In this Google era, is it better to have a unique or generic name?

[ecstatic]

People with generic names cannot really be googled so it's not even worth trying (i.e., someone with a common first name and the last name Smith, for example). Then again, it might be easier to steal the identity of someone with a unique name. What do you guys think?

[porphyrian]

1. It depends on whether you seek fame or anonymity. - n/t

[julialnyc]

2. it depends on what there is on you

If you are a scientist who discovered something,or are esteemed highly in a business it could be good for employment.

If you have something you don't want people to see or know about you it's not so good.

[CJCRANE]

3. Not sure...

gonna have to ask my friend Zebedee Ziggurat.

[ecstatic]

5. LOL... kidding? nt

[CJCRANE]

6. He changed his name from John Smith

...yeah, I'm kidding ;)

[tocqueville]

4. well "bush" is a generic word and it's everywhere on Google

gives 899 000 000 results

shrub = 12 200 000
dubya = 7 640 000

[ecstatic]

7. But imagine looking up info on *another* George Bush

Finding information on that person would be virtually impossible because all the results would be about GWB.

[tocqueville]

8. yes I know, was only kidding

by presenting false logics. The kind of "logics" the Bush administration presents all the time. I know it doesn't work on DUers, you are the proof ot it :-)

[Igel]

9. In fact, it was done.

And it had humorous consequences. It took some doing to convince a few people that the "George Bush" with a different birthdate and different wife, but who also lived in Texas, wasn't the guy in DC.

[Fountain79]

10. I have a unique name around where I live...

but I found out that there are a lot of "me's" on the internet.

[yewberry]

11. I'm going with generic.

I have a friend with a very unusual name. It is so unusual that if I google *only* her first name, I get 20 hits, 18 of which are about her.

That's too unique for me.

[ZombieNixon]

12. I don't know.

But tf you Google my real name, I'm the first hit. (Actually, I'm the first six hits). This is how I found out that I was on the Dean's List last year, because they didn't bother to tell me otherwise. :eyes:

[u4ic]

13. A google search for my full name

only comes up with 2 results. One is me. The other is someone who died 3 decades ago.

In my own small circle, I'm happy with my name - but I'm very easy to trace. That can be a bit unnerving if I don't want to be.

[LeftyMom]

14. Google my real name and nothing comes up

The upside is nobody's going to confuse me with somebody with the same name who's murdered six people with an axe and molested puppies, the bad news is that if I ever do something dumb enough to get my name in the paper I can't blame anybody else.

Meanwhile, there are several pages of hits for my sister's name, very few of them for her. Seems like that's a problem in that anybody looking her up could easily confuse her with other young women with similar acomplishments but differing details.