What's in a name?

I have changed names on the Graun talkboard, twice in a week. I registered a new name, more or less for the hell of it, and didn't remember that I'd used the same details to register as Thea, about eight years ago.

My brother, who also posts, spotted my first new name, which is a childhood reference - well, he would, wouldn't he? He and I check up on each other online from time to time - I found out he'd done something clever from reading his posts (he doesn't blow his own trumpet much) and he was about to call me when I rang him, because he hadn't seen any posts from me in 4 days and was worried that I'd been eaten by an Alsatian. The second one - I think I've told him what it is. We shall see.

It's odd, though. After so long, Thea is part of me. A real life friend said that my online persona was calmer and less combative (I'm paraphrasing here) than my real life self. So here's a chance to be more joined up (or even less so). Already, Helen is different from Thea - it's a sort of licence to be cheekier and naughtier.

When I was little I was desperate, in rapid succession, to be called Caroline, Emily and Pippa. I wonder what I would have been like if I had?