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[Beyond Awesome]

Hi everyone,

So, lately, I have been thinking of creating an online pen name because my real name is hard to spell, and I want people to find me more easily online, especially after my books are published. My real name is Arman Khodaei. Spelling my last name, good luck with that. Many people also misspell my first name by adding a d at the end or changing it to Armin or Armon Armond or Armand, etc.

So, my first thought of a name was Seth Lucas because I think it sounds cool and no way will people misspell it. Someone suggested Aaron Kody to Americanize my name. Someone else suggested Arman Kody, just changing my last name.

My first book will be a memoir, so a couple of people on my FB voiced concerns over using a pseudonym. But, the purpose is not to mislead, but to make it easier for people to find my books and find me online. I plan on creating a twitter account, YT channel and FB name with the new name and use it going forward online. My next book after my memoir is a fiction novel, and I also plan to use the same pseudonym.

Anyway, I want to know what all of your thoughts are. Going forward with this will be a pretty big change, but I think will be worth it in the long run.

[theory]

Do you want something Google-unique or non-Google-unique?  I can see advantages to both.

[Beyond Awesome]

Do you want something Google-unique or non-Google-unique?  I can see advantages to both.

I want people to find me easily on Google without misspelling my name often.

[Kuildeous]

I think Arman Kody is nice and simple. Arman is an unusual name (to American ears), but it's a simple enough name that people are unlikely to mess it up. And it's more memorable than John or Kevin.

Kody is a friendly name. It's like Cody, which could be a disadvantage, as that is exactly how someone will try to type it if someone tells it to him.

[Beyond Awesome]

I think Arman Kody is nice and simple. Arman is an unusual name (to American ears), but it's a simple enough name that people are unlikely to mess it up. And it's more memorable than John or Kevin.

Kody is a friendly name. It's like Cody, which could be a disadvantage, as that is exactly how someone will try to type it if someone tells it to him.

That's a good point, but Cody with a C sounds way too much like a first name.

[GeoLib]

I think Arman Kody sounds good. Assuming I heard the name correctly, I think that's how I would spell it on my first try. Also, googling Arman Kody right now yields very few popular results (In fact, it suggests that perhaps I meant Arman Khodaei amongst a few other things), so I suspect that if you generate a reasonably visible internet presence, your stuff will be the first hits on google. (That being the google uniqueness Theory references)

[DG]

You could use AK as initials and create a last name for your pseudonym. I've no idea what the JK stands for in JK Rowling.

[Awaclus]

You could use AK as initials and create a last name for your pseudonym.

47, perhaps?

[Joseph2302]

I've no idea what the JK stands for in JK Rowling.

Joanne Kathleen.

[Kuildeous]

That's a good point, but Cody with a C sounds way too much like a first name.

You are correct, but there are a lot of names where a typically first name is used as a last name and vice-versa.

Hmm, but Arman is such a unique name for Americans that if you go by Arman Cody, people may assume you meant Cody Arman, which could be an interesting pseudonym in its own right, though I feel like Cody should be followed by a name with three syllables. Cody Armana?

One possibility is to go cheesy and go by Arman Hammer. I fear that is too cheesy, and you wouldn't get the respect you want, but it depends on what you intend to do with the pseudonym.

Ah, I missed that you said that people do have trouble with your first name, while I thought it was an easy enough name to spell. I still like keeping that simple while maintaining your uniqueness among English speakers.

Sometimes we Americans (and Europeans?) will just make a difficult last name an initial. Babylon 5 was created by Michael S. The creator of Ren and Stimpy is John K. Arman K rolls off the tongue. Although, I think that the people have to make a name for themselves to get that kind of abbreviation. I don't know if it'd be pretentious to start calling yourself Arma K.

I don't care for the sound of the initials of AK. It seems awkward to me. Then again, I would have said the same thing about JK, but that goes to show that anyone with enough of a presence can get by with just about any letter combination as initials. I tried a few combinations, and AK Sebastian sounds good to my ears. I don't really know why.

[enfynet]

If you have concern about Arman, would Adam be a good substitute?

[markusin]

Arman is a popular Armenian name isn't it?

[Beyond Awesome]

Arman is a popular Armenian name isn't it?

It is Armenian and also Persian which is my ethnicity. There is also Armando in Spanish and Armaan in Indian.

In some spellings the second a is switched out with o like Armon which is how my name phonetically sounds.

I sort of like the idea of just using my last name as an initial. I considered that, but never heard of it being done before.

