Trying to set up a new LinkedIn and literally every variation of my name is taken. ThomasJohnson, T.Johnson, TJohnson, Thomas.Johnson, TomJohnson... all taken. Even thomasjohnson1994 was taken. Ended up with something ridiculous with random numbers. Anyone else with common names deal with this? How do you handle it professionally?
7 Comments
I gave up trying to get my actual name on social media years ago. For professional stuff I use my middle initial - ThomasMJohnson or similar. For personal accounts i just embrace the chaos and use something completely unrelated.
thats not a bad idea. my middle name is William so ThomasWJohnson might actually be available
Pro tip - try adding your industry or city. ThomasJohnsonATL or ThomasJohnsonDev. Makes it more memorable anyway and shows what you do. Random numbers look unprofessional but industry tags look intentional.
I feel this so much. Theres probably 50,000 Thomas Johnsons in the US alone. I checked once and the name combination is like the 3rd or 4th most common in the country. At this point I just accept that im not getting ThomasJohnson on anything.
50,000?? thats insane. no wonder everything is taken
I work in graphic design and literally had to rebrand myself online because no variation of thomas johnson was available anywhere. ended up going with my first name + middle initial + last initial on most platforms. ThomasRJ or thomasrj_ depending on what was open. honestly it works better for professional stuff anyway because its shorter and easier to remember. the silver lining of having a super common name is that it kinda forces you to be more creative with your brand. still annoying tho ngl
honestly the forced creativity thing is a good point. my buddy with a unique name just uses his real name everywhere and his branding is kinda boring because of it. meanwhile im over here with a whole custom handle that actually stands out more than "ThomasJohnson" ever would have. glass half full i guess