My wife and kids lobbed names at me for 2 weeks straight and I gave each one a thumbs up or thumbs down. After 2 weeks I had a couple favorites picked out and I chose from those.
My name was actually a placeholder that I picked to try and get through a night of bad dysphoria. It was mostly on the basis of how it sounded. It worked enough to stick with it, and now 5 years later I'm making it my official legal name.
For some people, they go through a lot of different names, or make a big list and try them on to see how they feel. I think names are something you can grow into - you find something that sounds or feels good, and then grow into it over time and use.
See if you can try Tawny out with some friends, and decide from there.
I just made a note on my phone with a list of names every time I thought of one or heard one and then tested them in different online spaces, I settled on Bas though I'm still not entirely sure since it feels a bit strange but I think it's pretty fem. I like Tawny though, I think that's a god choice
I wouldn't advise on Tawny bc unless you pass really well, cis people's brains will autocorrect it to Tony to resolve their confusion.
That's something that happens with a lot of names, but in this case, it's going to be difficult to even make the distinction when correcting.
That said, if you're ready to deal with that, it is a good name ^^
To know for sure you'd have to go by a name for some time testing it out.
This is essentially what I'm doing. And since most of my family calls me by nicknames that work for either the masculine or feminine form, it's one less thing to worry about.
Tawny is a cool name! Here's the loadout:
* Personally I'd change the spelling to Tawni (that's just me tho)
I picked my name by picking what I loved. I made my pet's name my middle name and made my love for music my last name. Then I just picked a japanese first name and called it a day XD. When I was making my choice it felt as nerve racking as you might feel as well. It all tastes getting used to, good luck 13!
The way I chose a name was I had several ones I liked and used them on like food ordering apps like Starbucks. Listened for my name to be called and see if it felt right or not.
I'm a writer so I already had lists of different types of names I liked. I added my favorite feminine names to a new list, spent several hours scrolling through yet more lists on baby name websites until I had thirty-two candidates and then I separated those into pairs and did tournament-style elimination to narrow the list down. By the time I reached the final eight, the choices got more difficult and I had to start imagining actually using each name in my day-to-day life, introducing myself, hearing others refer to me, writing my new full name on forms and so on.
In the end, the name that felt most comfortable was one that I had thought was pretty for years and that happens to be phonetically similar to my old name, so it had a familiarity to it without just being the feminine variation of my old name, which I've never particularly loved.
tawny is a great name and has been at the top of the "names i'm feeling" list in my iphone notes for a year
go Tawnee if you want to get crazy with it! but i love Tawny
you have a middle name or four to choose as well if you like! go nuts! but be mindful of what your initials will be - i changed my name legally twice and the first time i didnt realise my initials were "B.O." for far too long
I personally find it important that my parents are also involved in this, just like if i were cis.
Anyway that was a suggestion, what names do you like?
My name is just a dimunitive of my dead name, which is common to make a name more feminine in my native language
this isnt as refined as some others but I named terraria characters random girl names that start with M (because that is the first initial of my dead name), until I found one I liked
I had a few people I looked up to with the same first name, I tried out a couple different ones with my closest friends and this one just sounded the best. My deadname was pretty uncommon and I’d always hated it, I know a lot of people choose a name that starts with the same letter of their deadname but I didn’t want to do that lol
I polled my partners and both of them had the same name as their first suggestion (without consultation). In doing my due diligence and looking at cultural references, I found a fictional character with this first name and my existing last name, so it kinda felt like the universe was choosing my name for me.
It also helped that I loved it from the first time I heard it.
Listen, make lists, there's an innumerable choice out there.
I waited a long time, tried on a few for size and found they didn't work as well as I thought they might, then I watched Fallout and heard...Lucy!
And I thought that doesn't sound bad, it feels like it could be me. It's like a comfortable car, I could do miles in it.
I picked a nice name early on but it wasn't a spoken name yet. Video game character name I used for years. I pronounced it differently anyone who has come across it. Discouraged and hung up on the spelling I shelved it and used my masc name with some letters removed. It's a not too uncommon fem name. This was great for a while because it's use would get my attention really easily and I work in a medical environment so it's been useful.
But I was unhappy still. I remembered that I used my dekthor user name in Google assistant and had to spell it phonetically to make the assistant say it properly. So I tried that out and messed with the spelling until googled said it right.
