Who Goes There? Chatting About The Names We Use When Blogging + A Poll Question

/ Ally Bean

BACK WHEN I FIRST STARTED writing a blog I read a blog [whose name I do not remember] written by a woman named Karen [I think].

She was hilarious and outrageous, posting every stinking day about her small-town life.  Her writing was wordy and it was perfect.  No grammar or spelling mistakes, ever.

I was in awe of her.

She had a huge following.  They were as outrageous as she was which made reading the comments a hoot.  I was more reserved back then, so I didn’t jump into her comment section like I would today.

• • •

IN RETROSPECT THE MOST INTERESTING thing about her comment section was that the commenters created nicknames for themselves.  This was ostensibly to distinguish one from another, when more than one person had the same first name spelled the same way.

For instance [making up examples here] there’d be “Cathy from California” who wasn’t to be confused with “Cathy who hates gerbils” who most clearly was not “Cathy the Cookie.”

It was all inside jokes and seemed harmless.  Rather fun, crazy awesome, even.

• • •

HOW THE HECK DID I get thinking about a blog from 15 years ago?

The other day I sat down to answer my comments here.  I had three comments in a row from women with the same first name who spelled it the same way.  Then I had two comments in a row from women with the same first name who spelled it the same way.

Suddenly, thinking back to the blogger from years ago, I was curious about how many people with the same first name spelled the same way leave comments here on a regular basis.

I had no idea, so I did a little behind the scenes research.

I was surprised by what I learned and I’m betting that you, my gentle readers, won’t guess which first name spelled the same way is the most popular one among my commenters, but give it a go.  Here’s the poll question.

Also, out of curiosity, have you ever seen a blogger with commenters who have created specific nicknames to use only when commenting on that blog? Is/was this a thing? Or is this something as unique as I think it was? 

153 thoughts on “Who Goes There? Chatting About The Names We Use When Blogging + A Poll Question”

    • Zen-Den, yes you’re right. Everywhere I go now in the blogosphere I see real names or blogging nom de plumes, nothing like what was going on back then.

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  2. Well heck, I HAD to go with Deborah, because that is my real, legal name and all even though I’ve shortened it down to Deb for WP!

    As to the nickname thing, I don’t believe I read anyone who has commenters with nicknames, but I think it sounds like a whole lot of fun 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    • Deb, I’m happy you went with your name. Makes sense. The whole blogging nickname thing on that blog was fun. At the time I thought maybe that’s how blogging was everywhere, but now I think Karen had something unique going on.

      Liked by 1 person

      • Though on as serious a note as you can get on this topic…blogging is a different game now as opposed to 15 years ago. How many people use their actual names? I’d say half my blog friends use different titles…

        Liked by 2 people

        • LA, blogging is much different now. It was wilder/uncharted back when I started, no one had niches, and everyone did their own thing not looking to become an influencer.

          Like you, I use a blogging nom de plume here, but have no idea what percentage of the people who comment here do the same thing. It makes no difference to me what you call yourself as long as you’re authentic and kind. That’s what I care about.

          Liked by 3 people

  4. I’ve never noticed that among the bloggers I follow. My name was popular growing up, but I never gave myself a nickname to distinguish me from the other girls with my name. Our last names did that for us.

    I’m curious about the poll and which name comes in first. I voted.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Deborah, I’d not thought of that blogger in years until I noticed a pattern here. You’re right of course about how last names distinguish you, but back then in the blogosphere I don’t remember anyone using his or her last name.

      Liked by 1 person

  5. Most of my commenters are fellow bloggers and I really appreciate when they have an accompanying photo or real name (along with blog name) to distinguish them. A lot of blogs I follow or bloggers that comment have similar blog names (with the word Retirement in them), and in the beginning I would sometimes get them confused. Which was mega embarrassing for me. I still sometimes get confused by bloggers who have a different handle on Instagram or Facebook than their blog. (It helps once I have actually met them IRL). I guess this is why “branding” or consistency is important!
    I have not seen commenters with specific nicknames on a blog in a very long time, but it’s a great idea and would make life so much easier for the host! (I hate screwing this up but have much grace to give to people who get my name wrong in the comments – I’ve been there, baby!)

    Deb

    Liked by 2 people

    • Deb, I know what you mean about how confusing it can be when the same word is in many names of blogs. I chose this blog name with branding in mind so that it was unique and I could use the same name across all social media without confusing anyone.

      I’ve made plenty of mistakes with commenters’ names over the years, thinking I was talking with one person when it was a different person with the same name. Oops! Mea culpa.

