How did you choose your username?

I’m loving all these stories!

And anna, somehow I’m not even remotely surprised that you’re on the taller side. Something about the way you write/speak has led me to invision you as slim and rich and fun. Also with great packaging abilities.

And add me to the list of people who thought roswell was refering to NM!

I need to get an avatar. But like, finding visual representations of myself just seems so tedious.

Oh, and I’m 5’3.

You know what else I wonder about you guys? how old everyone is.

Long story and not particularly exciting but here goes…

Kir’lika was a name I made up for an online role playing game almost 10 years ago. I spent about 2 weeks deliberating if I wanted to a) buy the game in the first place (my roommates had it and were trying to entice me to join them) and b) if so then what I wanted to play and who that character was going to be.

Unfortunately I didn’t realize that the game would not accept special characters in the name field, so when I finally broke down and got the game I had to decide what I wanted to do. Luckly my server was small enough at the time that “Kir” was still a unique name so that’s what I went with… But within a few months I ended up transitioning to another character since I didn’t like Kir’s playstyle (though eventual changes to the game meant that I did go back to Kir as an alternate character.)

Fast forward 4 years, we were transferring servers (due to overpopulation) and my new server already had a Kir… plus the game still didn’t like apostrophes so “Kirlika” was born. Eventually the group that I ran with found that we were short on a particular role so I started to run more with Kirlika than I did with my other character… and the rest as they say is history.

ETA: Really neat topic idea… it’s great to hear some of the stories behind all the different usernames. :D

I’m super boring and used my actual first name. Though I could have easily gone by Evilducky! ;)

Around the time I joined this site, my 50th birthday was approaching. I was giving some thought to what sort of old lady I wanted to be and Miss Whatsit, the exuberant old woman in “A Wrinkle in Time” kept occurring to me as good example. I’m a believer in the idea that you become what you name yourself so I use it a lot these days as a reminder not to lose my sense of fun.

The pic is of me in one of my favorite outfits. I’ve featured it next to this name for so long I tend to think of it as my Ms Whatsit costume.

I loved the Wrinkle in Time series.

LOL I love how our messages in this thread will sound more and more like personals ads.
“Hi, I’m keychange, 28 years old, From Canada, 5’3..long walks on the beach…” haha.

Ifjuly, I’ve always heard that the 30s are far preferable to one’s 20s (probably because as far as I’m concerned, you’re not actually “grown up” until you’re like at least 25, and even then it’s debatable LOL). We’ve really extended our exploratory years, such that people in their 30s are often still galavanting about trying to decide on career paths and life partners and all that sort of thing (nothing wrong with that—just a general observation), so I can see why the 20s are still characterized by a bit of instability. One of the great things about growing older is that (hopefully, anyway) the important things rise to the top.

I surprised myself. My usual online name is Thistle, or a variation of that, but I didnt even look to see if my normal name was avalible. I just typed in Rosehips, and called it a day. Rosehips is a softer, prettier name then what I ususally go by….
I like it, though, even though its from the other side of the metaphorical garden then where I usually get my handles. I do kinda miss Thistle, though. (I’m of seriously scottish decent, which is where Thistle comes from).

I have an odd tendency to resort to random name generators when I need a username…since I’m a biology student I tend toward the scientific randomizers and the last time I used one “pyroxylin” fell out.

I liked the definition – and still use that name – but I shortened it a bit for sites where I prefer to have something easier to type (and easier for others to remember).

My user name is my actual name. When I first joined I used my usual internet handle that incorporates my name, but as I grew to use the site more I didn’t want what I shared here on a public forum easily traced to me so I changed it. I’m a woman, btw and my husband does internet security, so I’m hyper aware that the info I put online can be seen, bought, sold, used for marketing. So I try to make it as difficult as possible to get that info. :)

As for where Dustin came from, I choose it when I was 14. My birth name never felt right, like I was always wearing uncomfortable clothing that made my skin crawl. I was on the hunt for a new name and went into a room where the TV was on and Roseanne was showing. One of the daughters was dating some dude and the dad was trying to remember the guy’s name. He rattled off a few names that were similar enough to the guy’s name and Dustin was one of them. I grabbed it an ran! I’m sure my parents thought it was just a phase and humored me, but I have now spent the majority of my life with this name now and have no regrets. There is actually another girl Dustin in the town that I live in and we don’t just share first names, our middle names are the same too! What are the odds of that?!

Ahhh…If was simply thinking about a “cutsie” name
with TEA in it :-p