What's in a name? JoeUser style - tell us about yours

Why do you have that name here?

from JoeUser Forums
Hey, you! Yes, I mean you, over there - on the other side of the computer screen, halfway across the vastness that is the internet.

Having seen some discussion in Texas Wahine's thread a bit ago (where she is dissecting the top 10 list) on what was the origin of my name here, I figure it's worth an article where hopefully we'll find out the same thing about a bunch of folks, and not just one or two.

In the past I was somewhat confused about the meaning of TW's handle. She politely explained the Wahine part, which helped to clear up the confusion in my brain.

If you've seen TW's thread here, then you've seen some of my explanation for my handle (nickname here). See the additional comment below for a more detailed explanation, one similar to what I'm hoping for from others.

This has probably come up in the past here, and if so, apologies for digging up old news, but again, hopefully the answers and comments will give others a chance to get to know you a bit better.

Please list your handle and give a description and explanation about it. Describe what it means, and explain why you choose that name. In other words tell us why that name fits you or why you want to use the name.

That should cover it!
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Reply #1 from JoeUser Forums Top
Without further ado, here's the details on my name here.

As some folks knew and helped explain to TW in her thread, the Terpfan part of my handle is due to my love for the sports teams of the University of Maryland. You can find more information about them by visiting www.umterps.com.

One of the proudest and happiest moments in my life was being able to watch the TV in the 2002 season to see my beloved Terrapins (Terps for short) Hoops team take home the national championships for NCAA hoops. I waited years for that day, and was so happy when it came I probably didn't stop smiling for several weeks. Through many years, starting before 1980 (the other part of my name here) I was a fan that suffered through almosts and not quites with the teams along the way. There were great players on those teams, national champsionship calibre players, who just never could get their teams into the tourney or at least couldn't take them far once they got there. Lefty Driesell was a decent recruiter, and ok coach, but some teams always had his number, and even when he had good teams the limited number (back in those days) of teams that were taken into the NCAA tournament meant that for most years the Terps sat at home or went and played in "that other tournament".

For football, which I'm not as big a fan of, there were great years under some former coaches also. Bobby Ross and others before him had great seasons. Ross left town and went to Georgia Tech (and later to the NFL) when University of Maryland couldn't or wouldn't find money to build a proper stadium and upgrade facilities for him. Of course that was near the time of the death of Len Bias, and that really hampered recruiting and all athletics at U.M. for several years (in all sports there).

In anycase, the Terps mascot should be below:



As to the 1980 part, well it does have something to do with my age, but it's not as Dr. Guy had guessed in TW's thread my birth year. I am definitely older than that, though I try not to let myself feel older. I'm actually somewhat stunned when I slow down and realize that someone born in 1984 is a 21 year old person. That stuns me because I graduated from high school back in 1980. Class of '80 it was. Now a long time ago. 25 years and counting. Hard to believe really.

I see younger people now and think they can't be old enough to be in college, and yet they're graduates, some with advanced degrees. Amazing really. I don't feel that old, and yet I'm becoming (slowly but surely) my father, or so it seems. Heck, my own parents had me at a fairly young age, and yet my son is fast approaching high school graduate status himself. My daughter isn't too far behind him either. If not for medical issues (or perhaps a miracle of some sort) that ended a pair of pregnancies early in my married life, I'd have children that are graduating college themselves (or close to it). Again, it amazes me.

In anycase, hopefully this tells you a bit more about me and why I choose the moniker here. I could have choosen a slightly different one, one related to sports also, and my (at one time) obsession with fantasy sports like Fantasy Football or Roto Baseball. I still enjoy those as past times, but not to the levels I used to. I know at times I get too competitive and too obsessive, and have tried to cut back in those areas. It helps keep me from getting too excitable during the seasons -- trust me, it's a good thing
Reply #2 from JoeUser Forums Top
I was going to use "ripsoutentrailsofliberals" but I thought that a bit over the top.
Groupy 2 - Organize multiple applications into grouped tabs on your Windows desktop
Reply #3 from JoeUser Forums Top
Tova is the female version of Tobias in Hebrew. It means "God is Good." My youngest son's middle name is Tobias, so I picked Tova as something easy to remember. Seven is my favorite number and is also often associated with "completeness."

Not as exciting as the ones above to be sure.....
Reply #4 from JoeUser Forums Top
Link

I'll warn you, I don't really feel like that any more. (I'll have to put that up as a separate article, I suppose...)

edit: Crap. It won't let me un-privatize it. Sorry.
Reply #5 from JoeUser Forums Top
Chaos Manager -
It comes from two different aspects of my personality
1) I have the capability to logically follow a particular chain of events and parse the cause -> effect. It's what allows me to be an effective programmer. I can take just about any process and break it down into the discrete steps and details necessary to implement in a program.

2) Managing Chaos is an oxymoron and I'm fully of them. It's like controlling kids or herding cats. By it's very definition, it's impossible to control.
Reply #6 from JoeUser Forums Top
Zoologist03

Zoologist because I love animals...and I'm going to work on a career in zoology. The '03' refers to 2003....which was when I signed up with this name on a lot of other sites....instead of changing it every year, I just kept the 03.....so, yeah that's all.

