Why do we have mermaid names?

[Mermaid Summer]

One of my friends asked if it was like stripping and you needed a different name? I honestly couldn't tell her why we pick new names.

[Artisankatie]

For the Mermaidens, we have different mermaid names because two of us are called Katie/Katy and the other is called Shelley, and there are lots of mermaids called Shelly/Shelley :P
So instead we're called Aradia (Katie), Nerissa (Shelley) and Volitania (me, Katy).

[Spindrift]

A lot of people have developed a new identity around their mermaid personas (mersonas). It's fantasy. You're half fish. Why stick to a drab, human name? You're coming up with a new character, even if it might just be an extension of yourself.

[AniaR]

I try to keep my professional mermaid identity somewhat separate from my normal one. Especially since my real name is also the name of a porn actress and one of the first things to pop up in google XD hahaha

[MerAnthony]

LOL to funny Raina, But I can see your point.

[Mermaid Sirena]

I also do it to keep my mer job separate from my other jobs. I also do it for professional reasons, mermaiding is not normal, in fact nothing in the entertainment world is and I don't want to risk my weirdness preventing me from getting a job. Also there is the issue of stalkers, personally I don't want hundreads of random people on the internet to know that I have a mertail & know where generally where I live (afterall if I'm going to get hired I need people to know where I am) because I don't want to deal with potentially dangerous situations. ESPECIALLY because I have a very unique name, think only one in the world... literally, so anyone who learns it can use google to pinpoint me with ease. I personally don't want that so I have a separate name, there is also the fact that some people just don't really have interesting names & from a show perspective they aren't very impressive. I mean what sounds more interesting, mark or jester. It also helps a lot of people get into and stay in character of whoever they are performing as. So you could say it's the same reason strippers do but it's also for the same reason that nearly every other performer in the world has a stage name.

[Spindrift]

I try to keep my professional mermaid identity somewhat separate from my normal one. Especially since my real name is also the name of a porn actress and one of the first things to pop up in google XD hahaha

That must have been horrifying to Google as a kid.
Mine comes up with a fairy cancer foundation.

[Mermaid Cascada]

Well... I have no idea :p I am trying to find a name that no one is using. I want it to be unique and beautiful. I really want it to match my personality too.

[Spindrift]

Well... I have no idea :p I am trying to find a name that no one is using. I want it to be unique and beautiful. I really want it to match my personality too.
I'm stuck between two :|

[Merman Dan]

In 1985, I was doing a research paper on Aeolus, the wind god of the ancient Greeks. That same year I joined AOL (back when it was still AppleLink:PE and changed by the hour) and used Aeolius as my first screen name, combining Aeolus with aeolian. As you can surmise, the name stuck. :) I recently started combining the A and E (Æ), as it is a bit more authentic to the original Greek and it's just plain weird - which is a bonus. For the curious, Aeolus was non only associated with the winds but was also a son of Poseidon.

Why don't I use my "real" name? There is now an actor who shares my name. To be fair, I had the name first, but I get comments every time someone sees my name on my debit card.

[Spindrift]

Why don't I use my "real" name? There is now an actor who shares my name. To be fair, I had the name first, but I get comments every time someone sees my name on my debit card.

I bet it's George Clooney or Matt Damon.

[Merman Dan]

I bet it's George Clooney or Matt Damon.

If you see someone with an actor's name posting on Fish Butts or the Mertailor's pages on Facebook, it might just be me. I did add my middle initial, to help belay confusion.

[Mermaid Dottie]

Mostly so people don't stalk me. I've had that happen before. Not so much on the fun side.

[Spindrift]

If you see someone with an actor's name posting on Fish Butts or the Mertailor's pages on Facebook, it might just be me. I did add my middle initial, to help belay confusion.
Oh! I see you! Haha.

[Joy&RaptorsUnrestrained!]

I suspect there's also a bit of identity forming going on. Princess Kae-Leah is quite distinct from Raina the Halifax Mermaid or Mermaid Sirena, Æolius is different than Malinghi or Prince Calypso, etc. Each name tells you a bit about the mermaid or merman... you can tell that Princess Kae-Leah is an enthusiast of the princess image and likely has a fondness for Disney, Æolius has done research to get the letters correct, etc, just by reading their names. Drag Queens come up with names as well, as a way of forming a new identity and persona when they perform, both part of and yet distinct from their given name.

