a non-binary name for myself

General Name Discussion
1

hello!! i hope i’m wording this right. here goes nothing!

i’m 19 years old and coming to realize that my birthname, isn’t quite what i want to go with. i’m a butch lesbian; TL;DR i’m a bit disconnected with my femininity! i want to go for a softer name, something preferrably short. however i’ve had trouble findng something.

here’s some factors that might be useful?

i have glasses and neck/shoulder-length brown hair, and i’m Plump. i swear i’m a writer who can describe better than this. i usually wear casual and cozy clothes and flannel.

my birth name is |</\YL/\ (privacy reasons) last name starts with an m, has a ton of l’s, and ends in o.

like i said previously, i’m looking for something short-ish and soft (cozy?), nonbinary, if it’s a little feminine or masculine that’s fine! here’s some that i’ve compiled so far, although nothing solid. (i don’t know how to link names on forums. sorry…!)

Lou, Seth, Kit (the problem with kit is i know someone who goes by cat/kitty… sigh), Percy, Remy, Chel/Chellie, Soren, i think that’s all i have for now, i’m probably forgetting a few but… i also recently stumbled on Solveig, i really like the feel of ‘soolvy’ (that’s the pronunciation!) but the spelling is too much. and i’m not sure how i feel about sylvie. sully is cute but monster’s inc.

i’ve been hoping to find a name that means future, hope, sun, fire, spring, sunrise, etc! i want it to be a new dawn for myself.

i love reading, animals, nature, and art. and video games. [SUB]and long walks on the beach!!![/SUB]

all jokes aside,! thank you to anyone who tries to help with this, sorry that this is so poorly organized!

2

My first thought is to suggest [name_m]Clarke[/name_m] which I adore as unisex. It sounds masculine with imagery of [name_m]Clark[/name_m] [name_m]Kent[/name_m] but the subtle e adds a feminine flair and softens it enough And sounds like the songbird [name_f]Lark[/name_f].

Have you considered something like [name_u]Scout[/name_u]?

Also just off the top of my head [name_u]Blaise[/name_u], [name_u]Blake[/name_u], or [name_u]Seren[/name_u], [name_f]Briar[/name_f], [name_u]Carey[/name_u], [name_u]Riley[/name_u], [name_u]Jean[/name_u], or maybe [name_m]Jett[/name_m].

I do really like [name_u]Kit[/name_u] too.

3

[name_u]Romy[/name_u]
[name_u]Kai[/name_u]
[name_u]Sunny[/name_u]
[name_u]Toby[/name_u]
[name_m]Leo[/name_m]
[name_u]Teddy[/name_u]
[name_u]Cory[/name_u]
[name_u]Del[/name_u]/[name_u]Dell[/name_u]
[name_m]Ezra[/name_m]
[name_u]Bo[/name_u]
[name_u]Tate[/name_u]
[name_m]Sol[/name_m]

4

What about [name_u]Stevie[/name_u]? It has a similar sound to [name_f]Solveig[/name_f]/[name_f]Sylvie[/name_f].
It comes from the name [name_f]Stephanie[/name_f] which means crown/garland which I think could be meaningful for you.

5

Firstly, I wouldn’t say [name_u]Seth[/name_u] is unisex. I instantly think of male. Same with [name_m]Soren[/name_m]. I don’t know if that matters to you but just my two cents. I think [name_u]Remy[/name_u] is a great name that fits the bill! Also, [name_f]Solveig[/name_f] is pronounced sole-vay, not quite soolvy.

[name_u]Elliot[/name_u]
[name_u]Rio[/name_u]
[name_u]Drew[/name_u]
[name_u]Lane[/name_u]
[name_u]Sage[/name_u]
[name_u]Romy[/name_u]
[name_f]Elle[/name_f]
[name_u]Quinn[/name_u]
[name_u]Eden[/name_u] (means “place of pleasure, delight”)
[name_u]Shiloh[/name_u] (means “tranquil”)
[name_u]Blaise[/name_u] (this specific spelling doesn’t mean fire but it sounds like blaze)
[name_u]Phoenix[/name_u] (the bird that rose from the ashes of a fire, works well here!)
[name_m]Elio[/name_m] (from [name_m]Helios[/name_m], the Greek sun god)
[name_m]Cyrus[/name_m] (means “sun”)

6

The first two I thought of were [name_u]Vesper[/name_u] and [name_u]Ember[/name_u]! The former means star, and the latter has connections to fire. Something similar to [name_f]Solveig[/name_f] is Solei/[name_f]Soleil[/name_f], and I also thought of [name_f]Briar[/name_f] and [name_u]Artemis[/name_u]. [name_u]Aspen[/name_u], Luxe, [name_u]Pax[/name_u], [name_f]Solstice[/name_f], [name_u]Echo[/name_u], [name_u]Phoenix[/name_u], [name_f]Noa[/name_f], [name_u]Kai[/name_u], and [name_u]Sage[/name_u] are other thoughts.