So now I am using a nickname at work and my new real name for everything else. I am no longer thing up on the spelling as I've come to realize that it's how it's spoken that matters more rather than what it looks like on paper.
I switched from the feminine to masculine version.
If you like the name go for it! Another related name is Tawnya if you would like Tawny as a nickname.
a play on your favorite deity from your favorite pantheon or pun based on where you are from is the advice i received that helped me choose. so i have to pass it on.
i've always been really bad with coming up with names so honestly I did the bare minimum and just asked my parents what would have been my name as a girl and I really liked what they said
Names are hard!
I've gotten really attached to the name of my main character in my story I'm writing 🤦 but I can't change his name if I steal it for myself
I went off of a gender neutral nickname, and I just ended up liking it so much I kept it! Also tawny is a really pretty name, if you like it then that’s all that matters :3
Oh I struggled with this forever. I already struggle with identity and went through SO many names but none of them ever clicked. Settled on one that has a personal connection to me and is a fact of my life and always will be and it seems to fit now. (Think "bunny" if rabbits have always been a part of your life, "Ame" if rain has always been comforting to you, etc)
Test it out by ordering coffee with that name - it's a good way to see if it's frequently misheard, misspelled or mispronounced, and how annoying that might be.
I just chose the gender bend version of my name, ie: Kayla to kayleb, but I have buddies who chose a name based on smth that has the same aesthetic as them ie: cloud, Kirby, etc
Look up some names that you think you'll like, go to a coffee shop or starbucks and use one of those said names. If hearing said name makes you happy or ear pleasing :D
My friend came up with mine for my shaman in wow and it grew on me lol
i started by going by my first initial so i could be thoughtful about a name while also not having dysphoria over being called my name. i then had it narrowed down to two, and one of my best friends chose one of the names i was deciding between, so i picked the other one. the one i decided on was an alternative spelling of a childhood nickname of mine, so it felt like me, but the change in spelling made it more gender neutral
I was called T most of my life, and as a teenager I decided to make it Tea, (as in a cup of tea, not Tee-uh), and it worked, it's a pretty neutral name to me so it fit when I thought I was genderfluid, and still fits now that I figured out I'm a Trans man. If I wasn't going to go by Tea, I'd probably go by Tristan, because that's what I would've been named had I been born AMAB.
I started by making a list of potential name ideas before deciding on a final one. Something that was important to me was it being able to have a nickname, and not sounding too stereotypically “trans” (such as like… the really common ones like Kai or super obscure like Dionysus or whatever). All the power to those folks who choose those super unique names, but I feel like it makes them more clockable (which I’m not trying to be where I live) than just picking like. “Jeff” or whatever lol. I ended up with the name Michael, I feel like it fit and still is pretty common and has nickname potential.
However you may have different priorities. Some people want to have a new name that is close to their birth name because they have a special connection to it. Some people don’t. It’s ultimately up to you. If you like “Tawny,” then that could be it for you. You can always change it again later if you want.
I also recommend maybe trying it out in smaller spaces first, such as online or with close friends or at a coffee shop to see how it feels to you. I did that (with some close friends), and it helped me decide even more that “Michael” fit me well. I found it kind of hard to decide on a name without trying it out first, so don’t be afraid to do so.
What matters most is it’s one that you like and feel connected to/it feels right when someone refers to you as that name. There’s no time limit on picking one, either. Don’t stress! <33
My first name was Oliver and I just thought of it at random and rolled with it lol. But I ended up changing it because I was talking to my aunts and they were both like "it doesn't really suit you, if you want maybe try out some other names? " and so I tried out Evan and it worked! It has the same first initial as my dead name and people usually call me Ev for short and those are my initials (my last name starts with v) I would recommend looking up some names that have the same first initial as your old name 😁
Choose based on any factors you want. There are no rules. Change names in different contexts if you want to. Experiment with names like outfits!
Try multiple accounts with various degrees of anonymity and see what you feel most comfortable with.
You can always change it later if it doesn't feel right.