[Merman Dan]

On a side note my wife, who thinks the whole mermaiding things is beyond bizarre, is named Shelli. ;)

My 8-year old, who is also getting a Fish Butts tail, wants to be Mermaid Coral, but I told her that was probably taken. Mermaid Coralline, perhaps?

[New York Mermaid]

I always loved Hawaii when i visited it years ago and for some reason the island of Lanai stuck with me, cause i went whale watching from Lanai, plus there are way too many Mermaid Rose's out there and some kiddos cant pronounce my full name. So I went with Lanai, I formed my mersona to fit with what i believe would be "Mermaid Lanai" However, i will stick with My New York roots so, "Lanai, the NY Mermaid".

[azaiya]

I think names are really powerful things. Even I get upset sometimes when I am in my hometown and get called a nickname from an earlier (less-happy) time in my life. Identity forms around a name, actively and subconsciously. Choosing a new name as a mermaid also allows you to explore and play inside that personality more freely than you might otherwise.

[Blondie]

I think it's the same reason why Super heroes kinda have alias.

I still want Kiersten to be the normal girl on land. But, Mermaid Blondie can be whoever she wants. I just don't want to blend the two together...

[azaiya]

I still want Kiersten to be the normal girl on land. But, Mermaid Blondie can be whoever she wants. I just don't want to blend the two together...

Yup, I feel that way too!! I hope I'm not schizophrenic.:eek:

[spottedcatfish]

A mer-name does help to give an identity to your mer-self, and gives it some depth and history. I call myself Spotted Catfish for a reason. If I were to use my first name and call myself "Mermaid (first name)" then there would be a problem on here as it is similar to another person who is on here, and would get confusing. Not to mention it adds nothing to my character, or personality as a mermaid. I could use my middle name, but it still has no meaning to me as a mermaid. So, I prefer to call myself Spotted Catfish. Plus, it gives a layer of anonymity from my human day-to-day self, and my merself online, which is nice.

[Lyna]

hahah funny question. i guess for some people it could be quite common sense to ask it though.
i agree that yes....some people use mermaiding like cosplay or like fairty tale's...acting...whatever. so to slip away from reality and be someone else who you could never be in real life...why have the same name? if you aren't being you...be someone else. called something else.
i chose to use a different name instead of my real one...because i am already on the internet for medeling, i've been in a few magazines, i run my own business and am semi known for tattoo's...at least in this area...so when i got married, i left my name on all my stuff and kind of use it as a stage name. i figured if i changed my name in front of 2000 friends on fb and hundreds more adding or looking for me...it may cause a riot. and i like some privacy. my husband is a very private person and it's nice to slip away and have my family life low key when i want it to be and not have everything right in the spotlight anymore. so then my mermaid name just takes it one step further away. when doing regular modeling i'm doing something different from my mermaid life, or if someone wanted to book me for events. and i just have all these names now for what me is needed. lol

[Lyna]

you absolutely don't have to change your name by any means. i for one, feel like a real mermaid most of the day every day....so i would be plenty happy using my real name had i not so many things going on and a public face and want to keep my home life somewhat to myself. pretty sure the mer-names stemmed from 2 places:
1)people who want to play fantasy land and
b)people who do it professionally and like to keep their true identities private as to not acquire creepy stalkers etc.

[Arella]

I have been looking for a name for a while but I can't think of any xD

[Drowning]

I need a Merman name, too. I guess it may come to me as I design a costume...

[LittleTreasure]

You don't necessarily have to choose a name if you don't want to but...

As others said it will separate this from your personal life and reduce confusion if you plan to perform as a mer, and plus, it adds to the fantasy and fun of being an otherworldly creature. I picked my name because I used to have pretty bad self esteem and it's good to remind myself that I am unique, special and loved by my family/friends/God. This persona is an extension of myself. Plus I love the name Treasure because it's pretty.

[Ilonka]

I dont really have one, my name is actually Ilonka although on Facebook I go by Amy Fantasea because of sitemodeling, they require fictional names. So I guess my mer name would be Amy Fantasea

[Arella]

Just a side note do people ever pick a name based on how easy it will be for kids to remember and/or say?

