Pscope User Names...Why?

[Mara]

This could possibly be an inflammatory question, but I am very curious and it's Friday so we need some spice in our lives...

I don't see any Tiffany threads yet to keep us busy.




One thing that has always intrigued me in terms of online boards, forums, chat rooms....is how people come up with the names that they use on these online communication vehicles.




Mine is just my first name, but in the past I have used a nickname given to me from an old boyfriend and used it both alone, and paired with my first name etc.




However, I have never understood certain types of names. First let me offer a disclaimer...I hope no one gets offended by this question because that is not my intent, but I am very curious. My question is: Why would anyone want to name themselves something like MarasMom or BillysDad or even something like JacksGirl or JoesBride?




These types of names are PREVALENT....not just here on the forums but all over the web! On the knot I see so many 'BillsBabe' and 'GregsBride' that it is like wading through a sea of brides and girls and babes and sweeties. On a parenting forum, you may run into hundreds of moms and dads and grandmas and god knows what else. On here even...we have a few moms, dads, gals, etc. Some of which I know and really like!

However, when I see things like this, the first thing that always pops into my head is....Do these people relate that strongly with their kid or S.O.? So much so in fact that they can't come up with a name separate from those important people in their lives? Do they have their own sense of identity or personality?




This is always so curious to me because I could not...even if you forced me...stomach having a name like GregsGal or NebulousKidsMom. I would always feel like..well what about ME? I'm not just Gregs Gal or the nebulous child's Mother...I'm ME! I want people who interact with me to know they are talking to me. Even when I signed up for the knot I thought...well now is my chance to buck my tradition! I can be Greg'sBride or KauaiBride900000001, but in the end I just went with my first name and last initial. Boring, I know.

Anyway...hopefully some of the people who have naming structures like I mentioned (and I know you are out there!) can chime in and help clarify this for me. I am very interested to hear what people say. Maybe I have been thinking about this the wrong way. Maybe you can inspire me to change my name! Okay maybe not, but I'm still curious.




Happy Friday.

Long live Tiffany!

 

[fire&ice]

I'm going to rename myself Tiffany'sfire&ice.

 

[Mara]

Thats a cool idea. I can be FredLeightonsMara.

See now names like that would make sense...

especially if we got to wear their jewelry. You KNOW you couldn't turn down a D IF from Tiffany.

 

[pauls girl]

HERE I AM! HERE I AM!

Ha! I was not offended by your question...I even wondered why I named myself this when I created a user name.

usually I do just have my first name & last initial...but for some reason that seemed too bland here, and I think I wanted to retain some anonymity on a website where I would be talking about financial information & showing photos of my diamond - especially since I didn't know anyone yet. I remember sitting at the computer that night I first logged on and was tapping my fingers & looking around the room at what I could name myself. "Hotstuff"? ha! wasn't feeling it. "lovemyring"? not my speed. Then...Paul walked thru the door into the bedroom, gave me this huge smile & kiss for no reason, and that's when I decided "pauls girl" was going to be me on this website that had to do with marriage, etc.

All my user names are usually first name last initial, last name first initial, first name underscore last name...blah blah ....snooze!

There have been a few times where I'm truly sick of that user name & wish people WOULD know me by my name now that I feel like I know so many of you, but now that I'm a cut rock(finally! since I don't post all that much)...I'm not losing it for a silly name change!

I am a pretty private person. Maybe someday I'll post a photo of myself & post my life resume in "who's who", but for now I'm happy just being totally anonymous.

Am I an independant babe? Of course! Just because I have a silly name that is attached to my guy on this one random website doesn't make me any less of one. He walked into the room at just the right time...or I might be called "no name" or "too tired to think of a clever name"

-Summer

Edited to fix a couple spelling errors...it's friday & I'm tired.

 

[Nicrez]

Be it known, I have officially changed my name to "RandsGirl".../idealbb/images/smilies/love.gif




You see I WOULD, but there's no ring, so technically, "I could be ANYONESGIRL", but for right now I am just me, half Nic, half Rez...when I do marry and take his name, I won't be anymore. /idealbb/images/smilies/cry.gif




Damn it, I had the nickname since elementary school and my first e-mail address (back in '8 uses it! I figure I can get a good run of it while I still can! /idealbb/images/smilies/6.gif/idealbb/images/smilies/sad.gif

 

[Mara]

Haha I don't know...PG...a name like SummerKiss or SummerBabe could have been REALLY interesting!!

 

[fire&ice]

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I wouldn't turn around 3x for it!

Actually, I'm not proud. I'd turn around 3x *if* it was free.

My screen names really represent my CRS disease. I can remember my different accounts (in which I handle different things) if I have themes that make sense to me. Fire&Ice & my former DT self relates directly to diamonds. I have one account that is totally related to a Pop Idol - only because I was listening to a song on the radio when I created the screen name.

 

[pauls girl]

"Summerkiss" & "Summerbabe"....those sound like strippers!