What if I use both my middle and last initials? Arman C. K. Does that work? It is sort of the inverse of what most people do who take their first two initials and then use their full last name. I guess it is an unique thing to do.

[markusin]

Arman is a popular Armenian name isn't it?

It is Armenian and also Persian which is my ethnicity. There is also Armando in Spanish and Armaan in Indian.

In some spellings the second a is switched out with o like Armon which is how my phonetically sounds.

I sort of like the idea of just using my last name as an initial. I considered that, but never heard of it being done before.

What if I use both my middle and last initials? Arman C. K. Does that work? It is sort of the inverse of what most people do who take their first two initials and then use their full last name. I guess it is an unique thing to do.

Armenian is also my ethnicity. Don't ask me to speak the language though.

[Beyond Awesome]

Arman is a popular Armenian name isn't it?

It is Armenian and also Persian which is my ethnicity. There is also Armando in Spanish and Armaan in Indian.

In some spellings the second a is switched out with o like Armon which is how my phonetically sounds.

I sort of like the idea of just using my last name as an initial. I considered that, but never heard of it being done before.

What if I use both my middle and last initials? Arman C. K. Does that work? It is sort of the inverse of what most people do who take their first two initials and then use their full last name. I guess it is an unique thing to do.

Armenian is also my ethnicity. Don't ask me to speak the language though.

Yah, same here. Don't ask me to speak Persian or Farsi as it is also known as. Interestingly enough, people do call the language both Persian and Farsi. And, people also refer to themselves as either Persian or Iranian.

[Awaclus]

What if I use both my middle and last initials? Arman C. K. Does that work? It is sort of the inverse of what most people do who take their first two initials and then use their full last name. I guess it is an unique thing to do.

I think it works.

[Kuildeous]

You don't hear a lot about initials at the end. Louis CK is the only name that comes to mind for me.

I like Arman CK. It gets the name out there pretty easily, and it has a nice flow to it. It almost sounds like an attempt at spelling ROCK, which could be an interesting branding choice.

[Witherweaver]

McLovin

[Robz888]

I highly recommend you leave it as is. The most important thing is to have a unique and memorable name. You are already blessed with one, you don't need to go making one up. Seth Lucas is SUPER GENERIC AND BORING (no offense to all the Seth Lucases out there).

It's almost important to pick one and stick to it: Your name has to appear the same way always, always, always, always. But I would stick with the one you got. Arman Khodaei? That is a super cool name, and it's your name, and you should keep it.

[Witherweaver]

You might want to listen to Robz.  He's a just-the-facts, no-nonsense kind of guy.

Though I do think Arman CK sounds pretty cool.

[Beyond Awesome]

I highly recommend you leave it as is. The most important thing is to have a unique and memorable name. You are already blessed with one, you don't need to go making one up. Seth Lucas is SUPER GENERIC AND BORING (no offense to all the Seth Lucases out there).

It's almost important to pick one and stick to it: Your name has to appear the same way always, always, always, always. But I would stick with the one you got. Arman Khodaei? That is a super cool name, and it's your name, and you should keep it.

Thanks for your input. 20 years ago, your advice would be solid. The thing is today with Amazon and Google and whatnot, having an easy to spell name can make a difference between people finding you and not finding you. I do like my last name, but I know how troublesome it is for people to look it up. It seems Google will change for misspellings but not all search engines will and not everyone uses Google. Ideally, I would keep my name as is, but I have to also look at things in terms of long-term perspective and accessibility and whatnot. I do appreciate your feedback though.

[Donald X.]

Thanks for your input. 20 years ago, your advice would be solid. The thing is today with Amazon and Google and whatnot, having an easy to spell name can make a difference between people finding you and not finding you. I do like my last name, but I know how troublesome it is for people to look it up. It seems Google will change for misspellings but not all search engines will and not everyone uses Google. Ideally, I would keep my name as is, but I have to also look at things in terms of long-term perspective and accessibility and whatnot. I do appreciate your feedback though.

For maximum googling, I think you want a made-up compound word for your last name. Then it's easy to spell and remember and yet unique. Then the first name doesn't matter as much; when they misspell it they'll still find you.

[Witherweaver]

I might also suggest: Throatwobbler Mangrove.

[mail-mi]

Beyond Awesome sounds like a good psuedonym

[heron]

Just use dwarf fortress!

"Posa Plankdwellings"
"Onbir Searingwhip"
"Kuda Clashesbrush"
"Eman Yarnstood"

All excellent names.