Choosing an original dating
site username
Fed up with 'Pete32' or Sarah1982? Do all the witty
usernames seem taken? Well, all is not lost - you can still come
up with an original dating site username if you think about it
properly
Do you struggle when it comes to choosing an original username when you
register with a new website? The problem is that if the website has any level
of popularity, all the best usernames will seem to have been taken. Don't
panic, though, there are things you can do to help you come up with some
ideas. Let's look at how you can go about getting an original username.
First of all, we need to remember why you are doing this in the first
place. Why bother? Why not just choose a bunch of random letters and numbers?
Why don't you pick two or three short words from the dictionary and use those?
Why can't you use your real name? There are two main answers. Firstly, using
your real name, address or giving out too much personal information on the
internet is foolish to say the least. Never do this unless you know the person
you are divulging it to or it is on a secure site that displays https in the
URL. Secondly, you want a name that 'sells' you - something that makes you
sound the kind of person who begs to be contacted.
So, what are the options?
Start with your name
Let's assume your name is Melanie Roberts for the purpose of this
illustration. Using that in full is a no-no as we have already established but
you could opt for MelBobs, Mellony, MellsBells or Melberts.
Adding in something personal
Some bits of personal information are not so private. For example, where you
went to college, the state or county you live in, the university you attended
or your zodiac sign. Thus our fictitious name could become KansasMel,
CambridgeMel or AriesMel. Note the use of capitalisation to separate the words
despite their concatenation.
Include a number
Don't give out your date of birth or your age but you could attach a number
to the end so that you could have Melanie52 but firstly that is not original
and, secondly, it is hardly memorable (you could easily be confused with
Melanie25, Melanie51, Melanie53 and so on). Our imaginary character could be
Mel2010 or Melanie1982 but neither are particularly exciting, one has to say.
Mel5star or 100percentMelanie are better.
If these three stages don't sound like they will produce the sort of
original username that you are looking for, there are two alternative thought
processes that you can follow.
What do you like
Think of a favourite pop group, film or book whose name or title is made up
of nouns (not proper nouns). Choose one or more of these and then go to Google
language tools and get them translated into another language. For example, if
Melanie liked Lord of the Rings, she could call herself MelAnelli (Anelli are
'Rings' in Italian).
Have a laugh
Why not inject some humour into your username. Think how popular the 'I
went to ... and all I got was this t-shirt' t-shirts are. Thus Melanie could
call herself 'whatsausername', 'partiallyinsane', ikantspeel, 'ididntmeantoclick' or 'coolwhenhot' and so forth.
Insert some innuendo
Sexual innuendo can always raise a wry smile but it can also backfire. If
she goes for something like 'SexyMel' or 'slipperywhenwet' or 'superslapper'
she may attract the wrong kind of interest from other online daters or she may
even find that the site will exclude her.
The internet is a great place to create an alter-ego and be the person you
always wanted to be. Just don't take it too far, though. A username is every
bit as personal as your real name and, unlike that one, you get full say in
what it is. Take your time, think carefully and choose well.
We hope you have now got some ideas for how to choose an original username.