# Should I ask to change my name? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 27, 2004, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-ask-to-change-my-name/252377 "2004-06-27T03:27:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![hlanelee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3bc359/32.png) [@hlanelee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hlanelee)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2004, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-ask-to-change-my-name/252377/1 "2004-06-27T03:27:57Z")
Most of you know by now that my wife is gone. Now it’s just me and the three cats down here on the edge of the Great Salkehatchie Swamp, one mile from the main road and my nearest neighbor. Sometimes I hallucinate and I have people to talk to (I know that they do not exist but they amuse me). Maybe I could be known as the “crazycatguy”. Think she would mind. \<\<\<\<\\>\>\>\> ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2004, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-ask-to-change-my-name/252377/2 "2004-06-27T03:30:02Z")
Rule of thumb: Never make major life changes shortly after a major loss, unless absolutely necessary. My condolences on your loss. Words are inadequate. ---
**Author:** ![Brainiac4](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brainiac4/32/3534_2.png) [@Brainiac4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brainiac4)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-ask-to-change-my-name/252377/3 "2004-06-30T04:48:44Z")
I’m with QtM on this one. Don’t make a major change until you get a little time to think and separate yourself from your loss. But whatever name you have, you’ll still have friends here. Be well. ---
**Author:** ![Lisa-go-Blind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Lisa-go-Blind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lisa-go-Blind)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-ask-to-change-my-name/252377/4 "2004-06-30T14:10:11Z")
Do you mean your real name or your SDMB user name? I had assumed it was the latter, but after reading the other replies I’m not sure. Again, my condolences. ---
**Author:** ![hlanelee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3bc359/32.png) [@hlanelee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hlanelee)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-ask-to-change-my-name/252377/5 "2004-06-30T15:20:53Z")
My SDMB name. When I got here, I didn’t know what a messsage board was, I was looking for information. I used my first initial, my midlle name, and my last name. That worked. I want a user name that identifies me when someone sees it. For instance, I immediatly assume qadgop would know about autopsies and crazycatlady lives with cats. I don’t have a cool name. ☹☹☹ ---
**Author:** ![liirogue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dbc845/32.png) [@liirogue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/liirogue)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-ask-to-change-my-name/252377/6 "2004-06-30T16:18:07Z")
> [@hlanelee](#): > > My SDMB name. When I got here, I didn’t know what a messsage board was, I was looking for information. I used my first initial, my midlle name, and my last name. That worked. I want a user name that identifies me when someone sees it. For instance, I immediatly assume qadgop would know about autopsies and crazycatlady lives with cats. I don’t have a cool name. ☹☹☹ Actually, I think you do. I always instantly recognize you, even though I don’t think we have ever really conversed in a thread. ---
**Author:** ![DaToad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@DaToad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaToad)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-ask-to-change-my-name/252377/7 "2004-06-30T17:39:25Z")
**hlanelee** , you’ve shown your mettle on the boards and your user name is easily recognized. After this thread, whenever I see your user name, I will think, “yeah, that’s old **hlanelee** , he’s that crazycatguy living out by the swamp in S. Carolina.” 😃 Take care, DT ---
**Author:** ![Batsinma\_Belfry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@Batsinma\_Belfry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Batsinma_Belfry)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-ask-to-change-my-name/252377/8 "2004-06-30T18:15:59Z")
Maybe you should get out among people, just temporarily. I envy your secluded spot, but I can’t imagine being that cutoff from people after a loss like yours. Then you can be _theguywithcats_, instead of _crazycatguy_. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-ask-to-change-my-name/252377/9 "2004-06-30T18:24:51Z")
These descriptive names aren’t really all they’re cracked up to be, y’know. My condolences, by the way. And I agree with the “don’t change now” crowd. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-ask-to-change-my-name/252377/10 "2004-06-30T19:08:43Z")
I do think you should change your SDMB name. I do recognize “hlanelee” as a name I’ve seen around the boards, but not as much as I might if it were a more “pronouncable” and “recognizable” name. It may be completely obvious to you that it is “H. Lane Lee,” but to me, it was just a mishmosh of lowercase letters. So, I think you should change it, but maybe to something similar. Like “H. Lane Lee,” even. Don’t go with a “cat” name. There are so many cat people around here already. If you want something recognizable, use something that is a bit more unique. Do use proper English capitalization and spacing in any case, as that makes a name easier to parse, and thus easier to remember. ---