~Zoo
Reply #7 from JoeUser Forums Top
Seven is my favorite number


Sorry if I sit here and snicker and think of George Costanza on Seinfeld
Reply #8 from JoeUser Forums Top
Mine's pretty self explanatory. Plus I liked the twist on Specialist Nobody Special. Only now I'm out of the military, so now I'm just nobody special.
Reply #9 from JoeUser Forums Top
Easy, Mason is my first name and M is the initial of my last name. Ok, not exactly imaginative, but hey, I'm just me.
Reply #10 from JoeUser Forums Top
Still looking for a few more (actually, room for plenty more comments here) explanations on the origins of some names here
Reply #11 from JoeUser Forums Top
drmiler, actually is shortened from "Doc" Miller. Which was a teenage nickname that stuck.
Reply #12 from JoeUser Forums Top
DR. Guy - Rhymes with Key, not Eye (with a hard G like Gorge, not geoff).  He was my great uncle, and famous for his work in the diagnostic and treatment of leprosy.
Reply #13 from JoeUser Forums Top
Dharmagrl:

Dharma = Buddhist path, or way. Grl= shortened version of 'girl'. I only use the 'grl' here, everywhere else I'm 'girl'.

So, I'm a chick on the Buddhist path. Most people think that I named myself that after Dharma from 'Dharma and Greg', the TV show. I look nothing like her - but according to my husband, we share the same peronality at times.
Reply #14 from JoeUser Forums Top
DR. Guy - Rhymes with Key, not Eye


I never knew that. All this time I've been calling you 'Guy' and in 'eye'.

His name reveals your Cajun roots, doc. The French pronounce 'guy' that way.
Reply #15 from JoeUser Forums Top
Para is from various roles I've played in life: Paratrooper, Parachute Rigger, Paramedic, Parasite (& I might be adding another one soon, but too early to tell)..

Ted was my first birthday present from my parents.

2k was the year I came up with the handle (and the year I got my Paramedic Certification).

Only now I'm out of the military, so now I'm just nobody special.


Which is why I prefer to call you Vet Nobody Special. ;~D
Reply #16 from JoeUser Forums Top
Christmas is to xmas and Christine is to xtine.

Only, I really should've dropped the "t" too, but my logic didn't go that far when I was signing up. Oh well.
Reply #17 from JoeUser Forums Top
Mine's pretty easy. It's my maiden name. I signed up on ju as a class project, and the teacher needed a way of recognizing that it was obviously me. I'm still Alison, obviously, just with a different last name!
Reply #18 from JoeUser Forums Top
Cool article, terp. Thanks for the explanation on your name. I never would have figured it out on my own, hehe.
Reply #19 from JoeUser Forums Top
Tova is the female version of Tobias in Hebrew. It means "God is Good." My youngest son's middle name is Tobias, so I picked Tova as something easy to remember. Seven is my favorite number and is also often associated with "completeness."

Not as exciting as the ones above to be sure.....

I'd say that's a matter of perspective. I love it

Only now I'm out of the military, so now I'm just nobody special.

Many here would beg to differ...

DR. Guy - Rhymes with Key, not Eye (with a hard G like Gorge, not geoff). He was my great uncle, and famous for his work in the diagnostic and treatment of leprosy.

Very interesting... I've always pronounced it wrong in my head as well. LOL.

Most people think that I named myself that after Dharma from 'Dharma and Greg', the TV show. I look nothing like her - but according to my husband, we share the same peronality at times.

LOL... I must confess. I initially thought of her when I started reading you.

Mine's easy and boring too. My first name is Heather, hence the H. The C is the first initial of my last name. Can you say "unoriginal"? LOL.

Great article, terp... love it.
Reply #20 from JoeUser Forums Top
Gideon = "Warrior" (Hebrew)

MacLeish = "Son of the Servant of Jesus" (Mac Gill Iosa, Gaelic). It's a family name (not my real surname, though). No mystery to my pen name at all...lol
Reply #21 from JoeUser Forums Top
ok serious answer: I picked moderateman, because of my stance as a republican on social issues, was very liberal, now as time goes on the name no longer suits me as I am slowly becomming much more conservative due to the raving lunitics that run the democratic party.

I do love the name though and have no plans on changing it.
Reply #22 from JoeUser Forums Top
"Hellion" bears some resemblance to my actual name. Plus, it's a cool word. I started using it about 20 years ago.

the "cita-" prefix is there because when I created the account it wouldn't allow just plain "hellion" for some reason (probably a profanity filter). I chose this particular prefix because for 9 years I ran a dial-up BBS that used Citadel-86 software that I'd modified a little bit. I called my version "Citahell-386" (and the board itself was called "Hell").
Reply #23 from JoeUser Forums Top
Still plenty of space here for others to add their own explanations of the origins of their names. Several others I would be interested in haven't shown up yet
Reply #24 from JoeUser Forums Top

His name reveals your Cajun roots, doc. The French pronounce 'guy' that way.

I know.  I have made no secret of my French Ancestry.  I think I even lambasted them a few times as well.

Reply #25 from JoeUser Forums Top
~~InBloom~~

My name's Rose...so very original of me.
My nic's also the name of a Nirvana song I like...