Also the name alignment chart:
https://www.reddit.com/r/traaaaaaannnnnnnnnns2/s/zUwotZsRmz
Personally, I liked the way my dead name sounded phonetically, so I just changed the first couple letters and kept the vowels/general structure the same. It started as a placeholder, but I've grown fond of it. May add more names or change it later idk
my name sorta chose me. because so many people are transphobic and *possessive* when it comes to names, i wanted to choose a name that nobody else i knew already had. one that sounded like a name you'd hear in a standard convo. some women like really fantastical names, and while i think that's lovely, to those not in our community--my family included, they think coming out is a midlife crisis--some names sound like a 'character.' i wanted to keep the same initial for simplicity, and as a nod to the man who ran the first leg of the relay race for me. i'm definitely not a tiffany, teresa, tanya, taylor, or tammy. those were easy for me to rule out immediately. then 'tessa' just floated into my mind and stuck fast. 🙂
I liked the meaning of my deadname, so I chose a girl name with a similar meaning that was short, cause I also like short names.
A cousin of mine chose it based on a queer family member’s name, another one just made one up. There’s really no wrong way to go about it.
Also you can always change it if you don’t like it. There’s really no pressure. Just try things and you’ll find at least one you like.
What do you like?
One thing I did was write out my possible names a few hundred times. And type it out a few hundred times. And practice introductions a few hundred times. This not only something that has to feel right with friends and family, but putting on bank documents, signing emails, writing on forms, and all the other shit that comes with being a whole-ass person.
It needs to be something that speaks to you, but it's also your personal and professional identity
Initially I wanted to be called Aurora, but when I tried it out in practice it didn't work. I wanted to be a Disney Princess since I was yes years old, so it made some sense. After that I tried a few, didn't work. So I picked Sarah. A normal, boring, uneventful name. It's a name of a character from a game I identify with, and it fits. Other names feel wrong. So Sarah it is.
For what it's worth Tawny is an excellent name. It isn't too strange, but it's unique and easy to spell and pronounce. People don't think about those things. I like it a lot.
Im going to reuse some text I wrote for a different name-related question earlier:
I had a very intentional process for discovering mine (I say "discovering" because I didn't want to feel like I was too consciously "picking" it in an intellectualized way, I wanted to feel like it chose me instead of me choosing it, to some extent), which is Téa. My mom was going to name me Tayo if a girl, but that was not an option, because I gave it to my childhood dog (lol), and I also think it sounds too masc on a transfemme person. So I flipped the vowel to 'a' and immediately felt it resonate and feel right in my body. Then I looked it up online to see what it means, and discovered it's often a derivation of Dorotea, which I loved because 1) queer associations with "Dorothy", 2) it means "gift of God," where my birth assigned name (which I've had for 41 years), Timothy, means "honoring God" - my parents put a lot of thought and intention into naming me, and I appreciate that and like retaining some connection to it. And I also get a kick out of the (gendered) switch from an action (honoring) to object (gift). —I'm only using Téa, I've no interest in Dorotea, but I just like knowing there's a story behind it I can get excited about.
I've only been using it for a month or so. My issue has been feeling like it's really me, and not having feelings of minor panic, when I hear people use it. I think it was a combination of overwhelm with going public with it with so many people at once (I posted on socials — including my professional network on LINKEDIN lolol— and emailed family all in one week), and lingering trans imposter syndrome, fear of having to walk it back later and looking foolish or harmful to other trans folks. But it's been feeling more and more like me the longer I use it (especially with new folks and my closest friends/loved ones), I think it just takes time.
I love Tawny btw. I'm a big fan/follower/scholar of daytime soaps, and Tawny feels very soap (my favorite famous Téa is a character named Téa Delgado on One Life to Live lol)... in a good way.
Finding a name, as far as I understand, is mostly just feeling out what works for you, Tawny. You can find some people online to call you by that name and see how it feels.
I based mine on a character who is deeply meaningful to me (Elenore Shellstrop from The Good Place) and changed the spelling a little to make it more me. I go by Ellenore or Elle(L) for short, which is the first letter of my birth name. So it's also a little easier for others to grasp the change. My heart flutters every time I hear my partner say, "Elle!" 🥰
I would say pick something that makes your heart flutter when people you love say it :)
My wife and kids lobbed names at me for 2 weeks straight and I gave each one a thumbs up or thumbs down. After 2 weeks I had a couple favorites picked out and I chose from those.
This is so precious
My name was actually a placeholder that I picked to try and get through a night of bad dysphoria. It was mostly on the basis of how it sounded. It worked enough to stick with it, and now 5 years later I'm making it my official legal name. For some people, they go through a lot of different names, or make a big list and try them on to see how they feel. I think names are something you can grow into - you find something that sounds or feels good, and then grow into it over time and use. See if you can try Tawny out with some friends, and decide from there.