      Maybe that’s why Karen years ago had her commenters create nicknames for themselves, so she could keep them straight. 🤔

      Liked by 1 person

  6. This is interesting! I went with “Marian” first, I don’t know why, and I don’t know if my poll went through. Then I went with “Pam” because it’s my name, but then I wondered, what name comes up for me when I comment? So here I am. Roughwighting. Oh. Huh. So, bet you don’t get any others like that one. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    • No, Pam, you’re the only Roughwighting around here. You got that locked in. Of course, if you were going by Pam in the comment section and there were other Pams, what would you call yourself then? I’m guessing that’s how all the nicknames started in that blog from way back then. People didn’t use last names so much in the early days of blogging.

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  7. Ally, I feel like I missed out on all the fun 15 years ago! 😀 The idea of all those nicknames sounds fun and quirky – it all seems a bit calmer and ‘proper’ now! I have three Miriams who often comment on my blog but are distinguishable by their different Gravatars! I like the alternative versions of my name that appears on comments but I totally understand, it’s a bit tricky as there seem to be many spellings for it nowadays!

    Liked by 1 person

    • Annika, you’ve summed it up: it all seems a bit calmer and ‘proper’ now!. I agree. Three Miriams is unexpected, but totally believable. It’s the receptive nature of the names that caught my eye, although I have commenters with the same name spelled differently. That’s a different category. You’re also right that Gravatars make it easier to distinguish who it is that is commenting.

      Liked by 1 person

  8. I go by what ever Google calls me at any given blog that i comment on.. I know it’s not that simple but it’s early in the morning (for me) and that’s where my brain took me.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Jean, that’s an excellent point. The great and powerful Google does what it wants with our names. And the blogging platforms do what they want when it comes to whether a comment is published or not. 🤨

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  9. I chose Kate in the poll because I’ve seen a lot of them in my blogs, but I’ve just heard you reply to a bunch of Debs so I’m probably wrong. I agree that I mostly see the nom de plumes rather than “real names”… doesn’t matter to me either way. A name that looks real may not be. Fun post!

    Liked by 1 person

    • Paula, I’m the same way about blogging names. Call yourself what makes you happy, and I’ll call you the same name. Life’s too short to fuss over whether a blogging nom de plume is a *real* name or not.

      Liked by 1 person

  10. I am laughing. I haven’t seen commenters use nicknames, but it does sound fun. I have developed several different names given to me by my commenters, and other bloggers. Such as Joy, JR (for Joyroses) Carolyn, (which is my actual name) and others. JR009 (not sure exactly of the number, but the commenter was going for a secret agent feel, LOL!) Its funny for I have had some commenters ask what they should call me when they see these other names, and I am like, whatever you prefer! 🙂 I grew up with a ton of nicknames, for I am very short, so its all fun to me!

    I do have bloggers who shall remain nameless, who have been given nicknames in my fictional stories, which they know, and some others have figured out. That is always fun!

    Liked by 1 person

  11. Things have changed. If I were to begin a blog today, I’d do it under my given name. In fact, when I started my second blog, Lagniappe, I used my name in the URL. I’ve had shoreacres for such a long time the difficulties inherent in changing it are substantial, so I’ll just keep it — even though most people call me Linda. We were so worried about anonymity back then. Now we send Christmas cards and know people’s birthdays. Funny, really.

    As to the nickname business, I’ve never thought about it. I just go with whatever people have chosen, and try to keep them sorted out. I do know one blogger who’s just changed her name to Hester Prynne. I’m not sure what to think about that.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Linda, I can only imagine how difficult it’d be to change your online name/persona after you’re known by one name. Why bother? If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it?

      I’d forgotten all about this blog from years ago but reflecting on it as a mature blogger now, I have to admit that Karen had a great thing going with those nicknames. Commenters loved it and I suspect that was part of the charm with that blog. Everyone was special, in a good way.

      Liked by 1 person

  12. If you have another person commenting here named Evil, that would be awesome. Bonus points if they’re also a squirrel…

    Reminds me of the first summer I worked at Mecca. We had two women on my crew named Donna, and both last names started with a B. My manager at the time distinguished the two by calling the most tenured one “Donna One” and the other became “Donna Two.” Donna One stuck around for about 12 years, and quickly lost the “One” designation. Donna Two only lasted a few months and faded into oblivion….. except for the fact that when one of us old timers would recall her, we would always refer to her as Donna Two. The numeral became part of her brief Mecca identity…

    Liked by 1 person

    • evilsquirrel13, you are the only evil and the only squirrel and the only 13 who comments here. You’ve branded yourself well, sir.

