News and updates from Namesake Collaborative.https://namesake.fyihttps://namesake.fyi/blog/no-login-wallhttps://namesake.fyi/blog/no-login-wallYou no longer need to sign in to access Namesake guides. We've redesigned forms to simplify data entry and review.Sun, 01 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMTSometimes, in an effort to improve things, you accidentally erect new barriers. We launched a web application last year to assist trans people with the legal name change process, and so far, our app has helped around 100 people in Massachusetts. But when navigating to Namesake's app for the first time—to get information about the court order process, or about passport news, or anything else—this is what you'd see: It was impossible to preview Namesake's forms or read any of our guides without first sharing an email and password. In a process already full of so many burdens, it felt wrong for Namesake to ask for even more. Our goal for Namesake is to make name changes as accessible as possible. To that end, we've torn down the login wall—in fact, we're eliminating user accounts entirely. All of our guides, forms, and other information have been relocated onto public, sharable webpages. What's changed Namesake no longer requires an account All content previously available on app.namesake.fyi has been relocated to the main Namesake website, publicly-viewable at namesake.fyi/forms and namesake.fyi/guides. Now, anyone can link directly to a resource (like our Massachusetts Court Order form) and immediately begin reading and filling out information. No unhelpful login screens; no email required. User form data is now stored locally Namesake has never had access to (or wanted access to) user data—we took care to end-to-end encrypt all responses to our previous forms when storing them. With the move away from logins, we've gone one step further: all form data is now stored locally and never leaves your device. This means you could, if you wanted, download the Namesake website and use to fill out and download PDFs entirely offline! All information is processed on-device, and users are given the opportunity to delete their data immediately after filling a form. We're really excited about this technical change; it means less infrastructure for us to manage, and more control in your hands. Forms have been redesigned to encourage focus and avoid errors Namesake's forms have been redesigned. The first screen for a form will now give an overview of what to expect, including the list of documents which are included in the final packet, the time we estimate it'll take to complete the form, and the date the form was last revised. Instead of displaying all questions in a single, scrolling page, we've split questions into one thing per page. This form design method is proven to increase completion rates and minimize errors. Finally, a brand-new review screen at the end of the form allows double-checking responses before download. Once the form is downloaded, you'll be given the opportunity to clear all submitted data from the browser—particularly helpful if viewing on a shared device like at a public library. The old app will shut down on March 31 The Namesake application at app.namesake.fyi will be sunset on March 31, 2026. All existing user accounts and data associated with that app will be permanently erased. New user registration for app.namesake is now closed. All existing content has been relocated to namesake.fyi/forms and namesake.fyi/guides. If you have questions, please email the team at hey@namesake.fyi. Less time coding, more time helping Behind-the-scenes, we're now managing all of our content—forms, guides, and blog posts—in one place, making it easier for us to publish, cross-link resources, and keep information up-to-date. Without needing to manage auth and storage, we can devote more time to supporting trans people instead of building undifferentiated technology. We hope it helps you. Working on your legal name change in Massachusetts? View our (public!) guides and forms and get peer support in Discord. Want to help Namesake support more states? Donate or email us at hey@namesake.fyi, or contribute to our open source codebase.https://namesake.fyi/blog/superbloom-partnershiphttps://namesake.fyi/blog/superbloom-partnershipNamesake has partnered with a fiscal sponsor, Superbloom, and been awarded a grant from Trans Justice Funding Project.Fri, 05 Dec 2025 16:34:00 GMTNamesake has partnered with Superbloom as our fiscal sponsor. This additional support will let us expand Namesake to more states, raise funds as a non-profit, and rely on the guidance of an organization that’s spent a decade helping teams like us create responsible, inclusive technology. Partnering with Superbloom Since its founding in 2021, Namesake has relied primarily on the generous support of the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition, which allowed us to get off the ground in Massachusetts and support over 1,000 people changing their names and helped connect them to over $45,000 in financial assistance. As we look to expand to more states and help more trans people with the name change process, we started thinking about how we could form new partnerships to make that happen. Superbloom is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with a mission to bring about a more just world by exposing the challenges people face in technology, creating and highlighting alternative models, and championing the global transformative movement in tech. For over a decade, Superbloom has incubated organizations like ours to provide legal, operational, and regulatory support so we can focus on our mission—helping trans people change their names and gender markers. We’re in good company as Superbloom also sponsors projects like the Civic Tech Field Guide and Empathy in Tech. In their own words: Over the past