Hunter or Matthew as my middle name both to honor my parents one keep same middle initial the other what my name would have been.
+knuckles6430 Isnt it fun choosing! I realy love that so many of us choose to keep names or parts of names to honour our parents
I've been friends with bill & bob almost 4 years 😉
+KaylenaMakeupArtist Fab! Congrats my friend!
Hey Finn I have reached out to you before and you were very gracious to respond back. I am a 34 y/o transman and going to be in London in several months. I would love for my wife and I to meet you and Drew. I know you have some stranger danger things going on but I thought if we started to get to know one another now that you might consider. Please let me know. We can private IM possible. I am woefully under educated on the tube. But please let me know. Thank you Quin.
+quintessential88 Hello my friend! Yes that would be great, always happy to meet new friends! Drop me a message over on my facebook page facebook.com/transactualize/timeline
+FinnTheInfinncible - I will do this. My wife previously had a Facebook but we had shut it down some number of years ago. We have been thinking about restarting now that I have transitioned at work. One more reason to do so, I will chat with you soon! 😀