[merboy78xy]

I agree with ALL of these reasons for choosing a new name!
I also found out (before I'd even begun to express the inner merman in me) that in the witchcraft/wiccan community, they will likewise choose a Magikal name only used in the circle or by other witches. It is not used in any mundane situation-- this is to give the name you chose power, mystery and importance. And the reason you choose one, is because you are finally taking your introspective knowledge of yourself and applying a NEW name that is specific and unique to you-- that has deep meaning. The name you were given was chosen by someone else at a point where neither they nor you knew what your personality was to be. I like that reasoning. I actually assumed that was the main reason most people here pick a new name.
Now, I have yet to actually NAME myself in the merworld, as I am still new and seeking what place I have in "mermaiding" as well as what place the mer world has in my life. So, for the meantime-- I chose something catchy, cute, easy to say and stuck the year I was born and my gender on the end (78xy). I use that for a lot of usernames online.

[Mermaid Hamant]

For me, it's just another fun way to live out the fantasy.
I didn't really do much research or hard thinking for my name like some of you guys... Haha it was actually a nickname that I got from a spelling mistake on one of my school ID cards.

[Mermaid Annariea]

ive been thinking of what i want my mermaid name to be, since my name is actually brianna.
i was thinking "mermaid bea" (bee-ah or bay-ah), because that was a nickname my mommy called me when i was younger. she still does (:
but i was also thinking maybe something more... fantasy-based, like "mermaid arathyra", which just sounds pretty and sort of elven. i use it in a lot of the dungeons&dragons campaigns i play (my friends seem to think it necessary to be playing 5 different ones at once -_- ), and its one of my favorite names to use, along with annariea, which i got from rearranging the letters in my name (and adding an e and an a).

UGH ITS SO HARD TO DECIDE WHICH ONE I LIKE MOOOORRREEEE. :(
maybe itll be easier once my fish butt gets here :3

[halesloveswhales]

I have been trying to decide on a name for so long now! Hales is my real name, and it works pretty well because it rhymes with tales and scales and whales. Easy slogans! But I kind of want to have a more fantasy-ish name. I was thinking Cora or Coraline, but that seems like more of a pink/orange name, and my tail is blue/green. I really have no clue. Suggestions, anyone? Should I keep Hales?
And I agree with you, Brianna. I am also waiting on my Fishbutt, and I think that something may come to me once I'm in my tail.

[Dacora]

I do it because every time I meet someone new I get the same two jokes. "So what sate are you from North Dakota or South Dakota?" oh and this one "Was your mom stuck behind a Dodge Dakota truck all the way to the hospital?" By the way my name is Dakota. Also more males have that name. Plus I think Dacora is a cool mermaid spin off of Dakota, coral sounds like cora.... kinda. That and I don't want people online to get confused and think "Oh she is from the states Dakota." When I'm actually really far from those sates. XD

[happyguava]

Yeah, I think I probably have a mermaid name for all of the above reasons, just about!

I think it helps me to get into character, to be someone who is not just everyday, regular old me. It also allows me to keep my mermaid life and my human life separate, which is good because I can control who knows about it and who doesn't (eg. the fancy private school where I teach music!).

Also, as Katy said my human name is Shelley (I'm a mermaid and a turtle enthusiast... apt I know!), and I didn't want to get mixed up with the lovely Mermaid Shelly. I also just really like the name Nerissa.

[Arella]

Help me pick a name :D Here is a list of some I was toying with and here is my merpersona :)

Adrina
Sereia
Azaria
Cariba
Tallulah (Tally)
Sarilia
Misu
Moesha
Yaya
Melly

BLANK is truly a big fish in a small pond. She’s as playful as they come and quite a little trickster which sometimes gets her into trouble with the other merfolk. Take care when she’s near because you may just end up getting splashed or pulled into the water! She lives on the shore of a small-uninhabited island in the Great Lakes where she can bask in the sun and enjoy her rock collection. When she isn’t on the shore she likes to spend most of her time deep underwater pulling pranks on the aquatic life and the other mermaids or and in a marina where she can trick the silly sailors! She loves to dance, be silly, and have fun all day long. Her favorite foods are trout, walleye, perch, and blue berries. She hopes to one day live in the ocean on a beautiful coral reef and fool the pirates all day long despite the other mermaids’ insistence that the ocean is just a myth. Her favorite color is royal blue and her favorite music is Jimmy Buffett, she swims up to the boats in the lake and listens in just to hear him! She also likes this sort of music the feets call “Country” especially Brad Paisley.

