The Name Game: Reflections on Identity in Second Life

When I signed up for Second Life, I had no clue about the importance of choosing a creative Second Life persona, i.e. "name." As I signed up for my account for the first time, I plugged in a first name, looked through the list of last names, and didn't even realize I could refresh the list to find something more creative.  In the end, on the last page of choices, I saw "Titanium" and thought... that says "strong."  And so it stuck.

As "Jami T" I cannot see ever changing my SL identity.

I had no idea that in a way, "Jami T" would become a "brand."  And indeed that is the case for many of the "old timers" in SL that I know.  They make a place for themselves, create something and become part of it, and their name sort of becomes like a slogan that follows them around.  I know more than a few people like that.  And like them, it would be nearly impossible for me to ever change avatars.

I remember once asking a fella in London Hyde Park to go dancing.  And he said, "But whoa!  You're Hyde Park's "Jami T."  And I thought, "What the hell?"  He saw me as totally unreachable due to my SL persona and it was my first glimmer of just how important a name can be in SL.

Which is why, perhaps, those of us who have been in SL for any length of time prior to the move to display names and the "Resident" surname, find the shift in creating identity a disturbing one.

As MooCow Beeswing, pointed out, her SL name is a nickname that was given to her.  She chose it because it was an important part of her identity.  She remembers seeing all the names and thinking they didn't mean much to her, but then "Beeswing" stood out and she chose it thinking it was a cute match for "MooCow."  She added that the new user names with display names is "confusing and just very unoriginal."

Karola Silversmith: "If I could see one good thing in it, it's only
when someone named the avi with a typo."

One of the big issues with display names is that users can take advantage of this to create confusion, naming themselves after someone long established in SL who has a well-known identity.  As Karola Silversmith points out, display names are "really confusing for others and in work too.  Some names are really hard to read too, especially the "hand write" font.  If I could see one good thing in it, it's only when someone named the avi with a typo."

And older users seem attached to their names.  In looking around, the "older" avatars I see (those that have seen at least one rezz day or nearly so) aren't using the display names.  Or if they are, it is only to reassert the name they chose in the beginning.  Simon Sangria, who will celebrate his first rezz day in mid-May, remarked  that he would not change his name.  "I won't change it... It's been my name too long." 

Simon Sangria: "I won't change it... It's been my name too long."

After a friend of mine mentioned how difficult it was to "join" SL now due to the new naming policy, I went into the website to create a new account to see, and discovered that she was right.  It was difficult to find a unique "user" name without adding random numbers or silly combinations of letters.  With the loss of randomly generated surnames, a person has to come up with a user name that is unique from all other user names.  This seems to have generated a flurry of names appearing in-world with numbers or other random letters attached to them.
 
In real life, our name in inherently linked to our perception of ourselves.  It is no different in SL.  In a world where identity and "brand" means so much, it's sad that the new policy gives such a "prison number" feel to names, stealing away our identity in a subtle but powerful way.