**Author:** ![Profane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e47774/32.png) [@Profane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Profane)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-ask-to-change-my-name/252377/11 "2004-06-30T19:15:33Z")
I recently changed my name in a fit of greif/anger after going through my own loss. I wish I hadn’t now, I miss being LunaSea. You should wait a while, make sure first. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-ask-to-change-my-name/252377/12 "2004-06-30T19:26:41Z")
Change it to **Trunk 2**. We’ll be like a roving team of net kooks. And after changing your name, I recommend selling all your shit and taking the cash to Vegas. You’ll feel a lot better. ---
**Author:** ![hlanelee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3bc359/32.png) [@hlanelee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hlanelee)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-ask-to-change-my-name/252377/13 "2004-06-30T20:22:19Z")
I like \*\*Green Bean’s \*\* idea, it looks good. I would like to be H. Lane Lee. That H after my Uncle Howard, my Grandfather’s favorite brother in law who died after catching a stray bullet fired by a drunk at the Gator Bowl, he was a cop and Lane after my Grandfather’s favorite cowboy on TV when I was born, and Lee. My Grandfather’s name, formerly a bootlegger from Chicago, he claimed to have met Capone and later he claims to have mined guano in a cave in Cuba with a steam shovel. I don’t know why he would make something like that up. I want my SDMB name to be **H. Lane Lee** where do I find an administrator? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-ask-to-change-my-name/252377/14 "2004-06-30T22:09:46Z")
> [@hlanelee](#): > > I immediatly assume qadgop would know about autopsies It’s true; I do know something about autopsies. But it’s been years since I was at one, and even longer since I performed one. But how did my name lead you to that conclusion? I never associated it with autopsies. 😕 > [@](#): > > “Qadgop the Mercotan slithered flatly around the after-bulge of the tranship. One claw dug into the meters-thick armor of pure neutronium, then another. Its terrible xmex-like snout locked on. Its zymolosely polydactile tongue crunched out, crashed down, rasped across. _Slurp! Slurp!_ At each abrasive stroke the groove in the tranship’s plating deepened, and Qadgop leered more fiercely. Fools! Did they think the airlessness of absolute space, the heatlessness of absolute zero, the yieldlessness of absolute neutronium, could stop QADGOP THE MERCOTAN? And the stowaway, that human wench Cynthia, cowering in helpless terror just beyond this thin and fragile wall. . .” ---
**Author:** ![Cyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e4f/32.png) [@Cyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyn)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-ask-to-change-my-name/252377/15 "2004-06-30T22:26:41Z")
Why not change your user name if it will give you pleasure? I don’t like my user name myself and am pondering what to change it too. **Cyn** is often mispronounced at Dopefests and is non-searchable—too few characters. But **QtM** has given me an inkling with his username and quote: How does The Human Wench Cynthia sound? Too long? ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-ask-to-change-my-name/252377/16 "2004-06-30T22:31:40Z")
Sounds like you’ve thought through what you want to do, **hlanelee** (which. BTW, I’ve always mentally pronounced “Hanalee,” like the Puff the Magic Dragon land). What nickname are you going to want? A shortening, like **Qadgop, Bosda, Rue** (or **twicks** , she adds modestly), or initials, a la **RNATB** for **Really Not All That Bright** or **FCM** for **FairyChatMom**? Ya gotta think of these things! Hope you’re doing okay and getting through the days a little easier now. You’re in my thoughts and prayers and the thoughts and prayers of many of us here. ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-ask-to-change-my-name/252377/17 "2004-06-30T23:27:56Z")
I actually thought you meant you wanted to change your name. That is not a good idea, at this time at least, but as long as your SDMB name does not remind you of your wife then I see no reason you shouldn’t change it. 😃 [sup]\*\* My suggestions are Swamp Rat, Swamp Gizzer or Swamp Guy\*\*[/sup][sub]**Sorry, I couldn’t keep from making suggestions (damn)!**[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![misstee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/958977/32.png) [@misstee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/misstee)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2004, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-ask-to-change-my-name/252377/18 "2004-07-01T02:01:01Z")
> [@Cyn](#): > > **Cyn** is often mispronounced at Dopefests I read it as “sin” isn’t that the way its pronounced? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2004, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-ask-to-change-my-name/252377/19 "2004-07-01T02:11:31Z")
> [@misstee](#): > > I read it as “sin” isn’t that the way its pronounced? It’s pronounced “Kine”, isn’t it? Well, that’s how a good Celt would pronouce it, wouldn’t they? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Cyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e4f/32.png) [@Cyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyn)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2004, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-ask-to-change-my-name/252377/20 "2004-07-01T02:19:01Z")
Clever\*\* Misstee\*\*, yes, **Cyn** is sin, But **QtM** can pronounce it however he chooses. 🙂 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-ask-to-change-my-name/252377.md?page=2)