      That’s a good story. I’ve had friends who’ve been referred to in similar ways, because it can get confusing fast about who you’re talking about. I’m sure that Donna Two would be pleased to know she made a lasting impression on you, numerically speaking.

      [Revised comment: Just discovered another commenter with 13. I misspoke above.]

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  13. I’ve never noticed this. I don’t approve comments without going first to that person’s blog to see what bloggers I follow know that person, and if they call them by a name. I don’t care for anonymous comments.

    Liked by 2 people

    • Jill, I don’t take anonymous comments here either. I do accept comments from people with legitimate identities online– or at least they seem legit. I’ve learned over the years to reference any commenter by the name they want to be called, so if any nicknames were to happen here it wouldn’t be my doing.

      Liked by 1 person

  14. Interesting. I’ve noticed several people with the same first name, I would have guessed Kathy on your poll, but perhaps I was influenced by your example. I settled on Deborah.

    Nancy didn’t make your list although I know there are a couple or three, plus me though I don’t use it online. Never made a secret of it but, you know, a series of events ended up with Zaz being my nickname. I came to blogging through MSN forums, where no one used their real names. It kind of weirded me out when I started running into blogs with bloggers or commenters used, apparently, their real name. However, the commenter nicknames from that long ago blog sound like a lot of fun.

    Signed Zazzy, not to be confused with Nancy.

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    • Zazzy who my spellcheck wants to call Jazzy, I know what you mean about being weirded out by people who used their real names. I started blogging in 2004 and that wasn’t the done thing. Some people used their first names, but not their full names. On Karen’s blog all those years ago the commenters with nicknames made it.

      Like a few people here have mentioned with the advent of Gravatar images, even when someone has the same first name spelled the same way you can look at the picture and know instantly who it is. But back in the wild early days of blogging that wasn’t an option.

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    • Donna, the nicknames did make that blog. The writer, Karen, was [shall we say] very open about all aspects of her life and her commenters followed suit.

      I’ve seen lots of changes in blogging, but mostly for the better. It’s so much easier to have a blog now. No need to know html, just click on a few buttons and voilà a blog is born. And adding images and links is a breeze now, too.

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  17. Nancy, the thing is that spellcheck always corrects Zazzy to Jazzy so if I were to call you Jazzy I’d lose my mind trying to remember who I was replying to here. You could be Nancy who wants to be Jazzy. That’d work. What ‘ya think?

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  18. I’m thoroughly disappointed that I missed out on the fun of that blog 15 years ago! I can say without hesitation I’m totally behind the use of amusing/clever names. I’m a serious fan of anagrams and as a mailartist I was always anagramming people’s names and giving them new identities. It became a standing joke that I was a creator goddess of sorts. 🙂 And given that Deborah means bee, it absolutely delights me that my first and last name anagrams into “Wore Herb Bead” or alternately “Adore Herb Web” or “Hoard Bee Brew.”

    Years ago I came across a list from some earlier time that ranked the popularity of names. As both my brother’s and my name were listed, we began signing our numbers on emails and texts to each other. Very coded-secret-agenty don’t you think?

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    • Deborah, it was a different blogosphere back then. More untamed, and much more spontaneous, so I imagine that this nickname thing just happened. All for the fun of it.

      I didn’t know Deborah means bee and your anagrams are delightful knowing that. I also think it’s fabulous that you and your brother have secret-agenty nicknames to use in your messages with each other. That’s fun.

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  19. Ok, I’m Kate the crazy cat lady but you already knew that. I use my whole name (at least I think it shows up). If I were to start a blog today, I’d have a shorter blog title. I might even use my name as the url but not sure. Somehow you get to know your commentors through their style. I don’t approve any new comment unless I can get useful information. If their blog has the static front page, it’s nope. If it’s a sales blog, nope. If the comment doesn’t seem meaningful, you guessed it, nope. I was surprised to see that my name if one of the frequent flyers here.

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    • Kate the crazy cat lady, you’d fit right in with those commenters way back when. That’s how all of their names were.

      I screen my comments in the same ways that you do. Although with WP most undesirable comments go directly to spam without me seeing them.

      If I started over in the blogosphere today, I’d do what I did with this blog, keeping an eye on branding. That is, I’d pick a memorable name for the blog. One that was not too long and avoided commonly used words. Then I’d use that name everywhere in social media. I’d continue using my blogging nom de plume because at this point it’s well known.

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    • AutumnAshbough, my blogging nom de plume comes from a nickname so I’m right there with you.