7

[name_f]Soleil[/name_f] is a great suggestion, as is [name_m]Sol[/name_m]! The interesting thing about [name_m]Sol[/name_m] is that it’s the name of both the [name_m]Roman[/name_m] sun god and the Norse sun goddess, which would tie in with being non-binary/seeing both male and female in yourself.

Suggestions:

[name_m]Albie[/name_m] - Has an interesting bunch of meanings, since it can be seen as a diminutive for [name_m]Albert[/name_m]/a (“noble-bright”), [name_m]Alban[/name_m] (which means either “white”, “world”, or “solstice”, depending on whether you interpret it as [name_m]Roman[/name_m], Ancient Celtic, or Welsh respectively), or [name_f]Alba[/name_f] (“sunrise”)

[name_f]Eos[/name_f] - Greek sunrise goddess, quite a streamlined and gender-neutral sound

[name_u]Edan[/name_u] - A variant of both [name_u]Aidan[/name_u] and Étaín, making it unisex, and meaning “little fire”

[name_u]Gwyn[/name_u] - Meaning “white” or “blessed”; related options include [name_f]Winnie[/name_f], [name_u]Finn[/name_u], and Fennore

[name_u]Seren[/name_u] - Similar to [name_m]Soren[/name_m], [name_u]Seren[/name_u] means “star”

[name_f]Celeste[/name_f] - Meaning “heavenly”, this leans feminine to most people but is actually unisex; I like it on both genders

[name_f]Aster[/name_f] - Means “star” in Greek

[name_m]Elio[/name_m] - Means “sun”; a more feminine but still ambiguous option would be [name_f]Elin[/name_f]

[name_f]Leni[/name_f]/[name_m]Lenny[/name_m] - Can be seen either as a diminutive for [name_f]Helena[/name_f] (“sunlight”) or [name_m]Leonard[/name_m] (“lion-brave”)

[name_f]Suvi[/name_f] - Means “summer” in Finnish

[name_m]Sulien[/name_m] - An old Celtic name meaning “sun-born”; Sulis is a related option

Sely - Means “blessed” and is also spelt [name_m]Sealey[/name_m]

[name_m]Sylvan[/name_m] - Leans male but could be [name_f]Sylvie[/name_f] for short?

[name_f]Avis[/name_f] - Means “bird” in Latin

[name_u]Avery[/name_u]/[name_f]Affery[/name_f] - Both were probably unisex originally, but the former has had more male usage, while the latter was used by Dickens for a female character

8

[name_m]Adrian[/name_m]
[name_m]Adriel[/name_m]
[name_u]Auden[/name_u]
[name_u]Austen[/name_u]
[name_u]Arden[/name_u]
[name_u]Aspen[/name_u]
[name_u]Adair[/name_u]
[name_u]Arlo[/name_u]
[name_u]August[/name_u]
[name_u]Beau[/name_u]/[name_u]Bo[/name_u]
[name_u]Bellamy[/name_u]
[name_u]Blake[/name_u]
[name_u]Blair[/name_u]
[name_f]Briar[/name_f]
[name_u]Brighton[/name_u]
[name_u]Bryn[/name_u]
[name_u]Campbell[/name_u]
[name_u]Charlie[/name_u]
[name_m]Clarke[/name_m]
[name_m]Chance[/name_m]
[name_u]Dylan[/name_u]
[name_u]Eden[/name_u]
[name_u]Ellery[/name_u]
[name_u]Elliot[/name_u]
[name_u]Ellis[/name_u]
[name_u]Ellison[/name_u]
[name_u]Emery[/name_u]
[name_u]Emerson[/name_u]
[name_u]Frankie[/name_u]
[name_u]Gray[/name_u]/[name_u]Grey[/name_u]
[name_f]Greer[/name_f]
[name_f]Harlow[/name_f]
[name_u]Harley[/name_u]
[name_u]Jude[/name_u]
[name_u]Kai[/name_u] (my sister has a gender fluid friend who goes by this)
[name_m]Kellan[/name_m]
[name_u]Luca[/name_u]
[name_u]Linden[/name_u]
[name_u]Marley[/name_u]
[name_u]Micah[/name_u]
[name_f]Noa[/name_f]
[name_u]Quinn[/name_u]
[name_u]Reese[/name_u]
[name_u]Rory[/name_u]
[name_u]River[/name_u]
[name_u]Rowan[/name_u]
[name_u]Sage[/name_u]
[name_u]Shea[/name_u]
[name_u]Spencer[/name_u]
[name_u]Sloane[/name_u]
[name_u]Tatum[/name_u]
[name_u]Tobin[/name_u]
[name_u]Vesper[/name_u]
[name_u]Winter[/name_u]
[name_u]Wren[/name_u]

9

[name_m]Hi[/name_m]. I am also changing my name. In my case though I am just adding middle names.

Some names you may like…

[name_f]Renee[/name_f]. Means reborn. [name_u]Rene[/name_u] is the male spelling.

[name_u]Stevie[/name_u]. Used a nickname for [name_m]Steven[/name_m] or [name_f]Stephanie[/name_f]. Means crown garland.

[name_u]Artemis[/name_u] means moon. Can be used as name for both boys and girls.

