You're welcome, Estar! I just looked up the top 1,000 surnames in the US. And kept repeating "Sienna" with each one syllable surname. Since "Sienna" has 3 syllables, I thought it would be best to go with a short last name. ^^ (With the exception of "Massey".

I think I am inclined to agree with Phili on "Sienna West" instead of "North." Not because I picked it out, but because "Sienna" and "North" are both soft words where "West" is sharp. Hear the difference? I'm not saying you have to pick one of the names I listed, but you may want to look for a sharper sounding surname to compliment the softer first name.

(Wow, I feel like I'm breaking it down to a science!)

That tends to happen on Holy Worlds.

Ah, but 'tis fun, isn't it? Your assessment made sense to me, Calen. I couldn't (or didn't make the effort to) put words on it, but you explained the difference well.

I've noticed!

I'm glad it made sense. That's what I was going for anyways. I just hope it helpful for people who are trying to decide on what their pen name will be.

Yes, I totally agree, Phili and Calen, I love Sienna West a teeny bit better (it was my original first choice), but then I looked it up online, and, viola, it belonged to a p*rn star. So that was definitely out! Anyway, I'm still looking, it's just "north" was my favorite unclaimed-so-far .

Oh... yuck.

Anyway, I love Sienna North! It's very pretty.

That is awful! *so sad*

At least three reasons why I really like Sienna North: 1)When you hear it, you know how to spell it; 2) It sounds like a great Fantasy name; 3) It just plain looks and sounds cool.

On my own debate, I decided against T.C. Ward because: too many people would forget what the two letters were if they just heard it (c.d.; t.b;t.d;...); and if someone saw me that read my books, would they call me TC? I don't think I like that, it sounds girly. On the other hand, Timothy can't be mistaken like Tim could be heard as Jim. Believe it or not, when I was in customer service, I got called Mark a lot. So, Timothy is where it's at. As for the C., it's kind of an ode to my Grandfather because it is his name (Charles), so I'm happy to keep that.

As for the discussion on not wanting your real name because of what people will think about you in church if you don't write extremely conservatively...I'll have to tackle that another day. That's a tough one.

I think I've already posted here, but studying for algebra exams on a Friday afternoon is boring.

I'll stick with my real name for three reasons.
Reason 1: Both my first and last name starts with K, an uncommon spelling of both and they're short.
Reason 2: I intend to do a lot of other things as well, mainly extreme sports and underwater archaeology, and it's just easier to use one name.
Reason 3: Being a guy, if I get married I won't have to change my last name.

For privacy and protection, I intend to live on a yacht while cruising the world. That's almost untraceable unless someone wants to search every port register. Then, there's also a thing known as a .45...

EDIT: I might use my middle name initial because it's almost inevitable for the KKK to come up when people learn my first and last initial.

If I use a pen-name, I might use J. West based on the name of the coolest Wild West secret agent out there.

Varon, I love your posts! That was great.

I like Sienna North.

eru

I think your real name is very striking, Varon. Definitely a good one to use for book publishing, me thinks.

Thanks, Eru and Elanor. I guess there are advantages to having uniquely spelled names.

I mostly write under my real name - although my articles in SpecGram appear under various other names, like J. Doe, Dr. I.R. Superordinate and Sir C.J. Cockspur - my real name is still mentioned as well and is archived under my real name. I also use Twitter and blog under my own name...
I figure that I have to think twice about whatever I'm posting or writing as it will be under my real name, not 'hiding' behind some alias. Well, 'hiding' in the sense that you give yourself an outlet to be cruel or judgemental without owning up to the fact that it's still you that's saying it. (Although obviously not everyone does that when they use another name...)

On forums, though, I usually go under Marshwriter - it's easier to remember that way And I'm too lazy to always type out the whole name.

But as for 'pen names' - why not? As long as I can still find everything you've written, I don't really mind if someone writes under another (or even a couple of other) names.

M

*really likes Renae Ellery as-is and doesn't think it's romancy*

I like Renae Hunter

eru

I like Renae Hunter, too. It just... flows.

* loves Renae Ellery! *

I have decided to go by Ophelia - Marie, which is my name minus my last name. If or when I get married it won't cause problems, and I think my name is pretty so don't really want to change. . .

I've officially decided on Kitra Skene. It means the same as my real name (I love meanings) and my real surname is too uncommon for me to not get tracked down. Also getting married is a possibility... I like my pen name because it's unique and somewhat striking. Also my middle initial is T so I could go by KT Skene later.

I really like it, IZG.

Very nice.

Yeah. Hunter is a good name.

I would rather go by a pen name, but my parents think I should use my real name. The thing is, nobody can pronounce or spell my last name. There are too many spellings. Everytime my parents give our names over the phone, they spell it automatically.
Besides that, I would like to be able to keep my real name to my personal life. Everything online, books, emails, accounts, etc. would be signed with my penname. Bad enough that my poem is in the yearbook, along with a very bad picture of me. I'm perfectly happy wih being generally unknown amongst my peers. They know me as who I am. I don't want people I meet judging me by my writing. It adds things to my personality that aren't there.
Now, I just have to convince them.
I'm considering Aldara Pedersen. I like Aldara, and Pedersen goes well with it.