[Raivynn]

I actually chose "Misu" as my mermaid name years ago. :D It's Native American for "ripples in the water," and fits a mermaid very well. :D

[Ashe]

Freshwater Mermaid, i think you should go with Cariba. It gives off a playful and fun interpretation and it sounds like a mermaid's name. It also sounds like Carribean which makes me think of blue - your mermaid's favorite color. I don't think i have heard a Mermaid Cariba before aside from that one actor on H20, Cariba Heine.

Onto the subject of my mermaid name. I chose the name Kalani because i see it as beautiful and mysterious yet friendly and big hearted- which is exactly what i want people to see me as. I wanted a mermaid name to keep away from stalkers and such and to keep my mermaid life and career separated from my "human" life. I am wanting to be a marine biologist and i am afraid people will not take me seriously as a researcher. I also have the only combination of my first and last name so anyone can find me on the internet.

[NerineArcticMermaid]

I went with a name just like raina did....i need to keep my real lifw seperate...
Have alredyhadissues with "collectors"
Nerine comesfrom nerid which is greek for water nymph :-)

[Zephyr]

I chose Zephyr because I just don't like my name, and Mermaid (my real name) just didn't have the ring to it that Mermaid Zephyr has. In general it doesn't have a good ring to it as a stage name. The only upside to my real name is that the spelling is so unique that if I used it and some stalker type tried to look me up on Google, they'd just pull up info on moths if they left out the 'mermaid' part, lol.

[Mermaid Ixa]

I have mine because I personally think the name I have is very generic and boring. People say its cool but I really dont. So I gave myself a new name-it also is important to me because it is a shortened version of Ixazaluoh the mayan godess of water and I am mayan. It also gives you a chance to be creative with your identity. Your name is something that defines you and so picking one for yourself is sort of a fun experience.

[Mer-Crazy]

My mer name actually started as my characters name in a web series I was planning to do when I got my tail. However because most of my cast moved away I had to change it :P So it became my mermaid name but I would like to change it soon as it was for a character, I don't overly like it as my mermaid name because I've found it's very common. So I want to change it to Rylla (it means Star of the Sea in latin) when I get the chance since that's not a name I've seen before and it starts with 'R' as does the names of my two favourite mermaids. Funnily enough I never questioned having a different mermaid name. I did the same thing when I played roller derby. Having an identity disconnected from your real life is always nice. But people kept figuring out who I was and trying to friend me on FB... I have no idea how.

[Echidna]

I always thought of the mermaid alias as a performer's trademark-
separate from the private person.

Because you don't book Jane Smith for a gig or aquarium swim, but Mirielle the Mermaid ;)

As for me, I didn't take on a "Mermaid so-and-so" epithet on purpose, because many of my tails and outfits transcede the normal mermaid image.

I have performed in snaketails, or without tails as a Lake Nymph (traditional waterspirits often don't have tails, be it the Vily of eastern Europe, or the waterman/nixies of western Europe).
That's why I took simply "waterspirit" or "fae waterspirit" on other sites as a name.

I guess I could change my name on here, but I always find it very confusing when others do that, especially when they also change their avatar, then I have a hard time remembering who they are lol.

Caltuna is Romanian and a variant of my real name, so I'm ok with it.
I know many people probably think it means "californian tuna" or something along these lines,
but I really don't mind that :)

[SeaGlass Siren]

because human names are boring.

[NerineArcticMermaid]

Well... I have no idea :p I am trying to find a name that no one is using. I want it to be unique and beautiful. I really want it to match my personality too.

I did that. But now there are sorta name-a-likes out there. one or two letters different.. makes me bonkers sometimes...ok.. all the time..

[Mermaid Harmony]

I wanted a name because it's easier to slip into character, and if a kid runs into me at the store and yells "harmony!!' which has happened, then I know to go into human/mermaid mode and not think I know their mom or something. Harmony is also easy to say and spell, and to remember, so that when I say my name, hopefully they can be like oh harmony, because mermaid's sing. It's worked well so far and just fits. It took me months to find my name, about 5 actually, and I went through every name generator, fae/mermaid/elf, went to celtic/latin roots of things, and then I was reading in a book and I saw there was a character named harmony and I was like, that's it, that's my name! Moonfire was from the fae generator came up with moonblossom and some other things and I loved moon, and starfire, and then thought moonfire and it just fit. Sometimes random stuff just makes sense for your character. :-)

[Echidna]

^^haha.
Moonfire and Starfire are both Druid spells in WoW.
you would have gotten quite a bit of feedback if you had gone with those I wager :rotfl:

[Anahita]

My mermaid name is easier to pronounce for Westerners than my actual name. It saves everyone a lot of embarrassing fumbles, and it keeps me from getting frustrated.

