How Caitlyn Jenner REALLY Chose Her Name: By Watching The Miss America Pageant!

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According to USA Today, It took TWO YEARS for Caitlyn Jenner (formerly Bruce Jenner) to pick her new transgender woman’s name, and in the end it was the Miss America pageant that helped her clinch her choice.

Two days after Jenner’s sexy “Call Me Caitlyn” cover by Annie Leibovitz, Vanity Fair was released, there have been  more exclusive tidbits on its online site, including the story of how Olympic champion Bruce Jenner became Caitlyn Jenner.

Source: Global Grind / Global Grind

She tried to get ideas by watching the Miss America pageant, trying out the names of some of the contestants. She liked Heather or Cathy, but Caitlyn stuck in her mind (possibly inspired by a former Miss Alabama named Caitlin Brunell).

Source: Michael Loccisano / Getty

“When her assistant, Rhonda, at one point independently suggested Caitlyn, Jenner said, ‘I love that name, too!’ The coincidence helped seal the deal.”

Next, the spelling: Jenner wavered between “K” and “C” as the first letter — don’t forget, she’s a member of the K-loving Kardashian-Jenner clan. She decided to break with that tradition, and its attendant media associations, and set herself apart by settling on “C.”