Pick an Original Screename
A screen name is a pseudonym for using internet communication programs and bulletin board systems. It’s simply a twenty-first-century version of a stage name, used for centuries in theater and film appearances, or a pen name, a tradition even older. User names identify you to a website; screen names help other users recognize you on chat rooms, instant messaging, forums and blogs.
Steps
- Use an online generator. Some websites allow you to enter personality traits, occupations, and other qualities you feel your screen name should suggest
- Reflect your personality. What words best describe you?—in a positive way, of course. If you’re intently interested in words, call yourself “logomaniac.”
- Check out show business. Clint Eastwood, Elizabeth Taylor, and Jeff Goldblum are among the many performers who have gotten famous without changing names, but many popular actors were born with other names.
- W. C. Fields’ actual name was William Claude Dukenfield. He wrote many of his movies as other people, including Charles Bogle, Mahatma Kane Jeeves, and Otis Criblecoblis.
- You probably wouldn’t be interested in watching Norma Jean Baker, Archibald Leach, or Karen Johnson perform, but you might change your mind if you heard the names Marilyn Monroe, Cary Grant, or Whoopi Goldberg.
- Associate your screen name with something you like. Someone who makes clay cups could be “mugman.” Use a wine label you enjoy but isn’t well known.
- Be funny. Irony and wit are memorable, though finding a name that widely amuses can be challenging.
- Do some research. If you find Brazil fascinating, consider using warriors, flowers, wildlife, or folktale characters from the Amazon. You might discover a pleasant archaic word like aubades, which is music sung or played under someone’s window in the morning.
- Look up words in languages other than your own. “El jefe” means leader or chief in Spanish; Bibi is Arabic for “lady;” “huzoor” is Hindi for sir or soldier.
- Incorporate your middle name. You may not use or like it, but it might distinguish you onscreen.
- Substitute a synonym for an ordinary term. A thesaurus could help you change healthyguy into inthepinkAplus.
- Experiment with a random word generator. Simply specify a word type by part of speech and a level of complexity, and the results could surprise you.
Tips
- You want to be recognized, not memorized. The more creative your name is, the easier you can be spotted.
- Choose an online name that reflects your personality.
- Keep your name as unique as you can. Stealing someone else’s advertises your lack of invention.
- Look around the site to see what kinds of names others are using, then tailor yours accordingly.
- Use your favorite search engine to find out if anyone has used your name before.
- Try to create a name that arouses curiosity; this will help begin conversations.
- Don't be too grandiose in a screen name; it makes you look like you have more ego than sense.
Warnings
- Avoid clichés.
- Using more than one X is a failure of imagination.
- Use numbers sparingly.
- Do not try to insult people with your screen name.
- Keep your name away from vulgar or obscene language.
- If you’re using a name on an application with voice chat, choose something easy to pronounce.
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