I once had a crush on a guy with the last name of "Love". I remember all my friends made fun of me that my name would be "Summer Love" if we ever got married (a long shot since he would have had to known I existed for that to happen). But I just remember how ghastly I thought it would be to have a name like that...and all the teen angst that went along with having a name like "Summer". Luckely, I think I got over that guy & moved onto liking an OLDER MAN (a senior) in my theater class.

I really like my name now..and in fact I really like my last name too. I have the signature down PAT. I don't know how I'm going to get used to writing Paul's last name as my own after we get married. I feel like a 15 year old if I sit and practice writing it...ha!

 

[pqcollectibles]

I've done a bit of trading in Coins and Currency. PQ,.... Proof Quality. Collectibles because we collect and then trade. Sounded like a good company name at the time.

Actually, PG, I never thought of you as somebody's girl because of your avitar. Love that froggie!!

 

[Mara]

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On 3/12/2004 5:20:36 PM pauls girl wrote:











'Summerkiss' & 'Summerbabe'....those sound like strippers!


I feel like a 15 year old if I sit and practice writing it...ha!

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I know... that is why I mentioned them as REALLY interesting options!

I admit to doodling Greg's last name after mine in really tedious meetings a time or two.

 

[pqcollectibles]

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On 3/12/2004 5:20:36 PM pauls girl wrote:

'Summerkiss' & 'Summerbabe'....those sound like strippers!

I once had a crush on a guy with the last name of 'Love'. I remember all my friends made fun of me that my name would be 'Summer Love' if we ever got married (a long shot since he would have had to known I existed for that to happen). But I just remember how ghastly I thought it would be to have a name like that...and all the teen angst that went along with having a name like 'Summer'. Luckely, I think I got over that guy & moved onto liking an OLDER MAN (a senior) in my theater class.

That is much better than marrying a guy with the last name of Peed. I knew a really sweet guy in college with that last name. Even tho we all really liked him, none of us could bring ourselves to consider dating him because of his last name. HeeHee!!

I really like my name now..and in fact I really like my last name too. I have the signature down PAT. I don't know how I'm going to get used to writing Paul's last name as my own after we get married. I feel like a 15 year old if I sit and practice writing it...ha!

----------------

I finally got used to signing my "new" last name and felt comfortable with it too. One day, about 2 years into married life, I wrote a check at the grocery and signed my maiden name!!

 

[pauls girl]

PQ - I can't believe that guy didn't change his name! Paul went to high school with a guy with the last name of Pigg. At their 10 year hs reunion, he had a new name - he took his wife's name as his own. With a last name of Pigg, who can blame him!

Mara - I too admit to sitting and doodling out my future last name...but I still feel like a goofy 15 year old when I do it! Practice in cursive, practice the quicky check writing signature...but it still doesn't flow off the old pen yet! I think it'll take quite a while, and I KNOW that there'll be many times when I am making a phone call & saying my whole name only to realize after it's left my lips that I just said my maiden name. D'oh!

Paul's last name is very german & nobody can pronounce it OR spell it. After having such a nice english last name, it will be hard to get used to having to spell it all out & pronounce it to everyone. I know that Paul never even corrects people when they mispronounce his name (like at the grocery store), and I'm sure that I'll start out correcting EVERYBODY but will eventually give up...like he has.

 

[winyan]

Mine is simple, winyan is Lakotah for woman.

win

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Okay, I understand your point regarding lack of identity with certain names, Mara. . .I try to avoid mom as a user name since I do think it takes away from my personality as I AM more than just a mom to two little monsters (lol), but since my real name is Michelle, you can pretty much guess that nearly every other woman born around the same time I was in the early 70s is either named Michelle or Jennifer and therefore usually, Michelle is already taken, as is the name Jennifer, Jen, etc, so I never usually bother to try my name or Jennifer (if i was to go for a secret undercover name, that is

).

So the one time I did use mom in my name was when I joined DT, where I used Seattlemom as my title, because it was all I could think of at the time and I just didn't care ALL THAT MUCH about my user name as then I realized it doesn't establish anything more than a form of identification for those trying to keep track of everyones' post and realistically, no matter how much I post, nobody will ever know who I truely am or probably care, so why try and be overly creative when it just doesn't matter and I doubt that no matter how many hours I spent coming up with the ultimate name, it probably wouldn't impress the masses who truly only care about themselves and THEIR name. hehehe

BUT, possibly "espressodrinkingseattlelite" would have been most appropriate as I've just drinken three shots and am rambling up a storm

lol This probably doesn't even make sense. . .

Michelle

 

[Kamuelamom]

Yup, Michelle, a *l-i-t-t-l-e* too much expresso for you I'd say.

LOL. Nice new avatar btw.

 

[Mara]

Michelle..you could be 'espressoluvr'...hehee.

BTW to those who want to change their names ever...I think that Leonid can change your name for you and let you still keep 'status' if you are afraid of losing cut rock status etc. I am not positive but I think so?

 

[Tali]

My screenname is a shortened combo of my first and middle names. I use it commonly on sites for anonymity.