several months, after researching various sponsors we could work with, we applied to Superbloom’s program. After the application, some interviews, and review from Superbloom’s board, they extended an offer to fiscally sponsor Namesake’s work. This opens up new avenues for grants and donations which will help us further our work. Now that we’ve finalized the paperwork and onboarding process, we’re excited to share the news with you. A grant from Trans Justice Funding Project Our partnership with Superbloom is off to a great start: Namesake has been awarded a $5,000 grant from the Trans Justice Funding Project to help further our goal of making legal name changes accessible to everyone. Over the past thirteen years, TJFP has awarded 2,281 grants totaling over $15.7 million in funds to trans-led organizations, and we’re proud to join that list. Safety for trans people is more important than ever With continued attacks by the federal government and state legislatures across the United States on trans rights, it’s crucial for us to continue working to make it easier and safer for trans people across the country to update their documents. As Namesake expands, we expect to deal with increasing headwinds and shifting policies that will take effort, time, and money to keep up with. Your support will allow us to partner with more local organizations, pay our contributors for their labor, and commission artists to help us spread the word about Namesake’s platform. Thanks to Superbloom, we can now accept tax-deductible contributions. If your workplace or organization supports matching charitable contributions, it’s now easier to access those matching funds when donating to Namesake. Donate to support our work If you need help changing your name, or want to support Namesake by contributing content or code, join us on Discord.https://namesake.fyi/blog/trans-journalists-changing-their-bylineshttps://namesake.fyi/blog/trans-journalists-changing-their-bylinesChanging your name is emotionally complex for most transgender people, but for journalists, the stakes multiply.Tue, 11 Nov 2025 15:00:00 GMTIf Tat Bellamy-Walker hadn’t been a journalist, they likely would have waited to change their name. But when the Black, genderfluid trans man covered breaking news at a major news network, their feminine birth name quickly became a problem. They spent their days reporting on crises such as Flint, Michigan’s contaminated drinking water. It was grueling, emotionally charged work, made harder still by the immense psychological toll of constant misgendering from colleagues, editors, and sources. “I was in very fast-paced reporting situations. At a certain point, I just gave up on having people understand what my gender is,” says Bellamy-Walker, who now manages digital safety training at PEN America. The pain of the misgendering became intolerable. Like many trans people, Bellamy-Walker eventually changed their name to align with their gender identity. Honoring a trans journalist’s byline (and pronouns) is not just professional courtesy. Being misgendered in the workplace affected Bellamy-Walker’s ability to do their job and risked their safety by inadvertently outing them and opening them up to harassment. Studies have shown that using a trans person’s chosen name reduces depressive episodes and suicide risk. Changing a name is a very personal decision—and unfortunately for trans journalists, it’s a decision that has to occur in public. You can’t be a journalist without a byline stamped atop a story or on a masthead. But what if you don’t want that name anymore? Trying to figure out the vagaries of your gender identity while also sussing out the best strategy for communicating that identity to your employer, your colleagues, and scores of internet strangers is, well, hard, as I experienced recently. It’s a tricky decision, further complicated by the undeniable reality that trans people are living in a frightening time. Trans journalists routinely face abuse and harassment from colleagues and readers, and trans people in many parts of the world are facing heightened anti-trans rhetoric and even the rollback of their rights. The Trump administration has instructed federal agencies to, effectively, remove transgender and nonbinary people from American society. Trans perspectives and stories have never been more important. And trans reporters need a safe perch from which to write these stories. Not every trans person changes their name. Some trans people simply like their birth name. Sometimes changing your byline is not possible, either because of the risk of abuse from newsroom colleagues or because an outlet has a policy that prohibits such changes or lacks a clear policy or procedure for how to do so. In some countries, being transgender is criminalized (even to the point of sometimes being punishable by death), which obviously complicates a journalist’s ability to live openly. But if a trans journalist can and wants to change their byline, it can be a welcome boost to their mental health and safety. “When you have access to updating your name and affirming your gender to your name, you feel better during the course of the day,” says Bellamy-Walker. “If you don’t feel safe, it’s going to be difficult to do your job.” While journalists, as public figures, are subject to harassment and unwelcomed scrutiny, we are also a vector of power. We have audiences that institutions want to tap, so people have an incentive to call you by your name. And more people consume their news through content creators, a continuous byline helps you build a brand. “With the decline of mainstream media, people are more and more paying attention to who the journalist is and to what that byline is,” says Evan Urquhart, the founding editor of the trans-focused publication Assigned Media. “You want your name to be associated with trust and with continuity. So