“I know you may never see me as Christopher-James but that's who I see myself as and who I feel the most comfortable being. I only chose Milo because it was easier for everyone else and not what I wanted, and it really hurts trying to do what I want, and everybody says no that's not you when you know it is.” I am the mother of a trans boy and received this heart sore whatsapp. I was confused and slightly angry, aware that his father and sister didn’t approve of the newly introduced second name—insisting that the first name suited better—and scared of the wider family’s reaction. It felt like a whim, and I felt he was pushing boundaries. From a whatsapp group of parents of transgender children, I learned that many ‘tried on’ names. Names mark out individuals, they classify people into pre-existing groups, and they are used as tools in social interaction. Naming systems and practices offer us insights into the way personhood is conceived and created. They cannot be disentangled from social structures and relations of power and being. The South African Department of Basic Education has recently come under scrutiny for its implementation of the Gender-Responsive Pedagogy for Early Childhood Education, also known as the ECE Toolkit. The key aspects of the ECE Toolkit include asking young children for their preferred names and pronouns, using gender-neutral language in class, and promoting access to toilet facilities based on children's gender identities. This initiative has raised ideological concerns, with critics arguing that it imposes a singular ideology that undermines traditional views and values held by many parents and communities. Join us for a discussion around self naming by trans kids and the barriers they face socially and institutionally.