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Poll: Do you use your full name as a professional online?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
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Aug 24, 2020

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Do you use your full name as a professional online?".

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Hwamok Chung
 
Thayenga
Thayenga  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 16:55
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
Other Aug 24, 2020

My signature block and of course all my invoices contain my full name. For everything else, including ProZ.com, I use my given name.

Michael Harris
 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 15:55
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
No Aug 24, 2020

I use my shortened real name (in Portugal it is usual for people to have very long names: I have two given names and four family surnames).

Noni Gilbert Riley
Aline Brito
Aline Amorim
Maria da Glória Teixeira
 
Kay-Viktor Stegemann
Kay-Viktor Stegemann
Germany
Local time: 16:55
English to German
In memoriam
Yes, for gender clarification too Aug 24, 2020

All of my local friends call me Kay (which rhymes to "Guy", by the way), but for international business, I use my full first name "Kay-Viktor" (yes, that is one name, we Germans simply love compounds). The "Viktor" part serves to illustrate that I am a guy and not a gal. Like it or not, if you are taken for a female translator, people are more likely to ascribe you fashion and beauty expertise than tech and IT expertise. I hasten to add that this is just prejudice, but when competing for ... See more
All of my local friends call me Kay (which rhymes to "Guy", by the way), but for international business, I use my full first name "Kay-Viktor" (yes, that is one name, we Germans simply love compounds). The "Viktor" part serves to illustrate that I am a guy and not a gal. Like it or not, if you are taken for a female translator, people are more likely to ascribe you fashion and beauty expertise than tech and IT expertise. I hasten to add that this is just prejudice, but when competing for jobs, it is a factor.Collapse


Noni Gilbert Riley
Kay Denney
Christine Andersen
 
Aurelia Popa
Aurelia Popa
Romania
Local time: 17:55
Member (2020)
English to Romanian
+ ...
Do you I use my full name as a professional online? Aug 24, 2020

Yes, I do? What's the point in using or not using it?
If there a catch, tell me please!


Elke Fehling
Jorge Payan
Liviu-Lee Roth
Leighton Jacobs
 
Gibril Koroma
Gibril Koroma  Identity Verified
Canada
Local time: 11:55
French to English
+ ...
Yes Aug 24, 2020

Yes, I use my full name. Why not?

Julie Barber
Jorge Payan
Leighton Jacobs
 
Kay Denney
Kay Denney  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 16:55
French to English
. Aug 24, 2020

Kay-Viktor Stegemann wrote:

All of my local friends call me Kay (which rhymes to "Guy", by the way), but for international business, I use my full first name "Kay-Viktor" (yes, that is one name, we Germans simply love compounds). The "Viktor" part serves to illustrate that I am a guy and not a gal. Like it or not, if you are taken for a female translator, people are more likely to ascribe you fashion and beauty expertise than tech and IT expertise. I hasten to add that this is just prejudice, but when competing for jobs, it is a factor.


Another Kay here, but mine rhymes with Pay. I wouldn't ever add my second name - partly because I hate it with a vengeance, and partly because I really don't mind if people take me for a man. I'm pretty sure it helped me with one particular client who used to send me technical texts. We emailed only for years, then one day they called me. They were very surprised to learn that in English, Kay is a woman's name. And I was equally surprised to find out that it's a man's name in Italy as well as in Germany!


Kay-Viktor Stegemann
 
Kay-Viktor Stegemann
Kay-Viktor Stegemann
Germany
Local time: 16:55
English to German
In memoriam
Works with both genders Aug 24, 2020

Kay Denney wrote:
Another Kay here, but mine rhymes with Pay. I wouldn't ever add my second name - partly because I hate it with a vengeance, and partly because I really don't mind if people take me for a man. I'm pretty sure it helped me with one particular client who used to send me technical texts. We emailed only for years, then one day they called me. They were very surprised to learn that in English, Kay is a woman's name. And I was equally surprised to find out that it's a man's name in Italy as well as in Germany!


In fact, "Kay" or "Kai" both can be a man's and a woman's first name in Germany, but I believe there are more male than female bearers of this name in German, so that most German speakers will expect a guy.


Kaisa I
 
Christine Andersen
Christine Andersen  Identity Verified
Denmark
Local time: 16:55
Member (2003)
Danish to English
+ ...
first given name and surname Aug 24, 2020

I have a middle name, which I do not often use, except on official documents where it is required. I use my first name and my husband's family name, which was the normal thing to do when I was married!

My name is sufficiently common to be nearly anonymous, but it IS my name, and people can find me for better or worse. I did consider using a business name, but before I got round to it, I was established with my real name, and it was too late to change.

