# Seriously. What's Your First Name? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 23, 2014, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-whats-your-first-name/681994 "2014-02-23T02:46:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2014, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-whats-your-first-name/681994/61 "2014-02-23T22:06:36Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Many of us are pretty free with life and employment and family details, but there is still a level of masking because we all know 62.5% of Dopers are murderous stalkers, as are 99.9% of Google users. Repeated requests for these deeper, guarded, and more narrowly identifying data concern me. > > Just sayin’. > > - — Nunny\* My name’s Meghan. I’ve never made any real secret about it because I’ve never been under the impression that I was anonymous on the internet. Maintaining a false identity takes work. If someone knows your life and employment and family details, your name is trivial. ---
**Author:** ![Brynhildr\_Budladottir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Brynhildr\_Budladottir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brynhildr_Budladottir)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2014, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-whats-your-first-name/681994/62 "2014-02-23T22:27:21Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > I don’t mean to TS here, but is anyone else uncomfortable with these threads that ask for a piece of personal information most of us would otherwise guard from public posts? > > No, telling us your first name is pretty harmless. But about once a week a thread wants to know some other fun personal fact - what city were you born in? what’s the name of your street? How many kids do you have? - etc. Since all of these answers become a permanent part of the googleverse, anyone from the OPs to a random Doper to anyone with a browser can assemble a pretty clear portrait of those who respond, even make a positive ID, which (as some of the responses in this thread indicate to me) is not wanted. > > Many of us are pretty free with life and employment and family details, but there is still a level of masking because we all know\*\* 62.5% of Dopers are murderous stalkers\*\*, as are 99.9% of Google users. Repeated requests for these deeper, guarded, and more narrowly identifying data concern me. > > Just sayin’. > > - — Nunny\* LOL. But I get your point. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2014, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-whats-your-first-name/681994/63 "2014-02-23T22:30:37Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > I don’t mean to TS here, but is anyone else uncomfortable with these threads that ask for a piece of personal information most of us would otherwise guard from public posts?. . . . No, I’m not uncomfortable with threads that ask for personal info. If I’m not interested in responding, I don’t. [Somewhat ironic post coming from you, of all people.] 😉 –Signed, “Son of the Right (Hand)” ---
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2014, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-whats-your-first-name/681994/64 "2014-02-23T22:46:47Z")
April. ---
**Author:** ![Tethered\_Kite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a5b964/32.png) [@Tethered\_Kite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tethered_Kite)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2014, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-whats-your-first-name/681994/65 "2014-02-23T22:58:22Z")
Call me “Anything But Late to Dinner.” ---
**Author:** ![dwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwyr/32/363_2.png) [@dwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwyr)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2014, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-whats-your-first-name/681994/66 "2014-02-23T23:54:38Z")
Leslie ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2014, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-whats-your-first-name/681994/67 "2014-02-23T23:56:15Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Eye-gore But they told me it was “ee-gor.” Peter P. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2014, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-whats-your-first-name/681994/68 "2014-02-24T00:06:51Z")
Unusual and unknown. Let’s keep it that way. I’m already a bit irked that my name and some details about my work life are out on the Net along with my home address, for other reasons nobody thought were important way back when. ---
**Author:** ![Katriona](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/katriona/32/113_2.png) [@Katriona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katriona)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2014, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-whats-your-first-name/681994/69 "2014-02-24T00:15:26Z")
Wendy ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2014, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-whats-your-first-name/681994/70 "2014-02-24T00:15:58Z")
> [@Napier](#): > > Unusual and unknown. Let’s keep it that way. > > I’m already a bit irked that my name and some details about my work life are out on the Net along with my home address, for other reasons nobody thought were important way back when. That’s ridiculous. I’ll mail you a letter explaining why. ---
**Author:** ![Steken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@Steken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steken)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2014, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-whats-your-first-name/681994/71 "2014-02-24T00:22:04Z")
Peter. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2014, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-whats-your-first-name/681994/72 "2014-02-24T00:25:09Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > But they told me it was “ee-gor.” > Peter P. That’s FRON-KON-STEEN!! Frau Blucher ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2014, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-whats-your-first-name/681994/73 "2014-02-24T00:55:33Z")
Gregory. I use Greg here to protect my anonymity. > [@susan](#): > > Raymond, but it’s pronounced “Throatwarbler.” Nitpick: Throatwobbler. (Pedant is my _middle_ name.) ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2014, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-whats-your-first-name/681994/74 "2014-02-24T01:01:19Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > Frau Blucher (horses neigh) ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2014, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-whats-your-first-name/681994/75 "2014-02-24T01:01:53Z")
Ulf ---
**Author:** ![AnalogSignal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/analogsignal/32/1085_2.png) [@AnalogSignal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnalogSignal)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2014, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-whats-your-first-name/681994/76 "2014-02-24T01:50:36Z")
> [@bldysabba](#): > > You may be kidding, but it is(or was, may not be so anymore) a reasonably common Bengali first name. I’m not Bengali, but the internet says it means ‘Fire’. It’s pronounced Onol. It was a dumb joke based on my username. ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2014, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-whats-your-first-name/681994/77 "2014-02-24T01:55:23Z")
Peter. Nice to meet ya. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2014, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-whats-your-first-name/681994/78 "2014-02-24T03:02:27Z")
Can’t tell you. It’s top secret. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2014, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-whats-your-first-name/681994/79 "2014-02-24T03:41:15Z")
That is so Zen. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2014, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-whats-your-first-name/681994/80 "2014-02-24T04:37:04Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > I don’t mean to TS here, but is anyone else uncomfortable with these threads that ask for a piece of personal information most of us would otherwise guard from public posts? > > No, telling us your first name is pretty harmless. But about once a week a thread wants to know some other fun personal fact - what city were you born in? what’s the name of your street? How many kids do you have? - etc. Since all of these answers become a permanent part of the googleverse, anyone from the OPs to a random Doper to anyone with a browser can assemble a pretty clear portrait of those who respond, even make a positive ID, which (as some of the responses in this thread indicate to me) is not wanted. I agree. You see people playing these seemingly harmless games like “What’s your porn name? Use your pet’s name and the street you live on.” Then you start considering how many people use stuff like this as passwords. My name isn’t a secret and anyone who really wants to know it could find out. Same with a lot of my other personal information. But I prefer not to just throw it out there. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-whats-your-first-name/681994.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seriously-whats-your-first-name/681994.md?page=5)