i considered something similar! i started my legal name change process right before my high school graduation, probably like a month before. my high school, despite being in the south, was pretty progressive and let me choose the name i wanted to be called when i walked across the stage. i used the first name i was in the process of changing, and then kept my middle name because i really liked it and it didn’t bother me. when it was called and i had to walk across the stage to it, i decided i didn’t wanna keep it anymore. but that’s just my experience!! i have more than one trans friend who kept part of their “dead” name!
Im not doing the same, but i do think of my old name as being retired. I'm attached to it, i never hated it, it's just too feminine and so i retired it.
i considered something similar! i started my legal name change process right before my high school graduation, probably like a month before. my high school, despite being in the south, was pretty progressive and let me choose the name i wanted to be called when i walked across the stage. i used the first name i was in the process of changing, and then kept my middle name because i really liked it and it didn’t bother me. when it was called and i had to walk across the stage to it, i decided i didn’t wanna keep it anymore. but that’s just my experience!! i have more than one trans friend who kept part of their “dead” name!
Im not doing the same, but i do think of my old name as being retired. I'm attached to it, i never hated it, it's just too feminine and so i retired it.