A recently published analysis of data on transgender name changes in the UK has revealed “interesting trends and patterns” about how trans people are approaching a “highly personal process”, it said. UK Registry Office.
In the UK, the legal document that certifies a name change is a “Deed Poll.” The UK Deed Poll Office is not a government agency, but a private document provider that claims on its website that in the eight years it has been in business, it has helped more than 136,000 UK citizens change their names, for a fee.
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According to the office, maintaining a connection to a dead name is a top priority for trans people who want to change their name. But according to the office’s data, the vast majority of trans people do not choose a name that starts with the same initial as their dead name. Of the more than 1,500 trans name change applications the office reviewed, 69.72% (1,057 people) chose a name that starts with a different letter than their dead name, and 30.28% (459 people) kept the initial of the name they were given at birth.
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Without providing any additional information to back this up, the UK Registry speculates that choosing a name beginning with the same letters as a posthumous name may indicate a “desire to maintain continuity with a past identity” among transgender people.
The agency also found that the majority of applicants (1,260 out of 1,558, or about 81 percent) also chose to change their middle name, a trend that “reflects the importance individuals place on their middle names, with many seeking a fresh start or a name that better aligns with their gender identity,” the agency said.
The office also looked at the ages at which transgender people applied for family registries to change their names. More 18-year-olds (15.28%) chose to change their name than any other age group, but the data shows that transgender people may choose to change their name at any point in their lives. Of the 1,558 applications the office included in its analysis, 140 (8.99%) were from 16-year-olds.
The analysis also revealed the top 10 names chosen by both transgender men and women.
Of the 1,371 applications analysed, the most common trans men were Noah, Alex, Charlie, Elliot, Daniel, Tyler, Jay, Luke, Lucas and Logan. The most common trans women were Jessica, Emily, Charlotte, Alice, Willow, Luna, Lucy, Freya, Ellie and Alex.
According to the British Public Opinion Service, “these names often reflect cultural influences, personal heroes, or simply names that resonate deeply with an individual’s sense of self,” although the service did not provide any information to back up this claim.
“Understanding these statistics helps us better understand the diverse experiences and choices of the transgender community,” the HMRC said, adding that it is “committed to supporting individuals with empathy and respect at every stage of the name change journey.”
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