Selecting a great name for your personal Email Address

The first step towards discovering and using the Internet, is creating a personal email address.  Since the firs email service went online, a lot has changed, in both the way in which they function, as well as in terms of how emails are used and perceived.

Different age groups follow different trends when it comes to personal email addresses, and it is important to make sure that whatever the reason for creating an account is, it will fit into your life properly.  For example, one of the more significant trends among teenagers is to use words like “awesome”, or “best” when creating a personal email.  While it may be appropriate for someone that’s 15-20 years, it would be rather disastrous to use these words as an adult.

Furthermore, in today’s world, an email address is very much like a business card; it can offer a lot of information about who its owner is and what he or she does.

While professionals are usually required to create an email account that shows what they do, or includes the name of their brand, if you feel that the old email address that you may have used while in high school or college is no longer sufficient, then it may be time to create another one that you will keep for the next several years.

 

Choosing the best name for your email address:

If you are just starting to discover the online world, and have decided that you need an email address, you should expect to get one that looks like [email protected] to be impossible, as it is almost certain that the name was taken by someone else.  However, there are a few ways through which you can get around this.

1. Choose your preferred platform

But before we discuss how to choose the name itself, let us look at the platforms that you can create the account on.  The best ones, at the moment, are Gmail and Outlook.  Each of them offers different benefits.  For example, Gmail is extremely well developed and stable and has a lot to offer in terms of functionality, while Outlook does not have many users, which may make it easier for you to find the name that you want your account to have.

2. Choose the name of the account

This is where you have to choose the name for the account.  Be careful at this point, and remember that you will not be able to change it afterward.  If you want your address to have a different name, then you will have to create a new one.

Now, it is usually best to use your own name, in order to get an address like [email protected].

Unfortunately, if you have a somewhat common name, then you may have to add a few numbers to your address, as the one that you want may have been taken by someone else.  You can also consider using abbreviations, or by splitting your name using an additional “.”.  Furthermore, some email service providers may allow you to use other symbols, such as underscores and dashes, in order to get your desired name for the account.

Experiment for a while until you find a variation that you are happy with.  Again, remember that you will not be able to change the name of the address unless you decide to create a new one.

Tip: Choose a username that is easy to remember and to pronounce.

Keep in mind that you will have to give your email address to other people.  This means that having a username that is easy to remember will definitely be a plus.  So choose something that other people will remember, not just yourself, and you should be fine.

What should you avoid when creating a personal email address?

Even though the address that you are creating is not one that you will use for business, it will still affect how people perceive you, so there are a few things that you should avoid doing in order to ensure that you don’t put yourself in a bad light.

First of all, avoid using prefixes or suffixes like “Cool”, ”Innocent”, etc.  While these may seem cute when you are a teenager, they don’t make a good impression in the real world.

Secondly, don’t include other people in your address.  In other words, don’t include the name of your spouse, pets, children, etc.

Another good practice is to avoid using your surname if you are from a country where it changes after marriage.  You could, instead, use another term that defines you, such as your occupation, or your professional title.

That’s about all.  Basically, as long as you keep in mind that an email account is your digital identity, and create the address accordingly, you will be just fine.