      I like how your specific example of a nickname manages to convey your opinion of said person while remaining above the fray. Well said.

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    • AA, my comments aren’t going through onto your blog again. There must be something wrong on this end of things because yours isn’t the only blog where this is happening. That being grumbled, I like New Cat.

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      • You know, I am having trouble with various blogs as well. Sometimes I have to put in all my comments again after signing in through WP. Sometimes I can only comment through the WP Reader. And sometimes WP doesn’t work and I have to manually put in all my info before commenting. It’s very inefficient and makes me a little nuts.

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  21. Totally off topic here, but how cool would it be to meet someone named Nick Nayme?

    No nicknames here. You can look up by birth certificate and see, clear as day, the name Swinged Cat.

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    • Swinged Cat, if I meet someone with that name I promise you you’ll be the first person I tell about it.

      Swinged Cat is delightfully unique, thus wouldn’t need a nickname to distinguish it from other Swinged Cats. Should there be more of them.

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  22. I know it wasn’t Margaret! I have vacillated between using my real name or going with a pen name, but have settled on what makes me comfortable. In order to feel like myself (and blog like that) I need to use my real name, which is Margaret. 🙂 I sometimes come through on WP as margiegf, which is also OK. Many people do call me Margie (hard g), thus that also feels like me.

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    • Margaret, I’ve known you as Margaret, never any other names. I think you may be the only Margaret I’ve met online, come to think of it. I’ve always blogged under a pen name and as such only share slices of my life here, not the whole thing. It’s worked for me.

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      • I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but I had to make up a whole WP identity and get an account to comment here. Sometimes (but rarely) WP remembers me, but most of the time I have to put in all my info, then it takes me to the WP login and I have to put in my password. It’s pretty crazy!

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        • Yes, I knew you had the account. Can you not create a Gravatar using that account? If so then you’ll have your image and bio and link to you blog all in one place. Once I got into that system here in WP it made commenting easier. I’d guess that it’d be the same way for you, even though you don’t keep an actual blog here on WP.

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  23. When I was going to grammar school there were 4 Janets and 1 Janis in my class of 50 students. We were together for 8 years and none of us (that I remember) had nicknames. We all went by our whole first names. Interestingly, when I was doing my medical assisting course someone said I should shorten my name to Jan because if a doctor needed me in a hurry, he’d only have to say one syllable. I don’t know why but I listened to that and for 25 years I became Jan. When I hit age 50 I decided that I was missing something and so went back to using Janet. Confuses the heck out of some people. As far as my blogging/instagram/facebook persona, I am Scr4pl80 (pronounced scrap lady) because that’s my passion, scrapbooking, paper crafting etc. I do try to remember when I am commenting on a new blog to put my real name at the end of the comment and appreciate when others do that too. I picked Kate in your poll but now I think it should have been Deborah, which was my first instinct. Gotta go with those! Great post today, Ms. Bean.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Janet, I’ve known a few Jans but they’ve been Janices, not Janets. Interesting how we all modify our names as we go along in life. I like Janet, but that’s neither here nor there. You call yourself whatever name you want.

      I admire the consistency with which you’ve used Scr4pl80. That’s good branding and makes it easy for anyone to find you regardless of where you are online. Who would have ever thought that we’d be living in a time when keeping track of who you are is a real issue? Social media has changed us in so many ways.

      The last time I looked Kate was winning in the poll. I’ll reveal all in a later post!

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  24. I routinely used a nick-name (alias) for on-line interaction until about a year and a half ago (or so). Then I started to wonder why I was doing that (doh! Identity theft remains a real thing), and I offered my first name plus initials. I was “embeecee’ for a long time, but got tired of being mistaken for an “Emily.” Nothing wrong with Emily, it’s just not my name. I know a blogger on WordPress who insists on anonymity because he’s had his ID stolen a couple of times and he just doesn’t trust the system or security of most sites. I guess. To each their own.

    “Also, out of curiosity, have you ever seen a blogger with commenters who have created specific nicknames to use only when commenting on that blog? Is/was this a thing? Or is this something as unique as I think it was?” It is unique. I’ve never encountered it, and I’ve been using the internet a very very long time.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Melanie, I remember when you were embeecee. I thought it was cute, but if you got Emily-ed one too many times I can understand why you went with Melanie, which is a lovely name, btw.

