Does anyone else get upset/angry with the "popular trans name" list?
I have a popular trans name (I'm 24 ftm btw). Like one that is used a lot in the trans/transmasc community. I'm cool with it, it's funny, I love my name and love that many others love it. But when I tell people, who are a part of the LGBTQIA+ community or those who are ally's, in-person or online, that this name is my chosen name, they give me the: "really?", "that's so common", "that's not unique at all", "you're fitting that stereotype", "you're not helping the community by chosing that name", etc.
I love hitting them with the, "it's the nickname of my dead name, so I've went by it my entire life. So I'm cool with it." Sometimes, when I'm feeling a little silly, I'll add on, "it's a common name in the cisgender community, so why is it an issue when trans people have this common name? Is it because it's a chosen name? But mine wasn't chosen, so how does this association with this so called "list" work with me when my chosen name was given to me as a nickname of my dead name?"
Even after I responded with that, occasionally they go on this tangent of how I have to choose a "better trans/transmasc" name. And if they know it, they want to call me by my middle name because it's unique. Excuse me? This name is my chosen name, I chose it, call me by it, not my middle name. I wouldn't do that to you because that's disrespectful.
The reason why I'm upset by this right now is because I went to an event and was introduced to another openly trans person who asked me my name. I told them. And their first response? "Oh, wow. Way to fit the stereotype." My response? "That's a terrible thing to say to someone you just met." And walked away.
I get that they may have been trying to be funny, but as someone who has been getting teased by my name for years, it's getting old. But if it's something else, I'm not going to associate myself with someone who is offended by my name, that's offensive to me.
So, do you get upset by this "list" sometimes or by the reaction of others when they hear your name/nickname/chosen name?