# Care to explain your screen name? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 16, 2001, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/care-to-explain-your-screen-name/87840 "2001-10-16T22:53:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![croaker67](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/439d5e/32.png) [@croaker67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/croaker67)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2001, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/care-to-explain-your-screen-name/87840/41 "2001-10-17T03:18:26Z")
No not a frog thing. Croaker is from a book by Glenn Cook, “The Black Company”, 67–the year of my birth. Thanks for the chance to expose my name. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2001, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/care-to-explain-your-screen-name/87840/42 "2001-10-17T03:35:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by croaker67 \* > [B Thanks for the chance to expose my name. 😃 \*\* Good God, **croaker67** , cover that thing up! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2001, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/care-to-explain-your-screen-name/87840/43 "2001-10-17T03:42:36Z")
My old screen name… ENOLANCOOPER… Was short for my late father, Edward Nolan Cooper. But I found it boring, so I contacted TubaDiva to change it to… ENOLA STRAIGHT A play on words; referring to the Enola Gay, the WW2 bomber which dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima. But I’m not gay…I’m straight. NOT THAT THERE’S ANYTHING WRONG WITH BEING GAY… ---
**Author:** ![John\_Corrado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a88e4f/32.png) [@John\_Corrado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Corrado)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2001, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/care-to-explain-your-screen-name/87840/44 "2001-10-17T03:48:18Z")
Corrado is the Italian derivative of the old Latin name “Conradius”; it is equivalent to the Germanic name “Konrad” or the English name “Conrad”. As such, it is much more common as a first name in Italy than as a last name, and in fact has two (to my knowledge) appearances in movies and TV- the Don in “Prizzi’s Honor” is Don Corrado Prizzi, and Tony’s uncle in “The Sopranos” is Corrado Soprano. My paternal grandfather grew up in the small village of Corrado in Italy, which is just outside of Compo de Baso in Abruzzi. Half the people in the town had the last name Corrado; we are unsure to this day whether the town was named after our family, or our family named after the town (while “di Corrado” would be more obviously named after the town, the prefix “di” or “de” was generally reserved for the nobility, something my family was definitely _not_.) My grandfather was Giovanni Corrado, which was Americanized to John when he arrived here in 1904, though he tended to go by “Gioa” (pronounced “Jewa”). As with many Catholics, his children were named after the Saint upon whose day they were born. My father was born June 24th- St. John The Baptist’s Day- and thus named John. John Jr. in practice, though in reality he wasn’t named directly for his father, and had a middle name while his father did not. When I was born, my father decided to continue the name’s lineage, and thus I was named John. Either John Corrado III or John Michael Corrado Jr., depending upon how I feel. When I signed up for this message board, I decided to use my real name- partially so that people could really attribute what I said and did to _me_ rather than, say, TurtleHawk2552, and partially because it was a _much_ easier name to remember and react to. And it also gave me a springboard to bore everyone to death when it was asked how people got their screen names. [Edited by John Corrado on 10-16-2001 at 10:51 PM] ---
**Author:** ![Sue\_Duhnym](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/91b2a8/32.png) [@Sue\_Duhnym](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sue_Duhnym)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2001, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/care-to-explain-your-screen-name/87840/45 "2001-10-17T03:55:05Z")
One entry found for pseudonym. Main Entry: pseu·do·nym Pronunciation: 'sü-d&n-"im Function: noun Etymology: French pseudonyme, from Greek pseudOnymos bearing a false name, from pseud- + onyma name – more at NAME Date: 1833 : a fictitious name; especially : PEN NAME ---
**Author:** ![Yumanite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/b487fb/32.png) [@Yumanite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yumanite)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2001, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/care-to-explain-your-screen-name/87840/46 "2001-10-17T04:02:39Z")
Well, I’m named after my home town, more or less. Also, if you pronounce it YooMANitee, it’s kind of a nice little joke – I enjoy humanity, so it works as well as anything else. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Mad\_Hermit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5ac83/32.png) [@The\_Mad\_Hermit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Mad_Hermit)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2001, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/care-to-explain-your-screen-name/87840/47 "2001-10-17T04:06:36Z")
I guess I’ll join the ranks of the blatantly obvious. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_The\_Diver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Buck\_The\_Diver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_The_Diver)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2001, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/care-to-explain-your-screen-name/87840/48 "2001-10-17T04:07:25Z")
Ummm… I’m a SCUBA instructor. And my nickname is Buck. But my element is Gallium! ---
**Author:** ![King\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7bcc69/32.png) [@King\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/King_Rat)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2001, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/care-to-explain-your-screen-name/87840/49 "2001-10-17T04:10:54Z")
**Tequila Mockingbird** , among other things, is a \*Get Smart[/] episode. Kinda like the Maltese Falcon. My favorite novel is James Clavell’s first, based on his real-life experience as a POW in Japanese-held Singapore. ---
**Author:** ![DooWahDiddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9bcb4/32.png) [@DooWahDiddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DooWahDiddy)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2001, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/care-to-explain-your-screen-name/87840/50 "2001-10-17T04:24:40Z")
THERE she was, just-a walkin’ down the street, singing… ---