      I asked the questions I did because I thought maybe I missed a whole commenters with nickname phenomenon. However, if you’ve not seen it maybe this blog really was as wonderfully unique as I remember it. 🤷‍♀️

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  25. I had to guess Deborah b/c it’s the only name that would be wild to have so many people using with the same spelling. I haven’t noticed this phenomenon, but then, I don’t have a huge following, and I don’t normally check out comments on other blogs. That blog you talked about sounded like a hoot. I’m guessing it’s long gone now?

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  26. When I was teaching, I had three Sara(h)s in the same class. Eventually, I came up with a nickname for each one. It often happened with trend names.
    Several years ago, I picked up a commenter whose name was also Nance. She started signing in as The Other Nance so as to avoid confusion. She hasn’t been around for quite some time, however; I wonder what happened to her.
    Avatars are awfully helpful in keeping people straight, as others mentioned. I like seeing what people choose to represent themselves.

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    • nance, I imagine as a teacher you’d see examples of the same name in a class every so often. Good idea with the nicknames. I hadn’t thought about that early blogger and her commenters in years, yet your example of The Other Nance is exactly the sort of nickname that Karen’s commenters would have used. I agree about the Gravatar images. Insightful.

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  27. I vote for Kate.

    I have definitely seen blogger comments made by people with nicknames, but I don’t know if they only use that nickname on that blog. For example, RV Sue has tons of commenters, there’s AZJim, and Fountainpen, and Weather…. I think maybe they use the same names when they comment on other blogs though. Still….I do know how confusing it can get when you have more than one person with the same name, or similar names. I have a couple that I constantly get confused (and their names aren’t even the exact same, I’m just not that observant and think they are the same person unless they comment right next to each other.)

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    • dawn, I’ve had the same thing happen to me. I don’t realize that X and Y are two different people [their names and gravatars look similar], then *boom* I see their comments in a row and I realize my mistake. I see the kinds of names that you mention, too. I like anyone who finds a way to make themselves stand out without being over the top. I don’t know RV Sue, but she sounds like she must have it going on.

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  30. I know you’ve a fair few Debs posting 😀 but there’s a few Kates too, so …
    I think the internet used to be more like that blog you remember. There were forums I used which sounds exactly the same – loads of fun, with in-jokes, sharp humour & dripping with wit, with serious debate on the side. But times changed, trolls became a pain, people’s lives changed, Facebook become more mainstream etc …
    I’ve always been rubbish with thinking up nicknames, so I’ve generally used some form of my name.

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    • Deb, yes, yes, you said it: loads of fun, with in-jokes, sharp humour & dripping with wit, with serious debate on the side.. That’s exactly how I remember these early bloggers and blogs. They looked less polished than today’s blogs and had content/conversations that was less refined, but oh. my. goodness. the. laughs. It was the Wild West, but trolls and influencers changed the ways we blog. So be it, you know.

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  31. Ally, I’ve blogged for quite a while on many platforms and to my knowledge, what you describe is totally unique! I already use a fairly obscure nickname anyway, so I doubt I’d be able to come up with another.
    BTW, your friend Karen’s blog reminds me of a blog I once followed that was incredibly interesting and well-written. This person was going through a tough time but had a great sense of humor and really knew how to tell a story! It abruptly ended one day, which was totally disappointing. So I went back to the very first post and read the whole thing through, one post a day, trying to make it last. I thought it was as good as any book I’ve ever read. One difference is that she only had four followers, but she deserved a lot more. Thanks, I enjoyed your post.

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    • Des, I think Karen’s blog was unique, too. I hadn’t thought about this blog in years, but I remember that when I was reading it I was charmed by these nicknames that distinguished one *Cathy* from another. I think people who had different names, like Des, kept their names when they commented.

      I hate that when a great blogger just stops writing. You’re left wondering what happened, hoping for the best of course. I also find it amazing when I find a blogger who can write but only has a few followers. Maybe that’s what they want, but seems a shame to me. Gotta spread the goodness.

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  32. I remember when I started my blog, I wanted to be very secretive about who I was. I was reluctant to put my actual name on my blog and I certainly didn’t indicate where I lived. I guess I felt more need for security back then (from what, I don’t know). Now that I’ve discovered that I’ve gained actual friendships through blogging, I have dropped the vail. I’m not sure why (I’m sure it’s something I do) but sometimes my comments on different blogs show me a “Janis” sometimes “Janis @ RetirementallyChallenged” and sometimes just with my blog name. When I hit “Post Comment” when I’m done writing this, I’ll find out how I’ll appear on your blog.