you want to change your byline The first step to changing your byline is, often, picking a new name. Your byline is usually a source or potential employer’s first point of information about you, so be prepared for people to make assumptions about your gender based on the name you select. That’s part of the reason I chose “Rose.” The classically feminine name means I now get cold emails addressed to “Ms.” rather than “Mr. Broderick.” Although seeing that salutation in my inbox still makes me smile, I almost didn’t change my byline at all. When I first started going by Rose, in May 2024, I detested the idea of having to publicly come out. But day after day of living a double life turned out to be too much cognitive dissonance for me. I realized I wanted to marry my public and private selves. That led me to the next big decision: Deciding how I wanted to come out with my new name. (I have been out as trans since 2022, but I had kept my birth name and used they/them pronouns.) There are a million ways to come out, but once you have a name (or even before you’ve settled on one), the best thing you can do is to have an honest conversation with yourself about how public you want to be. Do you want to announce the change on social media? Just tell existing sources as needed? When Kae Petrin, co-executive director of the Trans Journalists Association (TJA), left a previous position at St. Louis Magazine, they simply altered their name in the website’s content management system, without asking for permission, a step that Petrin took without censure; emulate at your own risk! On the other end of the spectrum, Emily St. James, a novelist and television writer, sent a lengthy, playful email to hundreds of contacts the week before she publicly came out in an essay about The Handmaid’s Tale in 2019. The email was equal parts fun (a dramatic reveal of her name) and informative (her new email address, along with pleas to spread the word about the change). While there are many ways to change a byline, it’s probably best to send the email informing colleagues and sources just before your byline change. Too far in advance and it can confuse people or place too much of an unwanted “spotlight” on your gender transition, says Urquhart. Here’s what I ended up doing: In the month leading up to my transition, I told a few trusted colleagues and my editor about the impending decision, but I asked them to refer to me using my old name until I announced the change to the wider newsroom in a Slack message. I also connected with my publication’s HR and IT departments, so I could get everything squared away for a low-key public announcement in STAT’s daily newsletter, which I occasionally write. I wasn’t exactly thrilled about performing my transition for more than 100,000 strangers, so I kept it to a single line in an email (“Also, new name (Rose), same me.”) with much more exciting news. As I’ve contacted old sources for stories, I’ve been giving them my new name, pronouns, and email. It’s as simple as including a few casual sentences: “Also, I am using a new name! You can expect the same coverage, but I go by Rose now. Pronouns below. This is my new email.” I’ve found that most sources have briefly acknowledged it—“congrats on the new name!” or some such—and then returned to the interview or story at hand. Hunting down your old name Armed with a new name and a plan for coming out, the next step is to use your journalistic sleuthing skills to find instances of your old name online. If you are fine with leaving vestiges of your old name on the internet or don’t have time to turn over every rock, skip to the next section. If you aren’t, here’s what I did: I opened up a blank document and began stalking myself, tracking the various publications and digital spaces where my name appears. My trans journalist friends who had publicly transitioned pointed me to TJA, which has a helpful list of rabbit holes where your name might hide outside a traditional byline or author page. I have spotted my name squirreled away in story URLs, metadata tags, podcast transcripts, and more. To find it, I used different search engines, put my byline in quotes, and deployed various Boolean operators to narrow my search. If you’re not transitioning in the early years of your career, it can be extremely tedious to contact every publication you’ve written for and, like a journalist Roomba, remove every speck of dirt in the carpet. “I would have had to hunt down every single publication in the Midwest that republished any of my public radio work over a four- or five-year period, which sounded like a pain. So I kind of did it on a case-by-case basis. If I knew somebody there, I was pretty sure they’d be able to get it done,” says Petrin, a former reporter at St. Louis Public Radio. Like Petrin, you may find that you have to pick and choose which bylines to target for amending. In addition to publications where a familiar face may be able to help facilitate the change, make sure to prioritize publications that have your prized clips—those four or five clips you always use when sending out an application. But also prepare yourself for a slog. Many publications lack a codified process for byline changes. It took just over 30 minutes to change my byline at one place. For others, I’m still waiting to hear back, months later. You could spend months hounding old editors and excising outdated pictures, only to find that a publication’s ancient CMS can’t accommodate a byline change. Which is a bummer, certainly, but not exactly a surprise, given that we’ve found fossils from 3.5 billion years ago. Life has a way of imprinting itself in odd places; the internet is no exception. Journalists who work with a wire service or with publications that have republishing or syndication agreements might encounter complications specific to those outlets. When Ellis Ng