I just made a note on my phone with a list of names every time I thought of one or heard one and then tested them in different online spaces, I settled on Bas though I'm still not entirely sure since it feels a bit strange but I think it's pretty fem. I like Tawny though, I think that's a god choice
I wouldn't advise on Tawny bc unless you pass really well, cis people's brains will autocorrect it to Tony to resolve their confusion. That's something that happens with a lot of names, but in this case, it's going to be difficult to even make the distinction when correcting. That said, if you're ready to deal with that, it is a good name ^^ To know for sure you'd have to go by a name for some time testing it out.
Or Donny.
I added an "a" to my birth name for the feminine form, which felt comfortable and familiar.
This is essentially what I'm doing. And since most of my family calls me by nicknames that work for either the masculine or feminine form, it's one less thing to worry about.
Tawny is a cool name! Here's the loadout: * Personally I'd change the spelling to Tawni (that's just me tho) I picked my name by picking what I loved. I made my pet's name my middle name and made my love for music my last name. Then I just picked a japanese first name and called it a day XD. When I was making my choice it felt as nerve racking as you might feel as well. It all tastes getting used to, good luck 13!
Switched middle and first, took feminine forms of both, and bam, new name.
The way I chose a name was I had several ones I liked and used them on like food ordering apps like Starbucks. Listened for my name to be called and see if it felt right or not.
I'm a writer so I already had lists of different types of names I liked. I added my favorite feminine names to a new list, spent several hours scrolling through yet more lists on baby name websites until I had thirty-two candidates and then I separated those into pairs and did tournament-style elimination to narrow the list down. By the time I reached the final eight, the choices got more difficult and I had to start imagining actually using each name in my day-to-day life, introducing myself, hearing others refer to me, writing my new full name on forms and so on. In the end, the name that felt most comfortable was one that I had thought was pretty for years and that happens to be phonetically similar to my old name, so it had a familiarity to it without just being the feminine variation of my old name, which I've never particularly loved.
tawny is a great name and has been at the top of the "names i'm feeling" list in my iphone notes for a year go Tawnee if you want to get crazy with it! but i love Tawny you have a middle name or four to choose as well if you like! go nuts! but be mindful of what your initials will be - i changed my name legally twice and the first time i didnt realise my initials were "B.O." for far too long
I personally find it important that my parents are also involved in this, just like if i were cis. Anyway that was a suggestion, what names do you like? My name is just a dimunitive of my dead name, which is common to make a name more feminine in my native language
I chose a name that felt special when I said it. I don't know why but I just love my name now.
this isnt as refined as some others but I named terraria characters random girl names that start with M (because that is the first initial of my dead name), until I found one I liked
Oh mah gosh I love the name tawny, I knew a girl from my old HS with that name and it went perfectly with her intense confidence.
I had a few people I looked up to with the same first name, I tried out a couple different ones with my closest friends and this one just sounded the best. My deadname was pretty uncommon and I’d always hated it, I know a lot of people choose a name that starts with the same letter of their deadname but I didn’t want to do that lol
I polled my partners and both of them had the same name as their first suggestion (without consultation). In doing my due diligence and looking at cultural references, I found a fictional character with this first name and my existing last name, so it kinda felt like the universe was choosing my name for me. It also helped that I loved it from the first time I heard it.
Listen, make lists, there's an innumerable choice out there. I waited a long time, tried on a few for size and found they didn't work as well as I thought they might, then I watched Fallout and heard...Lucy! And I thought that doesn't sound bad, it feels like it could be me. It's like a comfortable car, I could do miles in it.
And we gotta do all the miles in these names. Sometimes you hear it and you're like "yuuuuuup"
I picked a nice name early on but it wasn't a spoken name yet. Video game character name I used for years. I pronounced it differently anyone who has come across it. Discouraged and hung up on the spelling I shelved it and used my masc name with some letters removed. It's a not too uncommon fem name. This was great for a while because it's use would get my attention really easily and I work in a medical environment so it's been useful. But I was unhappy still. I remembered that I used my dekthor user name in Google assistant and had to spell it phonetically to make the assistant say it properly. So I tried that out and messed with the spelling until googled said it right. So now I am using a nickname at work and my new real name for everything else. I am no longer thing up on the spelling as I've come to realize that it's how it's spoken that matters more rather than what it looks like on paper.
I feminized an old nickname That said, Tawny is a lovely name, I've known several people who had it
tawny is good. I took my name from the hottest girl in high school who I would have liked to look like. she was all American girl and a cheerleader.