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    • Janis, I started blogging when no one used their full real name. Usually a person would just use their first name– or create a blogging nom de plume. I understand your desire to be secretive about some details about your life; it’s wise. Your comment name may vary but it’s all consistent in its own way. That’s cool. I just seem to show up as Ally Bean no matter where I comment!

      Liked by 1 person

    • Jan, thinking back on this blogger I believe she intuitively understood how to make her commenters feel important and the nicknames were a result of that. I’m the same way as you about tag lines. For some bloggers that’s what I remember the most– not their names or their blog name, but how they define themselves. Not a bad thing really. As for you saying nothing, someone has to do it! 😉

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  34. My first blog/commenter name was Upsidedown Kate. Ages and ages and ages ago I saw it in a book of sex positions and laughed that if I ever opened a bookstore (my dream) that that’s what I would call it. It’s been my own personal inside joke ever since. Now I’m boring and proper (as one of your commenters suggested) using my actual given name (which no one ever actually uses).

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    • Kate, that’s a funny story. We all get more sedate and mature as we go along, but I think if you ever get the chance to open a book store you have to call it Upsidedown Kate. That’d be great.

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  35. Interesting … I guessed “Susan” would be the most-popular name. I supposed I should edit my profile name to be my actual name and not as it was set up with the blog and I think I will do that when I finish responding. After seven years, well better late than never! I have actually reserved a domain name for my blog but the title is so long that if I tell people the name, I know they won’t remember it – I’ve omitted the letter “g” twice and use an ampersand … so it’s simpler to say lindaschaubblog.net. One time a fellow blogger asked me why I use a cartoon character for my profile picture. I liked the character and it fit in with the pink theme on my home page where I also use the same character’s face. I’m certainly not the only person who doesn’t use a pic of myself and I don’t on Twitter or Facebook either. I mentioned to you long ago I thought it was “speckled” not “spectacled” bean for your blog title. Perhaps I need new spectacles. 🙂

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    • Linda, I find that a photograph of a person is less discernible to me than a cartoon character or any other image one can use on a Gravatar. In fact that’s why I have the abstract image for my Gravatar. It’s more memorable than my face would ever be. The idea of having your domain name and your blog name match may be a good idea in theory but doesn’t always work, does it? All of the how-to keep a blog info is more guidelines than laws.

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      • I agree Ally – I was not trying to be secretive about my identity as his comment might have suggested as I use pictures from the past, although I’ve not had a photo taken of me since 1999. No worries about that in my opinion either. P.S.: I’m glad you got this message as I could not post a comment last night and had to come here to your site. I could not log onto my blog, although I could see things in Reader. Your comment did not show up in my Notifications … I assume something is afoot with WP as I had troubles commenting on Janis’ blog as well.

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        • I’ve been having all sorts of troubles leaving comments on other people’s blogs as well as replying to ones here. It’s been the subtext of my week. Thank you for letting me know about your difficulties. I don’t know what’s up with WP but it isn’t making me happy.

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          • You’re welcome – it is frustrating and yesterday I tried to hop onto my blog (and I never use the logon/password unless prompted to, which is about once a month I’d say) and when I logged on, it displayed my e-mail address and your website alongside it.

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              • Agreed! I had a lot of frustrations three times in one month when my posts would not populate in Reader. For some reason, the WordPress techs have to do something at their end to “release the cache” to allow them to show up in Reader. That is annoying to me. Janis (Retirementally Challenged) has a fellow blogger/follower named Lisbet and she and her husband travel all over, often house sitting and they write about their travels. I liked her posts but I could never post comments, as there was always a hang-up, even posting right at the actual blog site.

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  36. What a fun and interesting post and so many thoughtful comments. I agree that the photo that pops up, for those that have it, is very helpful in identifying commentors. We of course use our blog name, and there are plenty others that do that too, which is super helpful. Then again, my name Peta is probably not going to have a lot of duplicates out there haha.

    Peta

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    • Peta, what a lovely name you have and yes, you’re the only Peta who comments here. That makes it easy on me to remember who you are. *yay*

      Plus one of the many differences between blogging now and 15 years ago is the existence of Gravatar images that go with our names. You’re right that they help identify everyone, and are especially useful when there are duplicate names.

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  37. The timing of this post is interesting.

    Growing up, my younger-older brother was (and still is) one of those very popular guys, and our house seemed to always be full with his circling cloud of friends. Last week one of those friends passed away. As the tributes poured into Facebook, everyone referred to him by his nickname (which was Bowzer). ALL of my brother’s friends had nicknames and I realized I no longer remembered his real name. Their nicknames were so deeply entrenched, they had stuck forever throughout their adult life.