contemplated changing her byline at Reuters in 2022, she concluded that doing so could add scores of old stories back into the feed. (Newswire services send stories written by their reporters to subscribers, including other publications, to publish.) While there was no certainty that publications that subscribed to Reuters would republish these stories, she balked at announcing her transition so widely. “If there was a world where this change could happen overnight, or [where] this change can happen gradually, without people noticing or without people knowing, then I would have done that,” says Ng, a Singapore-based freelance reporter. Instead, she has had to accept the fact that work under her old name will likely exist in perpetuity. “It’s definitive proof that I transitioned at this point in my life,” she says. “I can’t hide it. So I’m just going to let it be.” Ng’s story is a good reminder to be kind to yourself. Eventually, you will publish enough stories that your new byline will bury your old one and you can replace those improperly bylined clips with fresher ones. In the meantime, if a publication can’t or won’t change your byline and you need to use it for an application, there’s no need to draw excess attention to it. “You don’t have to explain yourself,” Petrin says. “You can just sort of note, ‘Reported X under a past byline’ and link to it. You don’t need to make it a whole disclosure.” Handling coming-out complications When I came out in STAT’s daily newsletter, I thankfully did not receive any transphobic responses. I am incredibly lucky to have received a ton of support from my current publication—and most of my past publications, too. The backing of my peers and editors made me feel a lot safer adopting “Rose” as a public persona. Unfortunately, many trans journalists are not so fortunate. Safety is not a guarantee, but editors can help reporters deal with the harassment and abuse that sometimes follow a name change. If a freelancer posts on social media that they’re changing their name and/or pronouns, reach out to ask them if they want the change implemented at your publication. Proactively suggest a potential change to the byline or bio, rather than forcing the reporter to do the work. (Copying and pasting their existing bio with the new name and pronouns might be sufficient.) Editors can also push to add language to workplace policies or union contracts, spelling out how byline changes—whether for trans people or for people getting married or divorced or changing their name for any reason—should proceed. And if a reporter you work with receives a flood of hateful messages, suggest installing email filters to divert them to spam. If you don’t have backing from your editors, it can be daunting to try to persuade editors and publishers to change outdated info on your own. On request, the Trans Journalists Association can advocate for trans journalists pushing for a byline change. If you encounter an obstinate outlet that refuses to change past bylines, ask them what purpose the unchanged byline serves. If the situation escalates and you want to push back against your employer, it’s important to know your rights. A 2020 Supreme Court ruling, Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, cemented workplace protections for trans people. These include hiring and firing decisions, healthcare benefits, and workplace harassment. Refusal to acknowledge changes to an employee’s byline and/or pronouns falls under those harassment protections under certain circumstances, according to Andrew Ortiz, senior policy attorney at the Transgender Law Center. A May 2025 federal court decision may eventually imperil these protections, but Bostock still remains the law—if you’re employed by a company with at least 15 employees. For journalists at smaller publications and for freelance journalists, Bostock doesn’t pertain, but state and local laws might offer relevant protections, Ortiz says. Even if you’re not going to go down a legal road with your employer, it’s important to know your rights and to know what workplace harassment looks and feels like. Some publications still haven’t updated Bellamy-Walker’s byline. Strangers have harassed them on numerous occasions by emailing them these articles with their birth name. “It feels like this never-ending barrage of hate, and that it doesn’t matter what steps you take to affirm your identity at times, the sexism and transphobia is so powerful,” they say. Sometimes a lack of support can even cause a trans journalist to rethink a byline change. When Jen Byers approached a professor in journalism graduate school about the possibility of changing their name in 2023, their professor dismissed the idea, suggesting that because they hadn’t medically transitioned to look more masculine, there was no need to change their byline. Byers, a nonbinary freelance investigative journalist, felt invalidated and says the experience deterred them from pursuing a name change professionally. As a result, they still use their given name—even though, they say, they find it “so grating.” I only had one significant complication when I started shopping my new name around to old clients. My first journalism job was with a relatively conservative outlet, so I knew I might be pressing my luck with my request. My old colleague said that I would need to keep my old name on my stories because that was my identity at the time of publishing, though we agreed to take my bio page down. Another colleague said my request started a “serious and caring conversation” about the topic at the publication, but I am not holding my breath for further developments. When I told Bellamy-Walker about this response, they were indignant. “Who does this protect? Who is this helping? Who is this supporting? Because it’s not supporting the trans person.” Those are questions worth sitting with. If