I took a moment to think about this month’s topic of names and realized that I have 4 good handles that I can talk about. They range from real life to historical recreation and then to digital gaming. So with no more delay here are 4 of my names.
Stryker: I have my last name tattooed across my arm, “In case I forget?” as one of my friends asked. No, its just something that I am very proud of. I have been asked on many occasions if it is my real last name, I have been told that I sound like a spy or superhero, I regularly have people quote the movie airplane at me (yes you are the only person to ever say that to me and yes its fucking hilarious). When I was in the Army is was the my defacto handle and the only people who called me “Rich” were those close to me, the people that I had shared my first name with like a gift. Stryker rolled off the tongue, it kept me from getting a stupid nickname, and lemme tell you when I made E-4 Specialist Stryker was a cool rank to have.
Richie: This one has a much narrower band than the first. Essentially if you are my parents, brother, knew me before I was 13, or played hockey for the White Lightning you called me Richie. The name was picked up by my hockey team in Richmond for 2 reasons, one is that my brother Lee was playing on my team, the second was that there were 4 Canadians on the team. In case you don’t know Canadian hockey players like to take your first name, add the syllable EE to it and stick it back on you. Robs become Robbies, Chucks become Chuckies and Richs become Richies.
Aradd Ffestiniog: My SCA name. Well not my legal name that is Alldyrd Ffestiniog but I only get called that when I am in trouble or getting an award. The name Aradd is actually one that I made up myself when I was first getting into the SCA. I looked at all of the other Welsh names out there and wanted something unique, something no one else had so I disassembled a bunch of Welsh names, took what I liked, and put them all back together. This of course made my first name un-register able but hey it all worked out. Ffestiniog is a small slate mining town in northern Wales from where my real family hails. I have visited there and it is quaint, charming and very depressing in a lot of ways.
Vezina: My World of Warcraft character name. What with all of the Legolas and Dritz D’urden ripoffs I wanted something that stood out so I returned to hockey to find a winner: Vezina. George Vezina (http://www.goaliesarchive.com/canadiens/indexvezina.html) played for the Montreal Canadians between 1917-1926. He was the first goalie to ever record and NHL shutout and won 2 Stanley Cups. Also his name sounds badass for a Night Elf Rogue…so there.
I like having a handle for each or my hobbies (it helps me stay organized) and I am a lucky guy in that my family and given names are far cooler than anything I have created since. I like how they tie me to the people I love, the games I play, and the ways I live my life.
What I’ve found interesting in talking/gaming/just hanging around with you is the ease in which you switch between your names and as well as all the names of your friends. There is no pause between the switch from WoW to IRL names to SCA names. I remember one night I was on WoW and you had been on for awhile (so you were Vezina) when Genie came on. You chatted “Hi, Fini” and it seemed to odd that you were 1- saying “hello” on-line to a person who was actually sitting 4 feet away from you and 2-using her WoW name. That same night I think I referred to Genie as Genie in the game and it felt so weird. I realized Vezina was saying hello to Fini which sounds absolutely starkers, but I now understand. So I call you Vezina on-line and I’m Shappy and when Ben shows up I call him Fyne. And we’re all happy with our multiple personalities and our multiple names to go with them.
Oh, and Stryker is kick-ass. Your son is lucky (as long as you don’t name him Bruce Ron Han Stryker.)
Han Stryker is awesome!
I didn’t know Aradd wasn’t your SCA name. I ended up with Oriana because Xylina, the name I really wanted, was a place and the heralds said I needed a “NAME of” to go with it. I always planned to just register it and then go by Xylina. Evidently everyone else liked Oriana better.
That narrow band also includes your three-year-old God-son.
As to names, I had nicknames in HS and (1st) college, but I prefer my given name now, so my SCA choice was deliberate (as opposed to lazy).