**Author:** ![VeraGemini](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/e9bcb4/32.png) [@VeraGemini](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VeraGemini)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2001, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/care-to-explain-your-screen-name/87840/51 "2001-10-17T04:26:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by milo\_minderbinder \* > **VeraGemini - \ Huhuhu, he said boned \ What is this song about? Was/Is Vera Gemini a person? How exactly is a saint or devil boned? I’m mystified but curious.** With a very sharp knife? 😃 Got me, I have no clue if the song is about a real person or not. “Godzilla” was already taken, soooo… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2001, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/care-to-explain-your-screen-name/87840/52 "2001-10-17T04:28:26Z")
I dig lewis Carrol, my life is kinda tripy, and IRL my middle name is Alice. EZ. Also, my IRL name is rather, um, odd. ---
**Author:** ![bare](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bare/32/471_2.png) [@bare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bare)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2001, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/care-to-explain-your-screen-name/87840/53 "2001-10-17T04:35:43Z")
**I’m Nekkid!** ---
**Author:** ![Caiata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e56c9b/32.png) [@Caiata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caiata)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2001, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/care-to-explain-your-screen-name/87840/54 "2001-10-17T04:41:54Z")
From the notes on lines 91 - 93 of Canto XXVI of Dante’s The Inferno, as translated by Allen Mandelbaum, > [@](#): > > The legendary enchantress, Circe, who lived near the Gulf of Gaeta, transformed men into beasts. Ulysses and his companions, encountering her on their way home from Troy, were changed into swine – though Ulysses forced her to change them back. He then stayed with her for another year. (See Ovid, _Met._ XIV, 435-440, for the account – as told to Aeneas – of one of Ulysses’ companions who stayed even longer.) > > Aeneas founded Gaeta and named it for his nurse, **Caieta** , who died there. (See _Aen._ VII, 1-5; _Met._ XIV, 441 ff.) I didn’t like the e, so I took an a instead. Caiata. Oh, here’s the lines in reference: > [@](#): > > mi diparti’ da Circe, che sottrasse > me più d’un anno là presso a Gaeta, > prima che si Enëa la nomasse, Fairly meaningless in the scheme of things - I have more favourite quotes - but none of them were linked to such an inherently cool name! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Pammipoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/87869e/32.png) [@Pammipoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pammipoo)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2001, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/care-to-explain-your-screen-name/87840/55 "2001-10-17T06:09:44Z")
My name is Pam (Pamela, actually, but no one’s called me that since I was 10…). Freshman year my friends decided to make it _cute_, and started calling me Pammi. It stuck. I have a habit of adding ‘eepoo’ to people’s names, just to be differemt. Examples-Sean=Seaneepoo, Greg=Gregipoo, and Jeff=Jeffeepoo. I think it was Sean who decided to strike back, and changed my name to Pammipoo. I actually like it though, so I never thought to stop calling myself Pammipoo… ---
**Author:** ![MisterThyristor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecccb3/32.png) [@MisterThyristor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MisterThyristor)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2001, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/care-to-explain-your-screen-name/87840/56 "2001-10-17T07:10:40Z")
A thyristor is an electronic component (pronounced thigh-WRIST-er) used in motor controls to vary the speed of DC motors. As an electronic technician, I once had a job consisting solely of repairing thyristor assemblies, something that wasn’t much of a challenge to my abilities, so it was either make light of it or go crazy. So I came to work with a t-shirt with “Mister Thyristor” printed on it, and made the best of an unfortunate situation. I have used the name on message boards since, even though my work situation has much improved and I do more interesting things now. ---
**Author:** ![Cougarfang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c67d28/32.png) [@Cougarfang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cougarfang)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2001, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/care-to-explain-your-screen-name/87840/57 "2001-10-17T10:31:56Z")
well, in Neopets, i saw this guy whose username was PantherPaws. i liked that idea, but since PantherPaws was already taken, i used Cougar (my favorite cat) and Fang (“Tongue” and “Whiskers” sounded kinda funny to me…) now i register as Cougarfang or Farinia (my Neopet) on the web wherever i roam. that way, i don’t have a bajillion webnames to forget. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Bluesman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/97f17d/32.png) [@Bluesman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bluesman)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2001, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/care-to-explain-your-screen-name/87840/58 "2001-10-17T10:47:17Z")
I’m in the Air Force, and I like my blue uniform more than my battle dress uniform (the camo-green one). Also, a friend turned me on to the blues about ten years ago, and I LOVE the old blues-masters. (Long live B.B. King!) Definitely NOT the other meaning, though - I tend to be “up”, and almost never have what would be termed “the blues”. ---
**Author:** ![Watermelon\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/22d042/32.png) [@Watermelon\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Watermelon_Man)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2001, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/care-to-explain-your-screen-name/87840/59 "2001-10-17T11:03:56Z")
I am an incurable jazz fan… And Herbie Hancock’s “Watermelon Man” is among my favorite tunes… ---
**Author:** ![Rue\_DeDay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/41988e/32.png) [@Rue\_DeDay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rue_DeDay)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2001, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/care-to-explain-your-screen-name/87840/60 "2001-10-17T11:06:45Z")
When I signed up, the name I wanted was taken. We won’t speak of the Name, the memories are too painful. This initial rebuke irked me. I shook my fist at the screen and vowed “You will rue the day you served me such pain!”. My name is a constant reminder that I stand for destroying this Board from within, exacting the payment I am due. The name also has a cartoony, Warner-esque flair to it. All the better. True story. -Rue. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/care-to-explain-your-screen-name/87840.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/care-to-explain-your-screen-name/87840.md?page=4)