Another thought is you could just use the word Dawn as your new name. Another word name you could use is Sunny.

I will come back with more names when I think of them.

10

hi guys, thank you so much for the feedback+suggestions! these are all really sweet names and i appreciate the thought put into them! ;o; i honestly was really pleasantly surprised with all of them / loved them all, i’ll try to fit my thoughts on them into this but i’m sorry if i leave any of them out!

ones i especially loved are [name_m]Sylvan[/name_m]/[name_f]Sylvie[/name_f], [name_f]Suvi[/name_f], [name_u]Romy[/name_u], [name_m]Sol[/name_m]/[name_f]Soleil[/name_f] (i actually didn’t know that sol was the name of multiple deities!), [name_u]Shiloh[/name_u], [name_u]Drew[/name_u], [name_m]Elio[/name_m], [name_f]Elin[/name_f], [name_f]Leni[/name_f], [name_u]Ember[/name_u], Solei, [name_u]Aspen[/name_u], [name_u]Kai[/name_u], [name_f]Alba[/name_f]/[name_m]Albie[/name_m], [name_u]Reese[/name_u], [name_u]Gwyn[/name_u] (the funny thing is i loved the name a lot when i was younger), [name_u]Rory[/name_u], [name_u]Wren[/name_u], and [name_u]Micah[/name_u]… [name_u]Teddy[/name_u] and [name_u]Scout[/name_u] are adorable too!!

[name_u]Shiloh[/name_u] and [name_f]Suvi[/name_f] are especally cute.

i also love the name [name_u]Artemis[/name_u] but again worry about it seeming too ‘much’. i love mythology.

[name_u]Stevie[/name_u] is very sweet too. and i love the meaning of [name_u]Phoenix[/name_u], it’s the meaning i was going for to a t! i’m just worried it’d seem too much? like the spelling+length+‘fanciness’ of it? maybe if i could think of a shortened version of it or a name based off of it… the first thing that comes to mind is Fawx (harry potter hahaha) but that doesn’t pass much as name.

i agree about [name_u]Seth[/name_u] and [name_m]Soren[/name_m] seeming more on the male side, thank you for the feedback! seth is one i’m on the fence about anyways, it has a hidden/personal meaning behind it but i’m starting to shift away from it.

also, good luck finding a middle name, jewelstone!!

11

quick update! i looked up phoenixes really fast and i was pretty surprised.

“The Huma, also known as the “bird of paradise,” is a Persian mythological bird, similar to the Egyptian phoenix. … The Huma is considered to be a compassionate bird and its touch is said to bring great fortune. …The Huma bird joins both the male and female natures together in one body, each sharing a wing and a leg. … The Persians teach that great blessings come to that person on whom the Huma’s shadow falls.”

“The speaker of this poem describes her unsuccessful attempts at committing suicide not as failures, but as successful resurrections, like those described in the tales of the biblical character [name_m]Lazarus[/name_m] and the phoenix.”

(source)

i thought that was really interesting! + in judaism, the phonex is called Milcham/Chol/Hol.

still no luck, though. :frowning:

12

hmm, with [name_u]Phoenix[/name_u] I always loved the simple nn [name_f]Nix[/name_f] for it, but
Maybe that’s not your style? Enix sounds cool too but maybe too much like Square Enix?

Phen/fen? Might feel like a stretch though.

Good luck on your searching

13

[name_u]Scout[/name_u] is one.
[name_u]Riley[/name_u]
[name_u]Jay[/name_u]
[name_u]Jem[/name_u] (nn for [name_u]James[/name_u])
[name_u]Jo[/name_u]

14

My faves from your new list are [name_m]Sol[/name_m] and [name_u]Phoenix[/name_u]. [name_m]Sol[/name_m] is one of my favorite names ever, because 1. it’s a word name (“sun” in multiple languages, including my first language Portuguese) and 2. it’s “gender-bending”. In Portuguese, sol is a masculine noun, but every person (or dog btw) I have met with this name is female (although in English it can also be a nn for [name_m]Solomon[/name_m]). I only know one [name_u]Phoenix[/name_u] personally, my first thought when she introduced herself was “that’s so cool!”. The name is longer visually than when it is pronounced, which seems like a pro for you. [name_u]Phoenix[/name_u] gives me a bad girl/ cool girl or a spiritual girl vibe way more than a fancy/aristocratic one. I don’t know what to say about the spelling… I don’t think there are other ways to do it in English…? It ranked #268 for males and #363 for females in 2017, therefore it’s not so uncommon that [most] people don’t know how to spell it, there is also the city and the similarity to [name_f]Phoebe[/name_f] (#319).

Source: ssa.gov

15

Sorry for any repeats

[name_f]Enid[/name_f]
[name_u]Ellis[/name_u]
[name_u]Ari[/name_u] or [name_m]Artie[/name_m]
[name_u]Charlie[/name_u]
[name_u]Ash[/name_u]
[name_u]Jesse[/name_u]
[name_u]Max[/name_u]
[name_u]Rey[/name_u]
[name_u]Morgan[/name_u]
[name_u]Cody[/name_u]
[name_u]Rowan[/name_u]