    In contrast, NONE of my friends had a nickname. I always felt a little left out in name department. With a name like Joanne, which I’ve ALWAYS hated, you’d think I’d come up with something else for blogging purposes. Alas … this is who I am 😉

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    • Joanne, that’s totally believable about your brother and his friends. Guys often seemed to have nicknames for each other while we girls held onto our names. I’ve had a few different permutations of my name as I’ve gone along in life, so depending on when you knew me you’ll call me something slightly different.

      You say you don’t like your name, huh? I like ‘Joanne’ but that’s neither here nor there. You say you had the chance to change it to anything here in the blogosphere and didn’t do that, except that you go by Blaze which is a nickname so maybe you did change it in your own way? 🤔

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      • Blaze was more accidental … I needed a new email account when I set up my original blog 7 years ago, but my name, or a reasonable version of it, wasn’t available. I was doing a 900 hike of the Bruce Trail at the time and Blaze was the first thing that came to mind (as in a trail ‘blaze’). It carried over to Instagram … and now I put it on my art.

        hmmm – You’re right. It sounds like I’ve inadvertently given myself a nickname. Huh.

        Liked by 1 person

    • Marian, the thing about those commenters all those years ago is that they were so into reading and commenting on Karen’s blog. And the whole nickname thing was like a tribute or something to her. I was too much of a newbie to join in, but I’m glad I saw it happen.

      Well, of course you voted for yourself.

      [Also, I’ve been having difficulties commenting on your blog and some others ones. I’m reading along, but comments evaporate. I keep trying though.]

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      • Your comment did show up today. Cool!

        By the way, on other blogs, comments may disappear because they have to be approved by the author first. (Mine usually go through unless you’re a first-time commenter, which you’re NOT!)

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        • Marian, that’s a good point. I need to check back and see if I made the cut or not. I tell you when it comes to blogging, if it’s not one thing it’s another– and I only have so much time to mess with the one thing or the other. 🙄

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  39. I guess I never gave the nicknames much thought. Most have revealed their origin over time. I get thrown for a loop whenever someone changes their avatar. Then I have to reset. I do pay attention to what people use to entice us to comment. I’ve always liked yours (because I was never a cool kid) 🙂

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    • Dan, I’m laughing out loud here. I’m soooo happy that you’re now one of the cool kids. I know exactly what you mean about when someone changes their avatar image, at first I cannot figure it out. I’m easily confused, I suppose.

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  40. I prefer to know the real person behind blogs I read. If that authenticity isn’t there, what’s the point?
    I think it’s a safe bet that Arlene will never be on the list of most common names. Smith, now there’s one that could be on the list.

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    • Arlene, your name is lovely but you’re right about it not being a common one. There are advantages to having a name that easily lends itself to being distinguishable– especially in the blogosphere where duplicative names spelled the same way make for confusion. Hence all those crazy fun nicknames years ago.

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  41. I haven’t experienced this on the blog, but now that I read Joanne’s response, I feel it’s my duty to come up with a nickname for her. I had tons growing up – any derivative of Spam comes to mind (Spam, Spammie, Spamelot, etc.) as an adult – Pammers and Pamcake seem to top the list. haha.

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    • pam, I had a roommate named Pam who we called Pammiecakes. I hadn’t thought of that, or her, in years. There is something about Pam that lends itself to nicknames.

      I don’t care if a commenter uses a legal name or a nickname or a blogging nom de plume, all I care about is that they’re kind and authentic and have a good sense of humor. Call yourself whatever you want, ’tis up to you, kids.

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  42. I just had a blogger ask me which “Laurie” I am. I guess she has comments from a bunch of Lauries. I never thought about that.

    Your post reminded me of all the blogging friends I have made over the 2 years I have been blogging who have come into and left my life. Bloggers do come and go in the comment section, don’t they?

    Do we get to know the correct answer to the poll?

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    • Laurie, I agree that bloggers come and go. I just smile and wave goodbye when I realize that a blogger has moved onto doing something else &/or following someone else.

      HOWEVER, I’ve also found that there’s a core group of bloggers who stick around regardless and those are the people who I call bloggy friends.

      I’ll reveal the answer to the poll question in a week or so, once the poll closes. Until then, mums the word.

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  43. I had no idea you were blogging back then. I was around almost ten years ago in the blogosphere, but don’t really remember nicknames. What fun to have a poll on this! I accidentally have one name across most of social media, but I am not sure that is always a good thing.

