What can you assume from an avatar's name???

[Space Zehetbauer]

In another thread today, one of our most famous and prolific forum members posted "I bet Space knows not to assume anyone's gender based on their name."

And I thought, what a great idea for a thread. So thanks, Love, for the inspiration.

What can you assume from an avatars' name in SL?

Allow me to go first...

My name is Space Zehetbauer.

What can we assume from that?

Well, I think it would be reasonable to assume that with the name Space, I could be an alien from another world hiding here as an avatar. That would be my most reasonable guess.

Or I am the love child of hippies??

Clearly it is the name of someone youthful and who doesn't age at all 🙂

Speaking of age, what age does the name Space suggest? Any answers over 25 get you a global ban for 2 decades!

As for Zehetbauer, what the hell sort of name is that???

Does it suggest I am German? Well, I do have European citizenship but I didnt at the time I took this name so that would be a lucky guess.

Does it suggest something deep because I took a name starting with the last letter of the alphabet? Now that could be something.

Does it suggest playfulness because I wanted a surname most people couldnt spell? 🙂

As for gender... don't get me started there. Even I don't know what gender Space should be in SL so there is no hope of you figuring it out. Perhaps "she is fluid" would be a polite assumption.

Ok, the floor is yours.

What can you assume from someone's SL name?

This could be entertaining...

Edited November 26 by Space Zehetbauer
spelling error

[Scylla Rhiadra]

My name is Scylla, and I'm a monster that eats Greek sailors. Maritime Hellenes, be warned!

Seems pretty straightforward to me.

[Carolyn Zapedzki]

What they are called.

[Prokofy Neva]

I usually don't have time to peruse my tenants' profiles. Only when they TP me in to solve some problem like a waving tree or undeeding of media do I actually see them in the round. And I have been surprised sometimes to find a tenant I thought was male or female for years in fact is the opposite. This is particularly true for some foreign names or names spelled with all kinds of odd characters. Basically, you just can't assume from a name.

It used to be that you could tell the era of when a person joined SL, whether they were oldbie royalty, by their last name. And some RP groups glommed on to some last names in the old days so you could tell their affiliation. But there are so many last names now, and you can also purchase them, that they don't signify eras any more and sometimes have no relationship to an RP of any kind.

So from your name, I can assume you're an oldbie when they still had last names, and I figure you just looked for an exotic name starting with "Z" to make a sort of space alien or futuristic identity. 

[Clem Marques]

1 hour ago, Space Zehetbauer said:

What can you assume from someone's SL name?

People choose a specific name for a reason, more often than not. It's an interesting topic, and often something I'm curious about when I meet someone.

A few things people have assumed about me based on my name:

• That I'm part of some Bloodlines group of vampires that apparently has a lot of people with the Marques surname in it (A random Bloodlines-playing woman cursed me out at a store, then realized she'd made a mistake when I was completely clueless. I'm not involved with Bloodlines.)
• That I'm some sort of snob because "Marques" was a nobility rank in some countries (I couldn't care less about that)
• That I'm a player of Warframe, because that game has a well-known character named "Clem" (Several people have said "Clem Grataka!!" or something like that in my IMs throughout the years, and I still have no clue what that means...never played that game. Picture of the character below. Seems to be a robot.)

What my name actually means:

Clem is short for Clemente. Clement, in English. It's a name, but also an adjective that means mild and merciful. I find it fitting, based on how I treat people.

Marques hints at the fact that my native language is Portuguese.

Edited November 26 by Clem Marques

[Lyric Demina]

With a name like 'Demina' one can assume 'Oldbie' of a certain age -- not the oldest among the avatars but not new either.  It was a name available to select in 2007.

That assumption by itself would be insufficient to determine whether or not I knew what I was doing generally in (second) life... However, it's a good fake at least until I can demonstrate empirically that I still walk into trees.

 

[Space Zehetbauer]

8 minutes ago, Lyric Demina said:

It was a name available to select in 2007.

Its interesting that at about that time I noticed a considerable number of the available names were the names of leading players in Australian rugby. Obviously someone working at LL at that time was of Australian origin and a rugby fanatic.

Many people would have taken those names having no idea where they really came from.

 

11 minutes ago, Lyric Demina said:

it's a good fake at least until I can demonstrate empirically that I still walk into trees.

Its nice to know that I am not the only oldie who can at times behave like a complete novice lol

 

[Space Zehetbauer]

13 minutes ago, Clem Marques said:

A few things people have assumed about me based on my name:

Thanks Clem, yes it is fascinating the assumptions one can make based on a name and our own personal experience with others of similar names.

 

 

[Luna Bliss]

I was so happy to see the last name 'Bliss' available as it's dear to one of my favorite spiritual disciplines where the attainment of bliss is more easily accessed via the meditation, chanting, singing, & dancing central to these practices (in Bhakti Yoga).

But I have another type of spirituality dear to me, inherent in earth based ones found in some types of Native American, Pagan, & Shamanistic practices where nature elements bring deep awareness & healing to the psyche through greater connection to our Earth home.

Hence......Luna (Moon).

I love how the moonlight shrouds the world in mystery -- we just see outlines via the reflective light of the moon and are pulled deeper beyond what is apparent vs the blasting sun that can define too clearly, creating fixed beliefs and stereotypes that are false.

Edited November 26 by Luna Bliss

[James Starling]

I suppose just their name and possibly SL gender although not always. 

I find you can learn more about someone by looking at their profile picture, groups and picks etc and even more by talking to them. 

I can usually get a good read on people fairly quickly since child avatars are like marmite, or kryptonite lol, so it's usually not long before you know where you stand with new people. 

