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In real life, we don't usually choose our own names (though I guess we could if we really wanted to). But on line, we get to do just that!
When we choose a user name, I think it can't help but represent some part of our psyche, whether we intend for it to or not. People will generally form some sort of opinion or first impression of us by our user name.
Personally, I chose my user name because I have great respect for Catherine of Aragon - in case someone out there doesn't know, she is a true historical figure, the first wife of Henry VIII, and I greatly admire her faith, her tenacity, and her dignity. She is an inspiration to me often, though I rarely reach her level of integrity!
However, sometimes people misread my name. I've had people think I was a big Lord of the Rings fan (Aragorn - LOL). If they're thinking that on the front end, they've already reached some erroneous conclusions about my inner life and my personality! Not that I don't like JRR Tolkein but it's not like I'm some sort of Lord of the Rings groupie!
I've also had people misread it - intentionally or not - as Arrogance. This always reminds me of an unfortunate tendency I have of coming across as arrogant when I write. I don't talk like I write, so IRL I don't get accused of arrogance, but when someone accuses me of it online, it's an indicator to me that perhaps that is a part of my psyche and I need to be aware of it and temper it. So though it was unintentional on my part, I have become aware that some people respond to me online with the thought of "Arrogance" bolstered by my user name.
What are your thoughts about user names online? Do you pay much attention to them? Do you find that they often indicate something about the user's personality? Do you think that yours is an accurate indicator of your own personality?
Hmm... I can't really say user names reflect a person's personality (or lifestyle, etc.). It seems most people don't put a lot of thought into them. On this site I see many that are based on geographical locations, like "I'm from Indianapolis so I'll call myself 'IndyGurl317.'" Others are just made up so that they're different from ones already taken--"'LilyRose' is taken so I'll be 'LilyRose89.'" I appreciate posters who put thought into their names, but honestly I don't care about their names until I start reading their posts and get to know them (at least the best you can know on an online forum). My name has meaning to me but I doubt many others care, and I wouldn't expect them to care. But I kind of like it that way, when you find out it shows a piece of my personal story.
P.S. I'm told my name means "of the free" in my husband's native language (Berber, of North Africa). Does it reflect my personality? Ehh... I think it's more of a reminder than a reflection. I need to remind myself 1. in the superficial way that I'm born and living in the USA, and 2. in the personal way that I have/I still hold myself back when I don't need to.
Last edited by Tintlelli; 11-22-2014 at 11:38 AM..
I chose mine because I was listening to a song, High Flying Bird, the Richie Havens cover when I created the account. I don't think of my user names are personas or parts of my psyche.
Unless they are crude, I don't really think much about other people's.
I just made mine up. My first choice was deluxe but I figured that was taken, so I made up daylux. I don't consider myself to be deluxe anything, for the record. I just liked the sound of it.
Certain names stand out to me here, but I've never attributed the online moniker to their character. Just figured people made it up on the fly like I did.
Hmm... I can't really say user names reflect a person's personality (or lifestyle, etc.). It seems most people don't put a lot of thought into them. On this site I see many that are based on geographical locations, like "I'm from Indianapolis so I'll call myself 'IndyGurl317.'" Others are just made up so that they're different from ones already taken--"'LilyRose' is taken so I'll be 'LilyRose89.'" I appreciate posters who put thought into their names, but honestly I don't care about their names until I start reading their posts and get to know them (at least the best you can know on an online forum). My name has meaning to me but I doubt many others care, and I wouldn't expect them to care. But I kind of like it that way, when you find out it shows a piece of my personal story.
P.S. I'm told my name means "of the free" in my husband's native language (Berber, of North Africa). Does it reflect my personality? Ehh... I think it's more of a reminder than a reflection. I need to remind myself 1. in the superficial way that I'm born and living in the USA, and 2. in the personal way that I have/I still hold myself back when I don't need to.
Interesting perspective.
So did you know the meaning of your user name prior to choosing it? I'm assuming you did, so if not, please correct me.
If you knew what it meant when you chose it, you chose it for a reason. It wasn't simply random. It sends a message - definitely to you (you said you see it as a reminder of several issues of importance to you personally), and if anyone else knows what it means, they will probably form some sort of impression of you from it.
Even before I knew what it meant (and thank you for that explanation by the way - very cool), it had an implication to me, whether it was right or wrong. I thought, "That's probably a foreign language - that person thinks outside of provincial boundaries." Was I right or wrong?
In my case my user name doesn't have anything to do with my personality, but is more about something that's important to me, and a big part of my daily life. Several years ago I started posting comments on some cat rescue blogs, and came up with my name because at the time I had 7 cats living with me. So it was a way for me to identify myself as a cat person when I posted. I kept using it when I started posting here on CD in the cat forum. If I had started here in another forum, I might have made up a different name.
I just made mine up. My first choice was deluxe but I figured that was taken, so I made up daylux. I don't consider myself to be deluxe anything, for the record. I just liked the sound of it.
Certain names stand out to me here, but I've never attributed the online moniker to their character. Just figured people made it up on the fly like I did.
I'd love to stick a psychoanalyst on that one. (JUST KIDDING!)
I don't think we need to read too much into user names, of course.
But to me, user names are a lot like T shirts. Usually the wearer picked out the T-shirt because there was something about the message or logo or whatever that meant something to them. And then sometimes the wearer just grabbed up something off the bottom of their roommate's closet and put it on for merely practical reasons.
So while it's interesting to wonder about in passing - it's not something I'd use as a character call - unless of course, as HFB pointed out, it was something meant to be crude. I feel the same way about the few blatantly inflammatory or obvious names of a small minority of posters on this site, most of whom tend to come and go.
Occasionally, but not often, I'll see a name that's got religious meaning. Or a name that's got a character trait in it, like "gentle" or "Artist" or something like that - and occasionally I see names that include a career field or hobby. I'm pretty sure those people mean to send an indicator of a trait they like or something that they do that's important to them.
I happened to be making homemade peach salsa the day I joined the forum.
What do you put in it besides peaches? Also, I've always wondered, isn't it a mess, chopping your peeled peaches that small?
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