Few people in my family use their first and second name in different contexts (family/friends/work). Reasons probably vary. For my mum it just started that way when she was a kid. Family used her second name and when she started working people knew her by her first name.

Some people don't use any part of their legal names at all with their friends and family.

I used to have some extended family who all went by nicknames unrelated to their legal names. It was a cultural thing.

That partly explains a perplexing issue I have with my students.

For example, let's say a student named Fred Smith emails me, but then signs his name as "Alex Harrison." And his self-selected email address is alexrogers@school.edu. I'm not sure if it's a trend or a culture thing to use multiple names and last names, but it gets a bit confusing at times.

Same here. Its fairly common in the north east of England and parts of Scotland to be known by your nickname.

Both my sons have a couple of nicknames each, which come out depending on the situation. They're 3 & 6 now and are both called wee man by way of greeting. The youngest is now getting called Mac because his nickname is MacMonkey McBean. Names evolve over time.

I ended up doing this, more or less for the same reason. I've found it kind of useful though, as I'm terrible at remembering names and faces, so if someone calls out to me the name they use gives me a clue where I know them from.

It’s a bit like in gmail, where you can add a + and it allows you to spot spam mail. So, if someone calls you John+firstjob, you know where they’ve known you.

I'm curious, does this still work? Since GMail is likely the largest email provider in the world, I would have expected spammers to simply filter out the `+.*` by now.

Well, if the ones who sell email addresses to spammers filter out the `+`, there’s a larger chance they can continue to do so without getting caught or exposed?

It's often the other way around... Many times, salespeople use different names on the phone than in real life.

I always assumed it was to make it more difficult for me to hunt down and kill cold callers.

This is funny, but I think the real insidious reason is that it takes away the "saying your name" psychological advantage.

What's insidious about that, exactly?

Every good magician knows that True Names hold great power!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/True_name

It's deception to an utter randomer, as well as to yourself.

You really need to be careful with lying to yourself like that. Being a whole integrated person who doesn't have to remember who he is and what lies he's told comes in handy.

Yes, but aren't there notorious liars that are doing pretty well in life?

If you measure "doing well in life" by money and power, yes.

If you measure by being a decent and content person, I'd have to say no.

What if I want to sell them something back?

How does that affect what I wrote?

Actually, that's not exactly what the story contained. It said that John was the legal name, but it didn't say that Jake wasn't the legal name. That happens all the time, John Jake Johnson, for example.

> I heard her call him Jake (nowhere in his name legal name)

Thanks! I had missed that.

Perhaps it was not to get a girlfriend, but to keep one and nurture a meaningful relationship?