I have had a variety of nick names that others have given me as well as epethets. In Jr. high a group of us girls all had boys names as nick names, I was "Fred". Don't ask me why I have no clue. In that same group previously I was occasionally called "Pony". That at least might have been attributed to my shortness.
In my twenties in some circles I was known as "Gypsy". Interestingly at the same time there was another "Gypsy" running around, but he was male. Believe me that was confusing, embarassing and at one point, dangerous.
When I had a slope job as a dishwasher and bull cook some jerk in the kitchen christened me "Cuddles". It wasn't because of anything I was up to or my personality at the time...I think he was just hopeful. But to my chargrin it took for awhile and I had strange men coming up to me in the halls saying, "Hey Cuddles, you wanna come over to my room?" Some stranger than others. I should have drown the guy who came up with that name in his dish sink.
As for epithets, there is a small variety: "Somethyng Different", "Tidalwave", "Steam Roller", "Force of Nature" and my all time favorite, "Intense".
Now I use several different names for different purposes. Not only online, but in the real world as well. And how you call me depends on how and when you met me.
Some of this naming game comes from being raised Catholic. You need a saint's name and then there is a confirmation name when you become an adult in the church.
No small part of this confusion can be attributed to having a vain mother who insisted on naming me after herself and just didn't know when to quit. When she was younger she knew a woman who had named her daughter after herself and they were officially "Sr." and "Jr." just like first and second generation men's names. Let me tell you try growing up as a girl being called "Jr." was no easy ordeal.
Also anyone who wanted to call me by my full name couldn't really do it without having to take a breath somewhere inbetween. My actual first name birth name is hyponated. It is always a pain trying to figure out how to write out initials for a hyphonated name. Is it just "L." or is it "L.M."? Not to mention that the first part of the hyponated name, which was the same as my mother's name is very uncommon and no one seems to be able to pronounce it or spell it for that matter. Experiences like that might encourage you to change your name.
At one point in my live i was actually "Mrs. J.Bond". Ok so it wasn't James, but it was Joe.
Joe provided me with a nick name to be able to call me and not have my mother answer. He shortened my four letter first half first name to two letters. I actually in very mundane life go by that name. I even have a social security card and a federal ID in that name. As it turns out that shortened name also lends itself to a few jokes and verbal abuses in using it. I have almost given up trying to abate the confusion.
But even with a shortened name people didn't seem to be able to pronounce it or spell it. Once I became so frustrated that I shortened the name I was using to just "L". And even with just the single letter people would do things like spell it, "Elle" or "El" or something like that.
I lived with one guy whose last name was "Leslie". I used his name for a few months, so I was "L. Leslie" then.
So using aliases is kinda something I grew up with. And divying out bits and pieces of my personality to each of these personas is second nature.