you encounter an obstinate outlet that refuses to change past bylines, ask them what purpose the unchanged byline serves. Urquhart argues that refusing to change a reporter’s byline is at odds with the clarity that is a hallmark of good journalism. “The role of journalism is to serve the reader, and you don’t serve the reader by giving them a confusing byline,” he says. “It is actually in much better accord with the principle of ensuring that records are accurate.” This article was originally published on The Open Notebook and has been republished with permission.https://namesake.fyi/blog/becoming-sloanehttps://namesake.fyi/blog/becoming-sloaneIn his own words, Sloane Patridge shares the experience of changing their name in Massachusetts with the help of Namesake and MTPC.Tue, 26 Aug 2025 00:00:00 GMTOn May 15, 2025, in Somerville, MA, the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition held the 15th Annual Professionals for Trans Rights. At the event, MTPC aired the following interview, Becoming Sloane. Directed and produced by Nayeli Mzîn. Transcript Transcript has been edited for clarity. MTPC and Namesake Present: Becoming Sloane Sloane: Hello. My name is Sloane Torrance Patridge. I use they and he pronouns. I've been living in Boston for 14, almost 15 years. So I've been here for a long time. I'm an uncle to a sweet 7-year-old who I love very much. So I do a lot of co-parenting. I'm a barista. I've worked at a lot of different coffee shops, and my reputation precedes me. [Joking] I'm kind of a mayor of Somerville, in some ways, sometimes. Other ways not. Sloane is Ferris Bueller's girlfriend. I had such a huge crush on her when I was a kid. This is a smoke show. This is a hottie. And I love this name and I wanna embody that. My middle name is Torrance, and that is the name of an old partner of mine who died in 2020. She passed away. So I was like, I wanna memorialize her, like I wanna keep her with me and like, you know, carry her around. Any other names? Interviewer: Your child that you co-parent, they had a recommendation for a middle name or a last name— Sloane: Oh yeah, he was like, Sloane Bone sounds really good. I was like, honestly? You're not wrong. Sloane Bone Patridge would be sick. Yeah. I was thinking about, I'm really obsessed with the Ikea monkey from 2012—like, he was the one that was in Ikea with a coat on and got lost—and I was like, maybe I'll be Sloane Ikea Monkey Patridge. I was having a lot of visions of just having like a really ridiculous middle name. Why did you change your name? Sloane: I really was honestly like, fully content on not doing it [changing names]. And just like, not committing, going full U-Hauling with the government. I was like, I don't—we don't need to do this. But I lost my wallet. And I was like, I need to get a new license, so I might as well just name myself. [Laughing] Presenting more as masculine, as my time taking testosterone has been... [I began to think] I should probably get like a gender marker that is aligning with what I'm being seen as. Traveling, especially, has been a big concern for me. So I was like also just like, hm! Now's the time. I guess I'm gonna get that big fat 'M' and name myself, Sloane in the eyes of, you know, [the government]. Where did you hear about MTPC? Sloane: I reached out on social media to ask about name change resources and how I can get some help because I was just like—I'm floundering on my own. And so many people had recommended [Identity Document Assistance Network] IDA and Namesake and MTPC at large... I think I posted on Lex, too. I was like: "ummmm, help!" Yeah. And everyone was just like, "we have a place for you." How did the name change clinic help? Sloane: I've always have anxiety that I'm not gonna be able to complete things. I'm a big starter and not a finisher. [Laughs] I was [worrying that] I'm gonna go there and I'm not gonna have the documents that I need. And so, I'm gonna get there and it's gonna be shut down. Because although I knew of MTPC and IDA, I didn't know what the actual process was gonna be like. The setup of the clinic was... it was a bunch of people waiting eagerly to help me [laughs]. I was like, okay, thanks, this is amazing! So I remember already feeling like the ball was rolling while I was there and getting ready. [I was] feeling like I could walk away from that and go to the first step, sooner [rather] than later. Literally that week, we went to the family probate court, and I got it signed and all settled up and very quickly. Much quicker than I thought. It was really, really surprising to find that it was as easy as it was. I walked away with it feeling so much more relieved than I thought I was gonna feel. And like a big weight was lifted, in a way that I was very,very, very surprised by. I was just blown away at how easy it was. I was like, "okay, I gotta start telling everybody that wants to get their name changed to start doing it now. Like, let's get it together. Let's all do it together." You know, kind of emulating and being the accountability that I had been wanting and seeking, and inevitably found that I could receive through the beautiful checklist that Namesake has. Honestly, I've referred to [Namesake's checklist] multiple times throughout this process, and have shown people [that] "you too can do this." Like, it feels like a very, [joking] MLM-like. "You, also can get it done!" But really, you really can. If I can do it, you can do it. Advice for other applicants? Sloane: If you have apprehensions, if you have barriers—especially monetary—you're going to be pleasantly surprised to find that you will be able to have this financially alleviated for you. Just take the leap, ask a friend to join you, you know. I think that you'll find that you'll be able to do it. For assistance changing your name in Massachusetts, sign up for Namesake and explore MTPC's