I like that as a pen name, Aldara. It has a good ring to it.

That has a nice ring to it, but keep in mind that "Pedersen," depending on how you're pronouncing it, could easily be confused with "Peterson" and its alternate spellings. I should know, because my real last name is "Petersen" with all e's, and people rarely get it right. So like it or not, people are probably going to miss that last "e" a lot of the time.

True. The thing is, I can't use the easiest spelling, Peterson, because that's my P.E. teacher's name, and that would be creepy. Imagine if he found out.

I made a small tweak to my pen name. I'll still go by Twyla Brooks, but when my name is on my book covers some day, it will be Twyla E. Brooks. Surprisingly, there are many Twyla Brooks out there on the net, so I'm keeping the real first initial to my name in there. ^^

I like it, Almond.

Thankie, Peanut. ^^

My first name is Ophelia, and if I ever get published I want to use it. Though I like my last name, I don't want to use it.

Do you have any suggestions of what last name would sound nice with Ophelia? Ophelia Shaye maybe?

~ZA

*didn't know people were still named Ophelia* That will look great on a cover!

Ophelia. . . brown, maybe? But seriously, I think a simpler last name would be best.

I think it should be pretty and elegant - to fit the essence of Ophelia - but I agree, you don't want anything too complicated or the unit might become overwhelming.

Good point; I've heard of people taking a pen name simply because theirs was too long.

How about Ophelia Hegson?

Ophelia Hayes?

What about Ophelia Haynes?

I like those suggestions ! Especially Haynes.

What about Ophelia Elshay, Ophelia Shaye, Ophelia Lahaye, Ophelia Belson, Ophelia Goldwyn?

*likes the name Elshay* Are there potential spelling and confustion problems?

~ZA

Ooh, I like Belson! But. . . Haynes makes me think of underwear, even though it's spelled differently.

I like "Haynes" - the sound works, so you might try that or something similar. Also, you might consider choosing a penname that ends on a harder consonant sound, to contrast with the softness of Ophelia. Something like "Ophelia Harden." Just a suggestion.

Elshay is somewhat obscure, especially with Ophelia.

I decided to poke my nose into Herald's Hall for the first time, and when I saw 'Real Names Versus Pen Names' I clicked on it right away. I've agonized over this, and I think I've decided to go with a pen name for when I write my first book. In the book Alina and I are writing together, we have a pen name, as it is will be easier for people to remember rather then both our names separately. I don't know what my pen name will be yet for my own book, but I'm working on it.

Hey, guys. I was wondering if ya'll could help me.

I have decided to create a pen name. I am using Airianna as my first name, but I need a last name.

Any suggestions?

I always choose names by meanings, and then those meanings by translations, rather than how they sound together. (else I'm hopeless when it comes to recommending names )

Your real name means "pure", and the sirnames Sinclair and Conley both mean "pure". So those are two suggestions of mine. I might come up with some more later.

Airianna Baggins. *nods wisely*

JK. You have a long first name, so I'd strongly suggest going with a one syllable last name. Airianna Bell. Airianna Swift (though that might make people think of Jonathan Swift...or, more likely, Taylor Swift.) Airianna Kay...

Have any actors or fictional characters that are really special to you for some reason?

Oh, did you consider using the first four letters of your user-surname? Airianna Vale. That's cool.

A vale, by the way, is a long depression in the surface of the land that usually contains a river. To quote my dictionary. In other words, a valley that sounds older and Scottish.

* jaw drops open * Matt, when was the last time I told you how cool you are? Cause I am seriously overdue!

I will strongly consider Airianna Vale. It sounds good together, and I was already planning on using a shorter last name because of the multiple syllables in my first name.

I will keep looking (I have to have this figured out by Monday so Philli can finish the poetry book), but that one may fit.... *will go talk to parents in the morning when they wake up *

I concocted the name Daintree, but decided it was too long, plus Jonathan was worried about spelling. *pets the name * I will store it though, for later possible use.

The names I had come up with thus far were:

Airianna Young
Airianna HART

But I like Vale better…..

Oh...I don't remember. I get it from other people at least a couple times a week though, so I'm good. All tanked up on ego for a while.

Yeah, I think Vale is the best out of all those. Second place IMO is Bell, it just sounds pretty with Airianna...but Vale is cool. You should use it.

(That's why I summoned you to chat today, BTW. I was hoping to present the idea 'in person.')

*grins * Yeah, I like Airianna Vale. Or perhaps Airianna Ellery (by Bushmaid)...

*is still chewing on *

*bops in* I like Airianna Ellery ^.^ (I also have an MC with the name Anaeo-Vale, so Vale is nice too )

*has more suggestions*

Marshall? Martin? Nichols?

I personally think Airianna Nichols sounds cool, but I like Airianna Vale too.