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    • Amanda, yes I started blogging in 2004, but I’ve come and gone from the blogosphere a few times. It wasn’t until about 5 years ago that I got my act in gear, found my voice, and decided to show up here at least weekly, come hell or high water. I have a consistent name across all social media and for me it makes it easier, but I do take your point about whether this is a good thing. I know some people have different personas depending on the social media, which might be fun. I guess.

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      • Yes, I think having different personas across social media could be useful depending on what to want to achieve from your blog/insta etc. If yo are promoting a business it might be useful to have them separate. As a hobbyist though, it might help to have a level of consistency as it might build more trust in potential consumers. Good to know you are an accomplished blogger. May I ask why you left blogging for a time?

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        • I had my blog stolen by someone online who took my words & photos, created an URL similar to mine, then posted as me while trying to sell things to readers. When it happened I talked with a lawyer who specialized in internet law. She told I had no way to stop whoever because he was in a country that didn’t have copywriter laws, therefore she couldn’t pursue a case against whoever. So I walked away from blogging until I decided to try again. This time I’m much mellower about the whole thing.

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  44. I haven’t really had nicknames in comments but now you’ve made me want some.
    I have 100% adopted Mosy as a name not just in blogging but in other areas. When I was crocheting toys for friends’ babies, I made labels with “MOSY Creations” on them, I’ve given vouchers for babysitting and such like called “MOSY ‘s ‘Just Ask’ Services”. So I’m happy to be referred to as Mosy or by my real name or, more usually, my initial. (‘H’ for the record. Pronounced “Aitch”. Calling me “Haitch” is likely to get you blocked.

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    • MOSY, I love your name and its meaning and how you use it everywhere. That’s clever and I’d think would make your life easier, in a fun way. I hadn’t thought about the blogger with her commenters with their nicknames in years, but now that I have it’s been interesting to read all the comments here. Everyone has their own way of thinking about names, what is acceptable, what is genuine. Who knew?

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  47. You have a number of Deborahs and Pams following you. 😀
    I hardly ever see my first name, since it is one that people seldom use for babies. But I blog under a pen name. 😀

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    • L. Marie, I blog under a pen name, too. You’re right there are a lot of Deborahs and Pams here, probably even more considering some people use their blog titles as their commenter handle– which makes this all the more confusing. 😳

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  48. I find what you’re saying extremely interesting: do you feel that blogging has gotten more or less “outrageous” in your tenure as a blogger?

    The impact a name can have on us is also interesting. I once read that two siblings (children of a sociologist and an artist) were named Yo Xing (he had many other middle names) and E (just the letter, no typo). Truth is still stranger than fiction?

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    • Endless Weekend, blogging has gotten much less outrageous over the years. We’re all much more articulate now, with prettier blogs, and less of an inclination to get attention any way we can. The attention-getting behavior has moved to FB or Twitter. While the need to share a gazillion personal photos has moved to IG, leaving a more wordy, and in my opinion, more fun group of people.

      Why you name a child just one letter? I’m not onboard with that idea.

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      • So you know I was curious about that myself. The father felt that the daughter could complete the name when she was older. She’s in her 20s now, still goes by E (and there are problems with it since some forms refuse to accept a single letter for a first name… 🙂 ).

        Being new to the blogosphere myself I find these observations highly educational. I wasn’t around for the outrageous attention-getting blogs. Not that there’s any shortage of that in other venues, like you said. Very astute observation on how people gravitate to the venue that fits them. Thank you for pointing that out!

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  50. Well, of course I picked “Kate” as the most common name because in my own experience, all my life, “Kates” abound everywhere! In my high school alone (a total of 90 students), we had 15 Kates! My second choice would have been Pam, because it’s really hard to spell that name any other way and still have it sound like Pam. 🙂

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    • Kate, I’d expect nothing less from you than to pick Kate. That’s a lot of girls with the same name in one high school class. Clearly that name was popular, but in truth I don’t think there was one Kate in my high school. Different times, different regions. Now if you want to talk about Vicky as a name, my high school class would be a great place to start.

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  51. I dunno. Marians and Deborahs are awesome tho 🙂 I don’t think I have Pam or Kate readers.
    I used to blog under a nom de plume, and only to a list of 13 people who know my life. My friend Orb made the transition to my new blog, and he’s not really called Orb. I don’t think most of the others Like or Comment on my current blog. Few ever commented on the first blog, maybe because they all knew one another and that wasn’t conflict-free. Now it’s public and may be incriminating for them. I find it freeing.

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  53. Pingback: Three Thoughts Thursday | Writing. Decorating. Answering. – THE SPECTACLED BEAN

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