What’s In A Name?

By Wayne Maruna

As originator and continuing administrator for the Taberna community email distribution list, “TabMail”, which recently passed the 400^th subscriber mark, I have cause to view many email addresses.  I can tell I’ve been at this too long when I start thinking of people in terms of their email addresses instead of their names. 

The choice of an email ‘web name’ helps establish one’s cyber persona.  The vast majority of people just tend to use their actual name as part of their email address.  Me for instance.  I’m wamaruna@suddenlink.net.  Boring!

But every now and then I’ll get a subscriber whose email address is out of the ordinary and I’m left wondering how they came up with the identity.  I wrote to some of the more unusual Taberna email addresses to ask those willing to share how they arrived at their monikers.  Real names are followed by email names (without their domains) in italics.

Bill Bradbury (boop4): “I was an FBI Agent in NYC and worked Organized Crime cases.....we had a witness who was Sicilian and who couldn't speak English very well.  He insisted on calling me Bill Boopberry because he couldn't say Bill Bradbury.  Whenever he would call and ask for me, my fellow Agents would yell out, "Is Bill Boopberry here?" That got shortened to just plain Boop.  The "4" is there because Boop has been my nickname for almost four decades.”

Susan Stover (vagrl43yrs):  “I moved to New Bern 5 years ago after living my whole life (43 years) in one area of Virginia. I was the one who could tell you what road used to be what field or farm. I thought I would always live there. "grl" was the way my teenagers were spelling girl. So vagrl43yrs was born. At first my accountant would not answer my emails because all he could see in it was "viagra". I thought about changing it but decided it was too much fun to think what people would make it out to be. “

Ralph Waller (lunch1): "Lunch" is a college nickname I received for being "out to lunch"- not related to eating habits. I walked into a meeting of friends and asked a question relating to a topic they just finished discussing and they said "Where have you been, out to lunch?"  The "lunch" stuck and one or two family and friends still call me that.

Sharon Thompson (bozettastone):  “In high school my nickname was Bozo (don't ask, it was a really bad hair day!) And I have an avid interest in all things science, thus the Rosetta Stone. (I had just watched a TV special on Discover). In high school Spanish class my name was Rosita. Every web site I tried to sign up for had all of these names taken.  I finally started putting all these things together to come up with a name that no one else was using, and it's worked out pretty well. I don't forget it and no one else has used it - yet.”

            I had to write back and ask Sharon why she was Rosita in Spanish class.  She replied: “My name is Sharon... no Spanish equivalent, so we came up with the Biblical Rose of Sharon, which became Rosita. So now you know... I was named for a great big shrub.”

If that wasn’t funny enough, serendipity stepped in as my very next response came from, would you believe, Sharon Busch (starvingartist2):  “Starving Artist was the name of our boat which was named for our daughter (at the time, an aspiring actress).  Visiting many marinas and making new friends, people could remember our email address by associating it with our boat name—like many people do with their own names.”

Sometimes web names grow out of businesses.  Don Elsass (gmagic911) writes:  “What was to be temporary, to get me started on the internet, became permanent. I had a part time auto windshield repair business named Glass Magic, so I began with "gmagic". Needing some numbers, I borrowed from the Porsche model car I was driving at the time, a 911.” 

            And Paula McElhennon (Mrstucco) explains:  “We owned a Stucco company in San Francisco before we moved here 3 years ago. Our company was called Sunset Stucco because of the area we lived in. The name Mrstucco came about when we opened the business. Some people think it is "Mrs Tucco."

            An email name I was really curious to hear about belongs to Maria Vincent (MyRear66):  “Myrear66 comes from the "Southern" pronunciation of my name, Maria.  I grew up in Raleigh, and my backdoor neighbor Carey, pronounced "Ka re", was from Nashville NC.  She would look for my dad by asking me, "My Rear, is your dad home?   When my friends heard this pronunciation, my nickname was born.  When email started, I said why not.”

            The one that takes the cake in my book belongs to Pat Donnelly (iforget2):  “Many years ago I saw a "vanity license plate" in a parking lot that read I FORGET. I thought it easy to remember! When it came time to come up with an email address I immediately thought of the license plate…. but it was already taken!  (You mean there are more clever people out there?)  Case solved - we simply added a 2.  It is a difficult address when repeating verbally. When asked for our email and we respond "I forget" we usually hear something like "Well, we have to have it or you will not receive confirmation" etc. Now we just spell it with unusual breaks such as: if-org-et2. My husband is embarrassed by all of this so he now has his own boring address which is his name - but I forget what it is.”

            And finally, as we all enjoy another Christmas season, let’s recall what we celebrate each year at this time.  Cynthia Frazier (Rooster7) remembers it every day in her email name: “Rooster7” came about while taking a Disciple Bible Study. Matthew 26:34- Jesus tells Peter, "I tell you with certainty, before a rooster crows this very night you will deny me three times." Peter told him, "Even if I have to die with you, I will never deny you!" Yet he did!  After the resurrection Jesus forgives Peter, giving him another chance.  That was very powerful for me.”

            It’s a power that has lasted over 2,000 years.  Merry Christmas to all my Taberna neighbors.