hi! i'm not even remotely close to contacting a rabbi yet, and this is a pretty far off problem, but i was just wondering somebody else's stance? i'm trans, and i've already had my name legally changed. i've fought for years for this name. when i officially convert, am i /required/ to pick a hebrew name by jewish law? i don't want to give up the name i've worked so hard to be recognized by.
It’s worth noting, first off, that your Hebrew (or covenantal) name doesn’t *replace* your current name. You certainly aren’t obligated to legally change your name or anything like that. Your Hebrew name is really only used in ritual contexts–when you’re called to the bimah (and sometimes not even then), for instance, or on a Jewish marriage contract (ketubah). Some people utilize it in all Jewish contexts, but that’s a matter of personal choice, not obligation.
As for whether you’re *required* to pick a Hebrew name–I think it’s more tradition than it is law? I can’t speak for Orthodox and Conservative conversions, but in a Reform context, I think different rabbis have different opinions on the taking of a covenant name. It’s a matter you’ll want to talk through with the rabbi you wind up working with toward conversion, if that’s the the path you decide you want to take. You are, of course, welcome to use the Hebraic version of your gentile name, and a lot of people do.