Discussion Has anyone else considered changing their name?

[halleyscomet]

I want to change my name too. I want to do it more as a new start. A lot of trauma has happened throughout my life, people have treated me so poorly that my sense of self is unclear. So I feel like taking on a new name would be a way of healing and moving on from it all.

It's too difficult to change my name right now, but when I move out I probably will. Have no idea what name though, that's something I'll have to think about.

 

[ColorlessTrees]

Yes, always hated my 'basic white bitch' name even as a young child. The associations annoy me. The way it sounds annoys me. When people call me by it, I genuinely flinch. It isn't me. It isn't mine. I only have negative associations with it, and I've had people torment me with it after learning this..

My mom's top pick was a wildly different name, but it was the same name as my dad's ex, so he said no. This is another strike against him in my eyes (he's already a shit person).

These days I just introduce myself as a shortened version of my name (not great, but more tolerable), the aforementioned one, or my middle name, which still isn't great because of association with my mom, but I don't really care either way when it comes to her. Unless it's legal or medical, I try not to let people know my real name. I wouldn't change it to the shortened version because it's clearly a nickname, or would make me sound cringe if it were legal.

But I've been doing this for so long, it's actually jarring to hear or spell my full name anymore. If I ever got the chance, I'd be perfectly content to swap my middle name for my legal name, or my mother's initial choice.

 

[everythingoes]

Yep, always hated it for some reason. It just sounds so.. girly and feminine in a way I don't like. I don't feel like it represents me. I don't like the sound of it. I hate it so much that when I was younger, I used to lie to people on the internet about it lmao
But I'll be dead soon, so it doesn't matter anymore

 

[pilotviolin]

yes, i dont feel one with my name and this might sound silly but i would rather be called a similar name to the main pseuds i have online, it feels much more me and i feel more comfortable with it. ive never really identified with my given names, i remember identifying more with my various number IDs. i would change it but it would probably aggravate people around me, and people would take it personally when its not necessarily the case and any of their contribution to dislike of my name ive gotten over it i just never liked my name.

 

[winamp]

definitely,
I can only associate my real name with irritation and anger and I do not connect with who I am referred to at all because my real name is for a character I am supposed to play as or act out

I only think of myself as nameless or by the name I would change it to if I do change my name someday it feels like "me" not a character or actor

I don't know how to explain it

 

[Alexei_Kirillov]

Yes, I have a pretty normal name but my mom spelled it in the worst way possible, seemingly just to confuse people (95% of people mispronounce my name because of how it's spelled and at this point I'm too tired to correct them). I should've went through the effort of changing it to the proper spelling when I was a teenager, but now it would be a lot more involved and difficult.

 

[Hvergelmir]

I changed my names when I was around 20 years old, and I'm kind of confused as to what the big deal is.
The bureaucracy involved might be more involved in other places, but a google search ought to be able to tell you how to do it.

If this is something you want to do, just do it.

 

[Heartaches]

Yes, I'd like to, but I'm not sure if I'm ready. The "easiest" would be to change my birth name due to gender identity, which is contemplated in some states. My state is one of them, although, I've heard of other trans folks suffering discrimination throughout and being unable to complete the process because of it. Sadly, my birth place is very conservative and religious, there is barely any help for trans people. I could go to a nearby state to do the process, but the cost of traveling and staying while waiting is high, so I'm unsure.

Another think I would like to change is my last name. I would like to remove my father's last name and keep my mother's, as we have a negative relationship and he has rarely been present in my life, so I don't wanna be known by his last name. However, I think changing your first or last name in my country, outside of gender or other limited set of reasons, is almost impossible. I need to investigate, but I don't hold high hopes. So what I do when I'm asked to put my name in non-government documents is to omit my father's and only write my mother's. It's not a lot, but it lets me have control.

Also, I agonize thinking about the paperwork. Fuck.​