Identity Document Assistance (IDA) Network.https://namesake.fyi/blog/easier-legal-name-changes-for-allhttps://namesake.fyi/blog/easier-legal-name-changes-for-allWe've rebuilt the Namesake app from the ground up to simplify updating your legal name in Massachusetts and beyond.Mon, 30 Jun 2025 00:00:00 GMTOver the past year, we've completely rebuilt the Namesake app. It has a new design, more accessible forms, improved security, and is now open source. This new app builds a foundation for us to support name changes in many more locations and for different types of activities. You can sign up today. Why redesign? Why now? The first Namesake app launched in 2021. In those four years, Namesake has supported over 1,000 youth and adults in Massachusetts, and helped connect folks to over $45,000 in financial assistance through our partnership with the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition. Now we want to do even more. Our existing web app was created using Bubble, a low-code app platform. Early on, Bubble helped Namesake build quickly for Massachusetts, but now, Bubble has become a barrier. Writing our own code comes with many benefits: Improved performance due to a leaner codebase which doesn't include unnecessary trackers or tooling Full transparency of our app's code so that we can build things and plan in the open Reduced downtime (an unfortunate recurring problem with Bubble!) Better organization to help Namesake grow sustainably to support more forms in more states Lower costs for hosting and development—money we can direct toward trans people instead of a VC-funded tech company We've spent the past year building the tool that we wished existed when we were changing our own names. We're excited to share it with you. What's new? We've rebuilt and rewritten the app from scratch. All-new design Back in August, we announced a new look for Namesake, and we've brought that design over to our application, featuring some lovely illustrations from the comic artist Kit Mills. When you log in, you'll see all of your quests—the word we're using to refer to each "thing to do" when updating your identity documents. Each quest includes a step-by-step guide walking you through what needs to be done, along with answers to frequently asked questions. You have complete control over your settings, including preferences for theme and color. The color palettes for the app are based on the colors and meanings from Gilbert Baker's original 1978 pride flag. Clearer, more accessible forms If a quest requires completing documents, a guided form will walk you through the process. All questions are written to avoid legal jargon and explain terms where necessary. All elements have been tested for accessibility across desktop, mobile, and assistive technologies. To help avoid guesswork on open-ended questions, we provide suggested responses and context about what the court is looking for. Depending on your responses, all of the relevant forms will be compiled and merged into a single packet for you to download, review, and submit. After submission, documents will remain organized and visible in a documents tab. Improved security Legal name change forms ask for a lot of private, sensitive information. To safeguard this, we've implemented end-to-end encryption for all form responses. End-to-end encryption means that nobody—not even Namesake—can read what you share. Here's how it works: when you submit your form responses, we use an encryption key linked to your device to scramble the responses before saving them to the database. Your encryption key is never shared with anyone or sent to Namesake, preventing anyone except you from decrypting the information. You can delete all of your data at any time, and we plan to offer anonymous sign-in in the future. Out of an abundance of safety, we never ask for your social security number, and always request that you fill it out on your own. We're open source Finally, as part of our commitment to security and transparency, our entire new app is open source and MIT-licensed. You can view the codebase on GitHub. We welcome new contributors! Check out our contribution guide and explore some good first issues. Questions? Come chat with us in the #code channel on Discord. What's next? First, we'll be responding to your feedback. Have suggestions for Namesake? Ran into an issue? Let us know on Discord or by emailing hey@namesake.fyi. Shutting down the old app The legacy app will shut down on July 31, 2025. At this point, all user data within that site will be permanently deleted. There is no way to transfer data from the old site to the new one. If you have forms from the site you would like to download, please do so before July 31st. If you run into issues, we can support you at hey@namesake.fyi. Supporting more states We're looking to support additional states, starting with New York! If you work for an organization that helps facilitate trans name changes in the US and you're interested in partnering with Namesake, please reach out at hey@namesake.fyi. We'd love to work with you. New feature development We have a few features on the roadmap, like accepting user-contributed quests, supporting anonymous sign-in, and allowing user-contributed tips and feedback on quests. Keep an eye on Discord and GitHub for more info. Thank you This is a difficult, destabilizing time. Our federal institutions are being gutted. The judiciary is being weaponized against trans people (and sometimes fighting back). Despite all of this, there is still power in communally building technology in the service of social good. We are here to support you in finding a name that you love, and in owning identity documents which reflect who you are. Respectful and accessible name changes are one part of a larger puzzle in creating a world where all people can live life freely and joyously. Sign up for