I can imagine peop
... See more
I have a middle name, which I do not often use, except on official documents where it is required. I use my first name and my husband's family name, which was the normal thing to do when I was married!

My name is sufficiently common to be nearly anonymous, but it IS my name, and people can find me for better or worse. I did consider using a business name, but before I got round to it, I was established with my real name, and it was too late to change.

I can imagine people with famous or infamous relatives who might want to keep their identity separate.
My parents had a colleague who really was called Donald Duck ... He was born and christened before Disney conceived the cartoon figure, and in fact Disney tried to persuade him to stop using his name! He insisted, however, pointing out that he could just as well say they had taken his name, since he had it first.

In a situation like that, I might use one of my grandmothers´ names - Louise Wood or Frances Taylor - or revert to my maiden name. The only difficulty with that is that it is often misspelled, which used to irritate me.
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Vuka Mijuskovic
Vuka Mijuskovic  Identity Verified
Serbia
Local time: 16:55
English to Serbian
+ ...
I never had opportunity to choose Aug 24, 2020

I put my first name as the name of this profile, but ProZ decided their say is the last.

 
expressisverbis
expressisverbis
Portugal
Local time: 15:55
Member (2015)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
My Website name Aug 24, 2020

"Expressisverbis" is a Latin expression meaning "in clear words" and I have used it when I have created my Website.
So, it is the "name" I used here since my registration, but I believe that anyone can easly reach to my real full name.
I could use my two given names, but many people would tend to think that my second given name is a family name and this is not true.
It's a very Portuguese full name that I am proud of, as for the origins of the given names or even the family nam
... See more
"Expressisverbis" is a Latin expression meaning "in clear words" and I have used it when I have created my Website.
So, it is the "name" I used here since my registration, but I believe that anyone can easly reach to my real full name.
I could use my two given names, but many people would tend to think that my second given name is a family name and this is not true.
It's a very Portuguese full name that I am proud of, as for the origins of the given names or even the family names, that's another story
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Mario Freitas
Mario Freitas  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 12:55
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Obviously Aug 24, 2020

Not using your own name (or a shortened version) and your own picture in any profile is a marketing/commercial mistake. In time, people learn that. Notice older people usually use their real name and picture. That's because they have learned that not using them is a mistake. You don't want to show potential clients you have reason to hide any essential information. Many clients will not even consider a profile with a fake name (or a shortened version) or picture.

[Edited at 2020-08-24 17:
... See more
Not using your own name (or a shortened version) and your own picture in any profile is a marketing/commercial mistake. In time, people learn that. Notice older people usually use their real name and picture. That's because they have learned that not using them is a mistake. You don't want to show potential clients you have reason to hide any essential information. Many clients will not even consider a profile with a fake name (or a shortened version) or picture.

[Edited at 2020-08-24 17:23 GMT]
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Aline Amorim
Aline Amorim  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 12:55
English to Portuguese
+ ...
No Aug 24, 2020

I use my first name and surname. My full name is everything with letter A.

 
Muriel Vasconcellos
Muriel Vasconcellos  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 08:55
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
+ ...
Yes Aug 24, 2020

Once I married into the Vasconcellos tribe, I had to keep everything short so that my name would fit on all those plastic cards that we require in order to function in the world. The binomial gradually became my legal name and now appears on my passport and all other legal documents. It confuses Brazilians. When I travel in Brazil, I'm always being asked for "the rest" of my name.
It simplifies my life, and I never have to think twice about how my name appears.


 
Becca Resnik
Becca Resnik  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 11:55
Member
German to English
+ ...
Technically no, until a couple months ago Aug 25, 2020

My given birth name is Rebecca, which I *despise.* No real reason why - I just really hate how it sounds. I used "Becca" everywhere I could, but with increased identity theft practices over the years, this has become harder and harder to do on many websites. So I finally decided about six months ago to get my name legally changed, and I'm nearly done with the process. My legal first name is now "Becca," and I just need a new checkbook (will be here any day), passport (I'll send off for when I ha... See more
My given birth name is Rebecca, which I *despise.* No real reason why - I just really hate how it sounds. I used "Becca" everywhere I could, but with increased identity theft practices over the years, this has become harder and harder to do on many websites. So I finally decided about six months ago to get my name legally changed, and I'm nearly done with the process. My legal first name is now "Becca," and I just need a new checkbook (will be here any day), passport (I'll send off for when I have checks with the new name), and Real ID (I'll apply for once I have the new passport) with the new name. Seeing bank accounts, credit cards, etc. with my new name over the past couple months has been thrilling, and it's going to be a *long* time before that gets old! At any rate, I now get to use my full, legal name everywhere and be happy about it.Collapse


 
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Poll: Do you use your full name as a professional online?






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