Trans people reveal how they chose their name

For Trans Awareness Week, we asked some transgender people how or why they chose their name, and the stories we received were heart-warming and thoughtful.

Trans Awareness Week runs until Sunday (19 November) and aims to increase understanding about transgender and non-binary people and the issues they face, as well as to uplift the community. It’s followed on Monday (20 November) by Trans Day of Remembrance, which remembers those who have lost their lives to anti-trans violence and gives people a chance to reflect.

As anti-trans narratives appear ever-present in the media and politics around the world – and coming off the back of Donald Trump’s victory on an anti-trans campaign in the US presidential election – this year’s event feels as important as ever, to give a platform to the voices and experiences of every day trans men and women, many of whom have had to flee their homes to escape restrictive laws.

Wanting to create a more-positive discourse around some of the unique joy being trans brings, we asked some of them the very simple question about their names.

“Bianca was always my favourite name but I wanted to choose one with the involvement of my family, who thankfully are also my biggest supporters, and since they immediately loved it too, the final decision was made quickly,” one person said. “I also asked my mother what name they would have given me if I had been assigned a girl at birth and it would have been Marina, so we chose it as my middle name since I already had two before.”

Also involving loved ones, another person said they “got my friends to vote on a spreadsheet”.

A third revealed: “My name is Alexander because it means protector of men.” That was news to us at PinkNews and we love it.

And a parent of a trans child said they “chose the name we were going to call her had they been born the correct gender” – a logical decision.

Lots of others were inspired by TV and film. “Got my name from The L Word: Generation Q: Finley. Golden retriever energy,” one said.

Another told us: “I chose a gender-neutral name. Also, Alex, from Orange is the New Black, was my gay awakening so that name felt right.”

Someone else said: “I got my name from everyone’s favourite Animal Crossing secretary dog: Isabelle,” while another PinkNews reader revealed: “I got mine from Atlantis: The Lost Empire since I got lots of gender envy from Milo Thatch.”

Honestly, we all need to talk about how queer that show was: Audrey Rocio Ramirez made at least one of us question some things.

A more old-school choice was: “Merridew, Lord of the Flies character [Jack]. Bad guy but sounds cool.”

Others told us how they named themselves after Kurt Cobain because “he was an amazing guy” or picked theirs from an astronaut, then “looked up the meaning and fell in love”.

Some, however, took a more straightforward approach. “I chose my first name by simply Googling ‘Top 10 Scottish boy names’ and my lucky number is seven so…”

Share your thoughts! Let us know in the comments below, and remember to keep the conversation respectful.