Topic: Stage Name/Performing Name

[nonsectarianblues]

I was trying to figure out a good name for myself.  My given name is Cyprian Alexzander which I really like, but...  I think it would be hard for people to remember to spell correctly (or even begin to spell correctly) to find me on the internet.

I live in Iowa.  Someone suggested Cyprian "Iowa" Alexander (notice the "z" disappeared).  I kind of like it, maybe because it reminds me of Texas Alexander.  No one has ever given me any good nicknames either.

Do any of the astute forum members have any observations or any methodology of personal nomenclature?

Thanks,

Cyprian

[Stuart]

Hi Cyprian:

Well, at the risk of sounding like a wise-ass, here's my opinion:

I was trying to figure out a good name for myself.  My given name is Cyprian Alexzander which I really like, but... 

Your folks already figured out a name for you long ago. It's a great name. Leave it alone. If you want people to remember you, then do something memorable. In other words, be somebody worth remembering. I'm sure that you are capable of it.

I know that this may sound somewhat harsh, but it's just honest, straightforward advice on my part.

[Peghead Howell]

Cyprian,,,, I agree, stick with what you have,,, you had me with your first name,,, It's not who you are,, It's what you do,,, the people who love it,, will remember who,, don't change a thing,, If you have trouble... just go with your first name,,,,, BE WHO YOU ARE
GOOD LUCK,,,, Mike

[Rivers]

Cyp, as someone who struggled for some time with finding a blues name, I sympathize. I like 'Iowa' actually.

[Parlor Picker]

I don't think Iowa Alexander works so well, as you have two vowels together, making it potentially a bit of a mouthful for some folks. Texas Alexander flows off the tongue better.

Plain old Cyprian Alexander sounds fine to me - dropping the "z" to assist large numbers of people in the English-speaking world - not to mention illiterates and idiots.

[nonsectarianblues]

Everybody, thanks for the replies.  It sure has given me some things to think about.  It isn't that I am uncomfortable with my name, I just get tired of the cognitive dissonance people experience.

That, and I always have to explain where the name came from which is like one of them on the spot history lessons.

Funny thing, my mom remembers one of my childhood nicknames to be R.G. Bigs because I liked animal crackers.  Hmmm?

[chipmonk doug]

I've been Chipmonk (spelled wrong) for 40 yrs.  Came from when I was in the USMC.  Another Marine, Harry Hunkin (real name) big guy, picked me up by the collar and said as we both swayed from the large number of beers we had consumed, "I'm gonna smash your face in.", shakes his head and says, "I can't hit you you look like a chipmonk."  At the time being a chipmonk seemed like a good idea.  So over the years I've been Doug, Chipmonk, Chip, and now I play as Chipmonk Doug. 

Don't drop the Z.  Just use it as a name.  "Z the blues guy" or something like that.

[Marshcat]

Cyprian, you could always go for an anagram of your name; there must be something more suitable than Deep Larynx Czarina, though...  

Regards,

Buttercup Marshcat

[Johnm]

Hi Cyprian,
How about "Cyppie", pronounced like "Sippie" Wallace?  Or "Little Cyppie", I always like Blues monickers with "Little" attached on the front end (though you may be big).  Or maybe "Mister Cyppie" Alexander.  If there can be a "Mississippi", surely there can be a "Mister Cyppie".
All best,
Johnm

[waxwing]

I think this is a reasonable consideration. I'm stuck witht he fact that there is already a well known musician, younger, cuter and blonder than me, who fronts his own Newgrass band called the John Cowan Band, so I pretty much can't use my own name as is. So far I'm leaning toward adding my logon which many at Port Townsend and various blues forums know me by: Waxwing John Cowan.

Here's another idea for you. There was a guy in my high school named Zander, which I always thought was a pretty cool name. I think rather than drop the very distinctive Z you should maybe lose the Alex and, following Johnm's idea with the Cyppie, go to Cyppie Zander, or maybe Cyp Zander.

All for now,
John C.

[Prof Scratchy]

I don't think anyone's copyrighted Rev Gary Davis yet?
Prof S

[Coyote Slim]

Cyprian, do you have any distinguishing physical features?   

[GhostRider]

younger, cuter and blonder than me,

Impossible!

maybe lose the Alex

Bad idea!

Alex

[nonsectarianblues]

Cyprian, do you have any distinguishing physical features?   

Some say I am ugly, and others say I look like an ox. 

[deltaslim]

Cyprian, do you have any distinguishing physical features?   

+1...  I came up with my blues name this way.  I'm kinda slim (by my race's standards) and I my first love is Delta blues.  Easy and done!    In the blues circuit here, I'm known and addressed more by my blues name rather than my real name.