 

[sumi]

My screen name is my cat's name. I want to maintain as much anonymity as possible. It was actually a big deal for me to even post in the Who's Who. I tried to give some personal info, but also keep it as generic as possible.

 

[tawn]

My name story....

Mine is my my nickname..shortened version of my name, Tawny! Which is a golden brownish color! But...more interesting, I married my highschool sweetie,(shortlived marriage...didn't even last a year!) who had the last name of Bunz!

So, I was Tawny Bunz...and, as you can imagine, was teased mercilessly!! Brutal... Could have something to do with the shortlasted nuptials?

The suggestions for naming kids were hilarious....Cinnamon, dinner, hot cross, mercedes, etc...!

Some of my friends still call me that, even though I've been married to my husband now for almost 10 years! It has a life all it's own....too funny!

 

[Mara]

Tawn that is hilarious!! I agree that it may have had something to do with the shortlived marriage part.

Sumi...aren't you a lawyer or a law student or something similar? I always thought your name was a play on words like 'sue me'...too funny that it's your cat's name!

 

[MichelleCarmen]

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lol - this is what I thought about Sumi's name, also

Michelle

 

[AM]

thats funny that you should mention names...i was just thinking the other day on a different post "why did i pick a goofy name like "happy"? i must have been on drugs...i am the least cutesy person you'd meet (an attorney). anyway, i am changing it to AM, which are my initials and which make a lot more sense.

 

[tawn]

About a month after I married "Mr. Bunz"...I was half awake and getting ready for school, and there was this radio contest where you had to figure out who was singing the song and win a free dinner or something.

So, I called in...and the radio guy asks my name, and I tell him, Tawny Bunz, and he starts in with the silly questions! So, he asked me what I did, and I told him that I went to college and worked part-time in a bakery! (which was true, but that's a whole other story!) It went from bad to worse and he starts asking me what kind of "bunz" I baked at work, and I was totally silly. When I got off the line, the announcer and the weatherman kept having fun with the whole thing, and asked for a guess as to what my husband's name could be. They came up with a few choice ones, but decided that his name just had to be "Hotdog"!!

In the meantime my husband woke up...and I sheepishly told him about the radio contest, and how we sort of poked fun at the Bunz name! He was so upset with me, but I reassured him that nobody we knew would possibly be listening to the radio at 6:30am!!

I went off to school, and when he walked out the front door, the first neighbor he ran into called him Hotdog...and pretty much everyone else he came into contact with for the next few weeks!

It was a pretty small town, and after that when I was introduced to anyone...they would be like, "Oh, you're the "Bunz" girl from the radio!" My 15 minutes of fame!

Thinking back...this probably let to the break-up!

 

[AGBF]

A good friend of mine is married to a "Booth". That is not an unusual name (like Bunz) in my opinion. Nonetheless, she also has had suggestions for first names like:

"Toll", "Telephone", and "Restaurant".

AGBF stands for, "A Girl's Best Friend" and derives from the song which holds that DIAMONDS are a girl's best friend.

Deb

 

[ClownFishFunk]

This is a nickname I use for most of my online endeavors. Clownfish are my favorite fish, and the funk comes from when I was in my George Clinton phase - which I must say I still fall back into every now and then. I suppose the two are a somewhat odd combination!

 

[sumi]

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On 4/10/2004 3:57:22 PM MichelleCarmen wrote:

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lol - this is what I thought about Sumi's name, also

Michelle
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Ha ha ha! Yes, I am a lawyer (but please don't hold that against me

). I did get a lot of jokes about my cat's name in law school. A lot of people thought it was a play on the words "sue me".

Sumi actually means charcoal in Japanese and my cat is black.

 

[tawn]

My sister-in-law has the name of Johnnie ...and she ended up marrying a guy with the last name of Cash! They've been divorced for years, but she's kept the name because it's so interesting!

We question online usernames...but what the heck are people thinking about when they name their kids!? On the same note, my in-laws named their girls, Johnnie and Jaime...but named my husband, Shannon!?

My dad had a friend named Peter Rabbit, and he was tossed in jail after getting pulled over without ID. They thought he was just being a smart*ss when he told them his name. Needless to say, he changed it to Peter Roberts shortly after!

 

[AmantdeChat]

I chose my name because I love cats, but catlover is so commonplace that I wanted something more exotic. AmantdeChat is French for cat lover (or at least pretty close).

By the way, PaulsGirl, isn't that a ghost orchid in your avatar? I saw Adaptation with Nicholas Cage and Meryl Streep and that flower was part of the story. It is really pretty and from what I gather, fairly rare too. Just curious.

 

[winyan]

Oy, now I know I'm aging! I thought all along that Paul'sgirl's avatar was a stylized frog!

win

 

[tawn]

Nothing to do with aging...I thought it was a frog as well!

But, we have a frog thing at our house! Just ordered cheques for our joint acct..and my husband is pretty macho, so it couldn't be cute! I don't like the guy ones, with planes and cars....So, you guesssed it, FROGS!