Charlie¿

╭                                    ╮

My name is Charlie.

╰                                    ╯

《 And I’m proud of that. 》

┌──────⋆⋅🖇⋅⋆ ──────┐

Hello! Today I'm going to talk

about my name.

I am non-binary, and I picked

the name Charlie for myself.

I'm going to talk about why

I picked Charlie and the

importance of picking out a

name with personal meaning.

#transgender

└──────⋆⋅🖇⋅⋆ ──────┘

════《✧》════

The name Charlie is an English name, and it means free man. Although originally an exclusively masculine name, Charlie has since become a unisex nickname for Charles, Charlotte and other similar names.

Charlie to me sounds very playful, and I’ve always been fond of the name. Ever since I first heard it I called myself Charlie in make-believe games and wanted to be called Charlotte at birth just so people would call me Charlie as a nickname that fit.

Then I found out that my parents were going to name me Charlotte, but didn’t because their friends had a baby called Charlotte, and that really, really annoyed me.

The name just feels so like me, I’ve always had some kind of connection with it. It’s unisex (great for a non-binary person), but also leaning masculine, as I.

Overall I love it so much. Hope one day I can make it official!

════《✧》════

════《✧》════

Changing your name can be so hard. There are a number of steps, and it can be a struggle. Or it can be surprisingly easy; it depends on your situation. But no matter what, you have to:

⓵… Choose the name

⓶… Experiment with it

⓷… Start using it with close ones

⓸… Start using it with all people you know

⓹… Start using it with strangers

⓺… Change it legally

⓻… Completely forget about your dead name

All of this is so weird. I’m barely at stage 3. I have told one person and I’m thinking about telling my non-binary friend since obviously they’ll understand.

Anyway, the step i want to focus on in this blog is step 1. In my opinion it is one of the most important, if not THE most important step, and a lot of people get it wrong.

Choosing a new name is weird. You’ve seen so many cool and quirky ones out there and you fancy them, but you have to take a step back and make it more personal.

First, just from your brain, write down all the names you like that suit your gender. This can be more difficult if you’re non-binary, but just think of unisex names or names that fit whether you’re more feminine or masculine. Do not look them up yet, just do it from memory.

Circle your favourite name or names. Maybe it sounds nice, maybe it feels right when you say it out loud. Or maybe it’s just a nice name.

Now look up some names on the Internet, and do the same as before. Write them down, circle your favourite.

Now out of these circled ones, circle one you got from memory and one you found on the Internet that are your absolute favourites. Often, you’ll find the one from memory is more personal and better, but this isn’t always the case.

When choosing between these names, just think; “when I’m an adult, can I see my work colleagues calling me __________?”. If no, then that name likely isn’t for you.

Of course, it’s nice to know the meanings of different names, too. I like Charlie because it means free man, showing that now I am Charlie I am free to be me!

Often times you’ll come across a name and your heart will just know that’s your name. It’s not spiritual (unless you want it to be), it’s just the one that feels right.

I’m not the guru of advice, these are just suggestions. Names are weird, and I’m not smart. If you have questions, you can discuss in the comments if you’d like!

════《✧》════

════《✧》════

So I have hardly dipped a toe in the ocean of name changing, but I’ve done a lot more than I’ve expected of myself.

I chose the name for reasons discussed, and after choosing it I kinda went “great!.... Now what”. I decided the next step was to start using it online to see if it felt right. It did, and now it’s my name hehe.

I have a really good friend at school, she likes to be called Alfie, and we got into the subject of name changing when in a conversation. I decided to mention that I wanted to experiment with being called Charlie, and also that I prefer they/them pronouns. She agreed, and didn’t make a big deal out of it at all. It was awesome, and I’m super grateful.

I do have another friend who I’ve asked time and time again to use they/them pronouns for me and my other non-binary friend. She has failed many a time, especially when one or both of us isn’t around. It’s quite annoying. I don’t know if she accepts me or not. But hey. I’m yet to tell her about Charlie.

I might feel that Charlie isn’t the name for me, and that’s okay. All I have to do is ask my friends to not use Charlie any more, which would be absolutely fine!

════《✧》═══

╭                                    ╮

So yeah, thank you so

much for reading this,

I hope it helped some

people somewhere!

Be yourself through

your name, and be

proud of it!

╰                                    ╯