How would you pick a username for a new internet account?

[jawilli4]

Do you think it is wise to use your whole name when chosing a username for a new internet account? I just got Comcast highspeed (ya right) internet and so now I need to pick a username/e-mail address. I tried using just my first inital and last name, but it was taken. My full first and last name worked, but for some reason I am leary of using it. I really don't want to use anything with periods or underscores because I have some very old relatives that confuse easily. Does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions?

Thanks,
Jan

[amp]

For some reason, spammers always figure out names and they spam everyone with every conceivable version of that name. My email address just has a portion of my name (first initial, middle initial and then 4 letters of my last name. It used to be my initials, but when I switched to another acct (comcast), it was taken. Or think of a nickname, or use a pet's name or a hobby and add to that.

[babystuffbuff]

My email address (Hotmail) is firstname_lastname, because Sarah is such a common first name and every other variation I tried (Sarahlastinitial, etc.) was taken. I think it is just easier when giving the email address to other people for it to be recognizable as my name, and also so they can recognize it when I send them an email (instead of wondering, "Who is xdgr4489 @ comcast dot net?").

I don't think having the first and last name is a big deal. I have never gotten spam on my Hotmail account. My mom uses two initials and then the street number of their address for her AOL account. She probably would have used her name in some form, but her first name and last name are so very, very common that every variant she could think of was already taken.

Sarah

[tiapam]

I like short usernames. I would not use my whole name, but I know people who do. If your name is common, it probably does not matter. Otherwise, this is your chance to give yourself a fun "nickname". Is "hotmama" already taken? :)

-Pam

Charlotte born October 2004

[kellyotn]

I just use first initial in front of my last name for my personal account. This is the one I give to friends and family - no underscores or anything weird. Like PP mentioned, it'd be confusing for my Grandma to get an email from some weird email full of !@#, but k[lastname] she knows. ;-)

In situations where I'm "leary", I just use a yahoo or hotmail account with a vaguely random username. ALL purchases for example are under yahoo, so if I forget to check the "don't add me to your spam list" box, I won't really care. I also use it for any lists I sign up for, or whatever. I don't post my ISP email on the web anywhere, etc.

Does that help? :-)

[jawilli4]

Thanks!!!

Your suggestion about having multiple accounts is an absolutely great one. I never considered having more than one, but I definitely think I'll go and get a hotmail or yahoo account.

Thanks also to everyone else who replied. You all have great ideas and I really appreciate the time you took to reply to my post.

Jan