I couldn’t decide so my friend named me 🥰 maybe ask a trusted person what they think suits you?
I switched from the feminine to masculine version. If you like the name go for it! Another related name is Tawnya if you would like Tawny as a nickname.
There were multiple people in my high school with the same first name who were the kind of feminine I wanted to be, so I borrowed their name.
I simply picked the girl name my parents would have given me if I had been AFAB. I fixed their mistake.
Tawnee is common spelling, it's unambiguously feminine, Tawny less so
a play on your favorite deity from your favorite pantheon or pun based on where you are from is the advice i received that helped me choose. so i have to pass it on.
i've always been really bad with coming up with names so honestly I did the bare minimum and just asked my parents what would have been my name as a girl and I really liked what they said
Names are hard! I've gotten really attached to the name of my main character in my story I'm writing 🤦 but I can't change his name if I steal it for myself
Gonna be honest, mine was originally meant to be an internet pseudonym, but it grew on me and here we are now
I went off of a gender neutral nickname, and I just ended up liking it so much I kept it! Also tawny is a really pretty name, if you like it then that’s all that matters :3
Oh I struggled with this forever. I already struggle with identity and went through SO many names but none of them ever clicked. Settled on one that has a personal connection to me and is a fact of my life and always will be and it seems to fit now. (Think "bunny" if rabbits have always been a part of your life, "Ame" if rain has always been comforting to you, etc)
Test it out by ordering coffee with that name - it's a good way to see if it's frequently misheard, misspelled or mispronounced, and how annoying that might be.
I just chose the gender bend version of my name, ie: Kayla to kayleb, but I have buddies who chose a name based on smth that has the same aesthetic as them ie: cloud, Kirby, etc
Look up some names that you think you'll like, go to a coffee shop or starbucks and use one of those said names. If hearing said name makes you happy or ear pleasing :D My friend came up with mine for my shaman in wow and it grew on me lol
i started by going by my first initial so i could be thoughtful about a name while also not having dysphoria over being called my name. i then had it narrowed down to two, and one of my best friends chose one of the names i was deciding between, so i picked the other one. the one i decided on was an alternative spelling of a childhood nickname of mine, so it felt like me, but the change in spelling made it more gender neutral
I picked a name that started with the same letter as my birth name. “Jessica” (ugh) to Jules (yay!)
I was called T most of my life, and as a teenager I decided to make it Tea, (as in a cup of tea, not Tee-uh), and it worked, it's a pretty neutral name to me so it fit when I thought I was genderfluid, and still fits now that I figured out I'm a Trans man. If I wasn't going to go by Tea, I'd probably go by Tristan, because that's what I would've been named had I been born AMAB.
I started by making a list of potential name ideas before deciding on a final one. Something that was important to me was it being able to have a nickname, and not sounding too stereotypically “trans” (such as like… the really common ones like Kai or super obscure like Dionysus or whatever). All the power to those folks who choose those super unique names, but I feel like it makes them more clockable (which I’m not trying to be where I live) than just picking like. “Jeff” or whatever lol. I ended up with the name Michael, I feel like it fit and still is pretty common and has nickname potential. However you may have different priorities. Some people want to have a new name that is close to their birth name because they have a special connection to it. Some people don’t. It’s ultimately up to you. If you like “Tawny,” then that could be it for you. You can always change it again later if you want. I also recommend maybe trying it out in smaller spaces first, such as online or with close friends or at a coffee shop to see how it feels to you. I did that (with some close friends), and it helped me decide even more that “Michael” fit me well. I found it kind of hard to decide on a name without trying it out first, so don’t be afraid to do so. What matters most is it’s one that you like and feel connected to/it feels right when someone refers to you as that name. There’s no time limit on picking one, either. Don’t stress! <33
My first name was Oliver and I just thought of it at random and rolled with it lol. But I ended up changing it because I was talking to my aunts and they were both like "it doesn't really suit you, if you want maybe try out some other names? " and so I tried out Evan and it worked! It has the same first initial as my dead name and people usually call me Ev for short and those are my initials (my last name starts with v) I would recommend looking up some names that have the same first initial as your old name 😁
Choose based on any factors you want. There are no rules. Change names in different contexts if you want to. Experiment with names like outfits! Try multiple accounts with various degrees of anonymity and see what you feel most comfortable with. You can always change it later if it doesn't feel right. Also the name alignment chart: https://www.reddit.com/r/traaaaaaannnnnnnnnns2/s/zUwotZsRmz Personally, I liked the way my dead name sounded phonetically, so I just changed the first couple letters and kept the vowels/general structure the same. It started as a placeholder, but I've grown fond of it. May add more names or change it later idk
I choose one of my fav characters name and changed it a little
my name sorta chose me. because so many people are transphobic and *possessive* when it comes to names, i wanted to choose a name that nobody else i knew already had. one that sounded like a name you'd hear in a standard convo. some women like really fantastical names, and while i think that's lovely, to those not in our community--my family included, they think coming out is a midlife crisis--some names sound like a 'character.' i wanted to keep the same initial for simplicity, and as a nod to the man who ran the first leg of the relay race for me. i'm definitely not a tiffany, teresa, tanya, taylor, or tammy. those were easy for me to rule out immediately. then 'tessa' just floated into my mind and stuck fast. 🙂
I liked the meaning of my deadname, so I chose a girl name with a similar meaning that was short, cause I also like short names. A cousin of mine chose it based on a queer family member’s name, another one just made one up. There’s really no wrong way to go about it. Also you can always change it if you don’t like it. There’s really no pressure. Just try things and you’ll find at least one you like.