Namesake and join us on Discord, or support our work by making a tax-deductible donation. Happy Pride ♥ This release would not have been possible without the work of: Ari Trakh, Charly Robles, Dana Teagle, Ginger, Joshua Hogsett, Justin Kang, Kelsey Gunstra, Kit Mills, Luke Lennon, Margot Miville, Martin Lindberg, mb bischoff, Melody Universe, MG Xiong, moon davé, Oliver Bello, Seneca Artemis, Tre'Andre Carmel Valentine, Vicky O at Movement Stickers, Zo Holmes, the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition, and many others. Thank you!https://namesake.fyi/blog/note-from-lukehttps://namesake.fyi/blog/note-from-lukeLuke reflects on their time building Namesake, and speaks about what's next.Fri, 27 Jun 2025 00:00:00 GMTHow it started I started Namesake in 2021 after exchanging various rants with MTPC's inimitable Kelsey Grunstra about the name and gender marker change process. After hearing even more folks' stories, it quickly became clear that we weren't the only ones struggling through it. At the time, I was leading marketing and events at MassChallenge Fintech and had recently "come out" as trans. In fact, part of the impetus for my legal name change was born out of the strict ID requirements at finance buildings. At a time when my sense of self was simultaneously the strongest it has ever been and the most precarious, I wanted to avoid the involuntary and often demeaning outing required to be admitted into events (many that I had organized). At MassChallenge, I witnessed startups build and scale innovative solutions that brought automation, digitization, and personalization to highly regulated and complex legacy finance systems. I saw enormous potential in applying my learnings to streamline the legal name change process. However, at the same time, I was already weary of big tech's negligence in overlooking the experience (and safety) of its trans users. As I floated this idea to folks in the startup sector, immediately questions prioritizing market size and profit eroded my confidence. Was this really a big enough problem? How many trans people were there in the US, really? This both enraged and motivated me. I wanted us to be taken seriously. To be seen as human. To actually be considered in tech's products and services—not just its marketing. Then, in 2020 I tried to get a car loan, only to discover that I was credit invisible/credit thin due to my name change. This was the last straw. I was probably the most financially literate I had ever been, my credit score was solid—in essence, I thought I had done everything "right"—and still my future felt out of my hands. After all, I had never cared about how the government labeled or recognized me; I just wanted to live my life safely and with autonomy. The experience underscored just how far-reaching the implications of a name change could be, and how digitization presented an opportunity to address the systemic oppression embedded in legacy systems. So, in 2021 I took a chance and started building Namesake part-time. I moved quickly and learned a lot (maybe something for another time). How it's going Since Namesake's start, we've supported 1000+ youth and adults in Massachusetts through our catalytic partnership with the Massachusetts Trans Political Coalition (thank you, MTPC!). We've co-led nearly 100 statewide name change clinics and trainings, and we've helped connect folks to over $45,000 in financial assistance. We've advocated for more equitable policy and processes, and we've fostered information sharing across the country through partnerships and collaboration. We've raised funds to keep it going. We even launched a Discord last year to facilitate more mutual aid and support. I'm proud of what we've built, and endlessly grateful for all of the people who have contributed to and rooted for Namesake. That being said, a lot has happened in the world since we first started, and to put it bluntly, it's terrifying. There are the certainties: the politicization of trans identities and its real-life impact on real-life humans, the bigotry, the danger. And there are the uncertainties, too—what will happen when I try to renew my license or passport? Will I be detained at an airport? Will I be able to access my hormones in the future? Will my marriage be recognized? The list goes on, in every direction, intersecting with all of the other horrors in our current world. I hope you're also aware, enraged, and taking action. Where it's headed To that end, it's more important than ever that we not only continue Namesake, but grow it to help people beyond Massachusetts. Over the past year, co-founder Eva Decker and I, along with the help and support of many others, have been preparing Namesake for this next iteration--now with even more urgency. We need Namesake 2.0, and its very existence has given me hope through these darker days. Early last year I began seriously reflecting on my future with Namesake. I wanted to ensure that its potential was not limited by my personal skill-set, needs, and responsibilities--so this fall, I decided to step back from running its day-to-day operations. As you can imagine, this is not a decision I've made lightly, especially at this critical time. I've poured so much of myself into Namesake, but I feel that I am not the person to take it to the next level, especially as my partner and I embark on a new journey in Oregon (their home state) this fall. While I will continue to support from afar, Eva has slowly taken the lead at Namesake, and I'm so grateful for her empathy, creativity, and resistance. They are not only a talented and brilliant designer and engineer, but more importantly a truly amazing person. I'm so excited about her vision for Namesake's future. She will (re)introduce herself (and the new Namesake app) properly soon! In the meantime, if you want to support Namesake, reach out at