"if a woman dresses and acts indecently, this is a direct route to unhappiness, one-night stands, brief marriages followed by rat-like divorces, ruined lives of children, and madness."

I, too, am now wondering what a rat-like divorce is. And if I should start wearing more miniskirts to increase my one night stands, marriages, and madness. Mostly I wear pants.

My name is rather random--my mom told me there was a journalist with my name (ETA: huh, I just looked her up. Guess she was more famous than I knew--and Jewish. Because 99% of the people with my name are, which I don't think my mother knew) and she liked it. My dad had made her agree on his family naming tradition for boys, so she got the girls. My middle name is after my paternal great-grandmother.

No pen name. I don't think I'm actually named after anyone specific. They wanted a name that worked both in Farsi and English. Susan (pronounced Sus-san) means Lily of the Valley in Farsi.

I didn't get a middle name since my last name was a mile long. But I asked for one for my 18th birthday. I told my mom that she could talk to anyone except me. Not sure exactly where she pulled Lexine from, other than it being derived from Alexandrea. I liked it so much, I gave it to Kelly.

given that she parked her car sideways, how did Prince know that meant it wouldn't last?

Because pulling out would be easier?

It took me a shamefully long time to work out what that song was about, BTW. Shamefully. Of course that's what it's about!

Yeah, I totally have an alias picked out. Reasonably mundane compared to my name now. Well, first name more common, last name marginally less.

My sister already goes by one. I'm not sure what her point is half the time.

I don't have a pen name picked out but I do have the names of any future kids picked out -- Girl: Kaylee Sun. - Mom's middle name is Kay, her mother's middle name is Lee...and of course Kaylee on FF and Sun for my cousin.

Boy - Josiah Sun. I just like Josiah and Sun for the same cousin.

Jilli, I'm again so sorry. Much peace to you and your loved ones.

Jilli, I am so sorry. My sympathies to you and your family.

My psychotic father had what can only be assumed an unwholesome relationship with his mother. My name, in the Scots, means 'beautiful Ann'.

This is why I went by a different name for 28 years.

I'm over it now, but I have to say that I don't think I'll ever actually like the name.

I have dropped the Ann to opt for the hyphenated last name and no middle name.

If I were to remarry, I would consider re-hyphenating if it would end up being something cool like, King-Solomon, or some such.

Anyone else have your pen/stage/ alias name picked out, or is that my own little oddity? I mean, aside from those of you who have actual pen or stage names. Or, um, aliases.

I've published one story under a gender-neutral-to-male pen name, mostly because, on the rare occasions that I actually finish a piece of writing, it's usually a little odd and whimsical and I'd rather not have readers see my very feminine actual name and have that influence their reading. The one story I published got some praise in a letter to the editor by the guy who wrote the screenplay for The Crow, so I guess that's a win.

I may or may not pull it out again, or make up another one, if I finish anything else. I do like the gender-neutralness, and I also kind of like the occasional oddball writer like Brian O'Nolan/Flann O'Brian/Myles na gCopaleen/Brother Barnabas/who knows who else, who used pseudonyms with glee and abandon and whose works scholars are still chasing down and accidentally stumbling over because he used so many names. Though I'd have to be about 9000% more prolific to get even close to O'Nolan's status.

Jilli, I'm so sorry. Peace to you and yours.

My deepest condolences, Jilli.