[Ziggy Starsmith]

I'm Ziggy and I collect spiders from mars...assume assume assume

[Cinnamon Mistwood]

I can't assume anything based on just a name.

Maybe someone could guess a person had a good sense of humor if they picked a silly name or pun name. 

@Space Zehetbaueri might guess you like space or science in general. I don't know what to guess about your last name.

I chose my avatar name for reasons, but I don't know what people guess about me when they see it.

[Lyric Demina]

37 minutes ago, Space Zehetbauer said:

Many people would have taken those names having no idea where they really came from.

*raises hand*

*walks into a tree*

[Space Zehetbauer]

1 hour ago, Scylla Rhiadra said:

My name is Scylla, and I'm a monster that eats Greek sailors.

Yes, I remember looking up your fascinating name once.

I also read this...  "Later myth provides an origin story as a beautiful nymph who gets turned into a monster"

1 hour ago, Scylla Rhiadra said:

Seems pretty straightforward to me.

🙂

[Space Zehetbauer]

51 minutes ago, Luna Bliss said:

was so happy to see the last name 'Bliss' available as it's dear to one of my favorite spiritual disciplines where the attainment of bliss is more easily accessed via the meditation, chanting, singing, & dancing central to these practices (in Bhakti Yoga).

But I have another type of spirituality dear to me, inherent in earth based ones found in some types of Native American, Pagan, & Shamanistic practices where nature elements bring deep awareness & healing to the psyche through greater connection to our Earth home.

Hence......Luna (Moon).

So you were able to get a name that beautifully fits who you are, or who you aspire to be, that reflects your beliefs.

That is amazing!

Bliss, most certainly. 💖

[Dragon Mommy]

My name is a joke between myself and some friends, but benign enough to be used as my SL name. I get plenty of assumptions about it, but it also sometimes helps me quickly determine if someone is worth my time and energy.

If someone dismisses me or is outright rude because of the name, then I know I'm best focusing elsewhere.

To that end I always try to not let someone's SL name lead me to any snap judgements.

[Midnoot]

6 hours ago, Clem Marques said:

People choose a specific name for a reason, more often than not. It's an interesting topic, and often something I'm curious about when I meet someone.

A few things people have assumed about me based on my name:

• That I'm part of some Bloodlines group of vampires that apparently has a lot of people with the Marques surname in it (A random Bloodlines-playing woman cursed me out at a store, then realized she'd made a mistake when I was completely clueless. I'm not involved with Bloodlines.)
• That I'm some sort of snob because "Marques" was a nobility rank in some countries (I couldn't care less about that)
• That I'm a player of Warframe, because that game has a well-known character named "Clem" (Several people have said "Clem Grataka!!" or something like that in my IMs throughout the years, and I still have no clue what that means...never played that game. Picture of the character below. Seems to be a robot.)

What my name actually means:

Clem is short for Clemente. Clement, in English. It's a name, but also an adjective that means mild and merciful. I find it fitting, based on how I treat people.

Marques hints at the fact that my native language is Portuguese.

Grakataaaaaaa!

Mine has -120% recoil for pure dakkadakka accuracy. Riven life 

I refrained from Clem, grakata-ing you so hard . I was sad that it wasn't a Clem reference.

Edited November 27 by Midnoot

[Miri Wicken]

I've actually been thinking of changing my name, maybe being named after the mother of demons was a poor choice based off of what I'm actually like.

[Bubblesort Triskaidekaphobia]

My name means I spent months learning to spell Triskaidekaphobia without a post it note on my monitor, so I can log in.

[Luna Bliss]

27 minutes ago, Lilith Astral said:

I've actually been thinking of changing my name, maybe being named after the mother of demons was a poor choice based off of what I'm actually like.

Lilith is a pretty name!  

"Lilith's origins can be traced back to ancient Mesopotamian beliefs. In the creation story, Lilith refuses to be dominated by Adam and flees the garden. In the Old Testament, Lilith is described as a malevolent entity in Isaiah. However, the contemporary feminist movement found inspiration in Lilith's image as an uncontrollable woman".

Wish I would have made it to Lilith Fair:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lilith_Fair

 

Edited November 27 by Luna Bliss

[Clem Marques]

54 minutes ago, Bubblesort Triskaidekaphobia said:

My name means I spent months learning to spell Triskaidekaphobia without a post it note on my monitor, so I can log in.

Is your name pronounced as "Bubbles-ort" or "Bubble-sort"? Always wondered about that.

I like your name. It stands out.

[Clem Marques]

1 hour ago, Midnoot said:

I refrained from Clem, grakata-ing you so hard . I was sad that it wasn't a Clem reference.

I know, it's disappointing  I will play Warframe someday just to finally find out what the other Clem is like!

[Anastasia Loxingly]

All assumptions change if they shell out for a name change, doubly so if they take a meme name.

[Midnoot]

1 hour ago, Midnoot said:

 

 

12 minutes ago, Anastasia Loxingly said:

All assumptions change if they shell out for a name change, doubly so if they take a meme name.

Yeah.... I'm done with you if your last name is waifu, uwu, owo, bae, enthusiast, witch , or anything paws. R.i.p popular meme name people .

[Bubblesort Triskaidekaphobia]

43 minutes ago, Clem Marques said:

Is your name pronounced as "Bubbles-ort" or "Bubble-sort"? Always wondered about that.

I like your name. It stands out.

It's two words... bubble sort.  I've been using that handle online since before the WWW existed.  A bubble sort is a slow, archaic sorting algorithm.  Computer nerds get it.  They usually think I"m better at programming than I actually am.