My Name Change Story
After many years of consideration, I am excited to announce that I have made a big change and legally changed both my first and last names from Adrienne Clements to Vivienne Forte.
Given that I’m a midlife human, you may be curious as to why I would go through the multitude of legal, financial, and interpersonal processes to make this change, especially when I have built a strong professional reputation with my given name for the last decade. Well, as a therapist who believes in the importance of creating a life of meaning and fulfillment that is rooted in one’s personal values, this was a decision I made with a lot of thought, consideration, and care. While I am passionate about my career, I am a human first, and this was very important to me on a personal level.
There was also a bonus on a professional level. As, surprisingly, there is a different Adrienne Clements, LMFT, based in California. We share a lot of the same specializations and therapeutic approaches, and it has led to quite a bit of confusion over the years. Hopefully, this helps with that, but it was not what truly motivated me to do this.
There were a few personally meaningful reasons for changing my name, and it’s been something I have been considering for years. Taking this action has been a very fulfilling and intentional step for me in living more authentically. As for many people who decide to change their name, for me, it was about identity. While I love and cherish the name Adrienne, I am the third woman in my family line to inherit this name, along with the unintentional intergenerational trauma that comes with that family lineage.
Therefore, I chose the name Vivienne as a way to honor my family and integrate the past, and to celebrate who I am now as an individual. While technically it only changes the first 3 letters of my name, it’s a different energy that feels very much “me” and aligned with my core self. The name Adrienne means “dark”, and the name Vivienne means “full of life”. They are both French in origin and from the same era, and I feel these names are two sides of the same coin – a coin I feel honored to call mine.
Forte is the last name my husband and I chose to share for our family name together. So, we are both navigating this name change experience as individuals and as a couple. While we have been together for almost 14 years and married for almost 10, we have never shared a name. We see this shared name as a beautiful ritual of re-commitment to each other as chosen family. Forte means “strong”, and in English it’s pronounced FOR-TAY, and in Brazilian Portuguese (my husband’s native language) it’s FOR-CHEE.
As Shakespeare says, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet”, and you can trust that I am the same therapist, colleague, and community member I’ve always been – just with a new name. I understand that it will take time to adjust to this change; it’s a HUGE change for me, too. So, while I appreciate and prefer people addressing me as Vivienne, please don’t worry if you accidentally call me or use Adrienne out of habit. I won’t be offended at all, and as a neuropsychology geek, I know it takes time for new neural pathways to develop for change to fully integrate. I appreciate your support and understanding as I embrace this new chapter as Vivienne Forte.