I have other reasons, too, but the pronunciation has definitely proven itself very valuable.

[Trade Winds]

1) To get in character (I'm mer, so I should have a mer name!)
2) I have a billion nicknames already, so a new one (in this case, Ikkthu) isn't gonna hurt. It comes from the Supernatural Registration Authority's ( http://supernaturalregistration.org/) word for 'lagoon creatures' (which I am registered as).

[MermaidBrandie]

If anyone asks me my mermaid name I'm just going to tell them it's Aesa, which is my viking SCA name :)

[Alcyone]

it's like being superman and Clark Kent.. they are the same person, but they show two different aspects of their personality^^

[Kelphinea_Kelp]

I use my mer names just for the hell of it... It's just fun and creative but I use my real name as well

[Mermaid Ellowyn]

I think of it like a stage name.

[MermaidMichelle]

I actually have two first names, so I didn't see the need to go by a third on top of that! Ironically, I actually use my less-unusual name on here as it sounds gentler than my first name: Tiamat; which means "salt water" in Babylonian (Akkadian), "life mother" in Ancient Sumerian, and "the Deep" in Hebrew.

"Tiamat" would perhaps be the ultimate name for a mermaid, yet as anyone who is fairly familiar with role-playing games knows it is also the name of the villainess Dragon Queen (this began with Dungeons & Dragons; its creator Gary Gygax openly admitted that her demonization was intended to be a statement about 'Women's Lib' in his 1976 book World of Greyhawk). I am not terribly worried about association between my mermaid life and the rest of my life, but I may be the exception rather than the rule!

[SeaGlass Siren]

I actually really love the story of Tiamat. I agree it's the perfect name

[MermaidMichelle]

Thank you very much, SeaGlass Siren! I go into that story a bit in my upcoming book. I think your name is beautiful, too! :mermaid kiss:

[SeaGlass Siren]

19862

[Ottery]

I think I've decided on my mermaid name, although it's been kicking around in my head for a while now. XD I was going to take it as my magical name (pagan, woo!), but I chose another to better suit my craft (it's Dedicate Mintleaf, since it's my favorite herb and I do a ton of kitchen magic). For my mer-self, I think I'll go with Pearldrop, although there is already a mermaid Pearl. I might just think it over a bit more, maybe go for something relating to cooking or something! XD

[Mermaid Wesley]

I'm thinking of sticking with my real name.... Mermaid Wesley. It is pretty mermaidy. Hm.... I am a little worried about mixing my mermaid and job spheres.... But idk. My other thoughts have been mermaid Pebble/pebbles or mermaid Nixie or mermaid something else. Mermaid Zip. Something cute. I think i am leaning towards my real name though. anyone have an opinion?

[Ottery]

I really like Wesley, too! If you want to change it a bit, maybe you can go with Weslyn to evoke kind of a Celtic feel?

[MermaidMichelle]

Mermaid Nixie is nice, but Mermaid Wesley is probably more unique. Whether you choose Wesley or not, however, it must be AS YOU WISH! ;)

[Mermaid Jaffa]

I have been thinking of mine off and on... It was a tough choice between my real name, Irene, my Elvish name, Evinyatar, and something completely different.

And since I do love flowers of all kinds, well except the stinky corpse smelling ones! I chose the something else.

I am Flowers the Mermaid.

[Mermaid Wesley]

Mermaid Nixie is nice, but Mermaid Wesley is probably more unique. Whether you choose Wesley or not, however, it must be AS YOU WISH! ;)

;)


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[Little_Orca]

Indeed, it is like a stage name (at least to me). I had the same thing when I did bellydance performances; where my names were Sirena and Raiponce depending on my dance and/or outfit. Performers often have stage names because it is a safety net. Imagine if someone who was obsessed with you after seeing you in a mermaid tail wanted to stalk you? Using your real name would make it a little easier. With a stage name, it may be harder to track you down. Situations like that is why we had the stage names for bellydance. A few ladies I knew did have to worry about that scenario I just described.

Granted, "Merlissa" is not far off from my real name and I have considered revamping it and giving myself a new identity to use, but so many people know me as that now I figure it doesn't make a difference. Everyone will always know me as Little Orca though, :P ;)