What do you like? One thing I did was write out my possible names a few hundred times. And type it out a few hundred times. And practice introductions a few hundred times. This not only something that has to feel right with friends and family, but putting on bank documents, signing emails, writing on forms, and all the other shit that comes with being a whole-ass person. It needs to be something that speaks to you, but it's also your personal and professional identity
Initially I wanted to be called Aurora, but when I tried it out in practice it didn't work. I wanted to be a Disney Princess since I was yes years old, so it made some sense. After that I tried a few, didn't work. So I picked Sarah. A normal, boring, uneventful name. It's a name of a character from a game I identify with, and it fits. Other names feel wrong. So Sarah it is. For what it's worth Tawny is an excellent name. It isn't too strange, but it's unique and easy to spell and pronounce. People don't think about those things. I like it a lot.
Im going to reuse some text I wrote for a different name-related question earlier: I had a very intentional process for discovering mine (I say "discovering" because I didn't want to feel like I was too consciously "picking" it in an intellectualized way, I wanted to feel like it chose me instead of me choosing it, to some extent), which is Téa. My mom was going to name me Tayo if a girl, but that was not an option, because I gave it to my childhood dog (lol), and I also think it sounds too masc on a transfemme person. So I flipped the vowel to 'a' and immediately felt it resonate and feel right in my body. Then I looked it up online to see what it means, and discovered it's often a derivation of Dorotea, which I loved because 1) queer associations with "Dorothy", 2) it means "gift of God," where my birth assigned name (which I've had for 41 years), Timothy, means "honoring God" - my parents put a lot of thought and intention into naming me, and I appreciate that and like retaining some connection to it. And I also get a kick out of the (gendered) switch from an action (honoring) to object (gift). —I'm only using Téa, I've no interest in Dorotea, but I just like knowing there's a story behind it I can get excited about. I've only been using it for a month or so. My issue has been feeling like it's really me, and not having feelings of minor panic, when I hear people use it. I think it was a combination of overwhelm with going public with it with so many people at once (I posted on socials — including my professional network on LINKEDIN lolol— and emailed family all in one week), and lingering trans imposter syndrome, fear of having to walk it back later and looking foolish or harmful to other trans folks. But it's been feeling more and more like me the longer I use it (especially with new folks and my closest friends/loved ones), I think it just takes time.
I love Tawny btw. I'm a big fan/follower/scholar of daytime soaps, and Tawny feels very soap (my favorite famous Téa is a character named Téa Delgado on One Life to Live lol)... in a good way.
Finding a name, as far as I understand, is mostly just feeling out what works for you, Tawny. You can find some people online to call you by that name and see how it feels.
Tawny sounds like something you’d name an animal. I chose my name on the fly.
I based mine on a character who is deeply meaningful to me (Elenore Shellstrop from The Good Place) and changed the spelling a little to make it more me. I go by Ellenore or Elle(L) for short, which is the first letter of my birth name. So it's also a little easier for others to grasp the change. My heart flutters every time I hear my partner say, "Elle!" 🥰 I would say pick something that makes your heart flutter when people you love say it :)