eva@namesake.fyi. Thank you for everything I've learned so much through building Namesake--about myself, about transness, about listening with compassion, about questioning the way things are, about tech and business and how important it is to stay true to oneself amidst all the noise. The past 5 years have brought some of the toughest and brightest moments of my life, and without a doubt, the best part has been the people I've met along the way. Happy pride, Lukehttps://namesake.fyi/blog/introducing-namesakehttps://namesake.fyi/blog/introducing-namesakeNamesake has a fresh coat of paint and a new app in the works. Eva Decker joins as co-founder.Thu, 15 Aug 2024 00:00:00 GMTNamesake began three years ago as a series of Instagram rants. Navigating the legal name change process was a headache—it felt overwhelming, resource-intensive, and honestly, sort of lonely. What should've been a joyous, celebratory moment of declaring a new identity was instead a slog through bureaucratic paperwork and needless deadnaming. We knew we deserved better. What we've accomplished so far Unfriendly government processes are tough to fix overnight. Until the root of the problem could be addressed, it was up to us to make things smoother for other trans and non-binary people. We partnered with the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition (MTPC), and over the past three years we've done a lot: We built a web app to break down each step of the process, demystify legal jargon, and connect people to disparate information and resources. We hosted over fifteen virtual and in-person name change clinics with our community partners throughout Massachusetts. We trained notaries, connected folks to outside resources, and made ourselves available just to listen and relate. We pushed for policy change like addressing discriminatory credit reporting and making Transgender Day of Visibility official in Boston. Since 2021, Namesake has helped over 500 people in Massachusetts update their legal name and gender markers, and we're ready to support more people in more places. Evolving Namesake We started Namesake with low-code tools that allowed us to quickly prototype and ship changes. But we've reached a point where in order to grow to serve more people, we need to invest more seriously in technology, design, and community support. Today we're excited to announce several things: Namesake has a new look. We're welcoming a new co-founder. We're launching a new Discord server. Finally... we have a new application in the works! Lots new! Let's dive in. A new look Have you ever noticed the way that images and text degrade when you make a copy of a copy of a copy? You see it in photocopied court documents and, notably, in DIY queer zines. Namesake's new appearance is inspired by the aesthetic overlap of these two very different uses of ink and pastel printer paper. Court documents and DIY zines are both, ultimately, about communication. You may see a few snails here and there, too, which you can think of as Namesake's new mascot. (Mollusks are one of the least binary members of the animal kingdom. And no matter how slow the legal process can feel, this is all about going at your own pace.) Government paperwork can often feel reductive and limiting; we want Namesake to support expressiveness and fluidity within an otherwise rigid system. You can view and download Namesake's new logo, font, and color palette on our brand assets page. A new co-founder To support Namesake's evolution, Eva Decker has joined to help lead our tech efforts. At the beginning of 2024, Eva joined Namesake for a one month design contract, but at the end of that month, nobody wanted to say goodbye. She agreed to come onboard for continued support and development of Namesake. She's excited about helping people claim a name that feels like home for them. She lives in NYC with her partner Margot and her cat Samwise. Say hi to her on Discord @for.eva.new. A new online community Speaking of Discord, today we're launching our new Discord server! Our past name change clinics with MTPC have been more than just a way to get paperwork done—they've been powerful, fun spaces for community connection and support (thanks in no small part to our partners). While we can't host clinics every week, we wanted to create a space online to connect. Ask for #help, try out new #name-ideas, #vent about the DMV, or share your latest #celebrations. Notaries and folks with legal backgrounds can tag themselves with a role to offer support. And in #code, you can stay up-to-date on how our new app is progressing. A new app (coming later this year) We're building a new Namesake app from the ground up, with the assistance of worker-owned software co-op Computost. We're excited to provide folks with a better way to fill out forms, stay organized, and answer frequent questions. We're building everything out in the open, so if you're technically-minded and want to help contribute code or design, follow Namesake on GitHub. Ethical technology is just one tool within a holistic approach to community support and mutual aid, and we plan to continue pushing forward on all fronts. Thank you There's so much more in store we're excited to share with you. All of your generous feedback, questions, and ideas have helped us better understand how we can improve Namesake amidst very limited funding and resources. Respectful and accessible name changes are one part of a larger puzzle in creating a world where trans people—and all of us—can live life freely and joyously. Join us on Discord to chat, get help, and get involved. There are people here to support you. For those who've already been through the process, there are opportunities to help facilitate name change clinics, contribute code, and even help Namesake expand to additional states. Rigid systems weren't built for us, but we'll figure them out together.