I can’t reveal my first name but it is old-fashioned English–think Meredith, Esther, Olga, Gretchen…
My last name makes me too identifiable. It is an Ellis Island misspelling that makes me the only person on this earth with my exact first and last name combo.
I thought I would change it with marriage but I don’t think marriage is going to happen for me, at least not anytime soon, and I’m not putting anything on hold for it anymore.
I think with my old-timey first name I could afford a zany last name. I like Winter and Snow. I don’t want it to be too “out there” or difficult to spell, so I’m not going to do something like Zephyr, and I would like suggestions that aren’t too tied to a specific concept. Interesting enough but not excessively unique.
My background is Taiwanese and white American without ties to any specific country strong enough to pick a name from some European country I only have a bit of a connection to from generations ago. The white side is Irish, Welsh, and French. I am not trying to stand out excessively. I do not feel a strong connection to my Taiwanese side, and that could be its own post. I don’t want something commonly mispronounced. I was thinking something like Shaw? It might make my ex think I’m obsessed with him but he already thinks that so whatever.
Siobhan might be out since people will think iit is Si-Bohan instead of the correct pronunciation She-vaugn.
There is some good unique but easily spelt and pronounced Celtic names and mixed with a single syllable last name could make you plain and neutral like you want.
There is a YouTube channel with a guy saying Celtic names. Maybe hearing someone say the names would help sell you on one.
My in-laws almost named my partner Siobhan. My first name is also unique and not intuitively spelled. We have a family joke about this name and my partner dodging a bullet.
If you’ve never dealt with regular people, outside Ireland, it would be an utter nightmare to say “last name is Shu-vahn, S, I, O…” and get cut of by O by aggressively stupid people who have already written down “Shuvaughn” and moved on. I’ve been told by people I don’t know how to spell my own name, or that my first name is now something that sounds similar and is more familiar to them, and not what I’m telling them.
Only people with EU passports should ever mess with Celtic spellings of names.