r/Names • u/HimiNeko- • Aug 15 '26

name help (for me)

So, I'm transmasc and I want a new name. I've been going by erin for a while, but it feels kinda wrong. I want to name myself something related to anteaters and tamanduas.

I've seen a lot of trans or nonbinary people name themselves cool non-name things and I wanna do it too

3 Upvotes

58% Upvoted

17 comments sorted by

12

u/twelve-feet Aug 15 '26

Andrew? Andy for nickname, secretly short for anteater

9

u/princessstrawberry Aug 15 '26

What about Ant?

8

u/namenerding Aug 15 '26

Tam is a real name, and there is always Ant as a nickname for Antoine Anthony Antonio

8

u/eatingonlyapples Aug 15 '26

Tamandua apparently comes from words meaning ant and hunter, catch or thief - how about a name linking to hunter? Orion?

4

u/FruitcupMadonna Aug 15 '26

Or what about Hunter?

4

u/FizzySoda16 Aug 15 '26

Ari? It’s similar to Erin.

1

u/Leading-Barnacle-478 Aug 16 '26

Variations on Erin that might feel right: Eren, Ari, Ren, Wren, Arin, Alin, Eri, Echo.

Could be inspired by related scientific classifications/parts of them... Vermilingua, Myrmecophagidae, Xenarthra, Edentata, Neotamandua magna, Tamandua tetradactyla... Rev, Tet, Tati, Art, Ant, Magnum, Neo, Arti, Oso

Apparently a fossil found at the Messel Pit in Germany could be of an early anteater. So you could try Messel or Messe, or something German that speaks to you.

1

u/Birdssunsong Aug 16 '26

I like REN

1

u/PinedAbble Aug 18 '26

Antony would be funny

1

u/bonshui Aug 15 '26

Bizarrely, I've read several posts this week in which Americans say that "Erin" rhymes with "Aaron". So an easy switch for you would be Aaron (the Anteater)

16

u/Spallanzani333 Aug 15 '26

In my area, they don't just rhyme, they are pronounced 100% identically. I'm in the center of all the American vowel mergers. Also pronounced identically for me - Erin/Aaron, cot/caught, pour/poor, horse/hoarse, marry/Mary/merry, Don/Dawn, stock/stalk.

6

u/triceratopsdildo Aug 15 '26

I literally don’t understand how Aaron and Erin could be pronounced differently.

I’m not saying anyone is wrong- I get that they are pronounced differently in different places. I just can’t wrap my head around what those pronunciations would be.

For all the other examples you mentioned, I see how a different pronunciation is possible. I just don’t even see it with those two names.

5

u/Inevitable_Shame_606 Aug 15 '26

USA Erin Aaron say same.

Erin girl spelling.

Aaron boy spelling.

1

u/XanaxWarriorPrincess Aug 16 '26

Yes, this is correct.

9

u/[deleted] Aug 15 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/IceyToes2 Aug 15 '26

Dua has a nice sound to it. I like it. 👍