SL Name Questions

I want specific name but I notice that name combos are so random in the process I can't always know when the name will show up.
Sometimes certain last names will only show up with certain first letter of first name.
Has anyone else noticed this?
Has anyone found a trick in using and getting certain name combination?

When you go to the join page, you should see a choice of whether to use the standard Linden signup page, or to go to one of the community sign-up pages.

The Linden sign-up page does the names different than it used to, making you pick the first name before you can pick the last name. You only see the last names that are still available for the first name you have selected.

The community page I checked at worked the old way, where you can see the list of last names without having to already have picked a first name. You might want to try using one of the community pages.

The first and last name pair you want may just not be available.

On the Linden sign-up page, if you pick something random and undesirable as the fist name, you should probably see all the last names. In other words, pick something stupid like AA0143xxxxFiddleFaddleQuack as the first name and all the last names should show up, I thiink. I haven't actually tried that yet.

It has changed I am trying to get specific first and last name
I even looked up last names on http://slnamewatch.com/ but
the way it works now on create new name area is much different.

Did you use the "get it" link to the right of the name you want on the slnamewatch site? If you click on that, then find the last name you are wanting, it will give you a link to a sign-up page that will have that last name in the drop down list

Have you checked the inworld people search to see if the name you want is already taken?

I've been wondering about this for a while, and maybe this is a good place to ask:

When I joined five months ago, I saw in the list of services/fees that you could get a second account for $9.95.

But I notice people talking about their plethora of alts, and I can't help thinking that they probably didn't pay ten bucks apiece....

And when I tried to make an alt (I'm at the stage where I need to be able to test things I've made)---even though I went straight from my own Account page, on my same computer, with the same IP address and all---there was never a button 'click here if you agree to pay $9.95'. Or anything remotely like that.

So I thought---well, they'll probably bill my main account for this---it'll show up in a few days...

But of course it never did.

So.....is this '$9.95 for an alt account' thing like the Diamond Lane in many cities....there to be enforced if circumstances require, but hardly ever enforced in actuality?

Or.....what?

The link to login portal worked but get specific last name didn't work if it was suppose to take you directly to that last name...Perhaps I was confused.
I do know that only for example last names example name String only showed up with first letter D in less random way.
I was able to come up with specific name I wanted but its been being a major pain.
Just curious if anyone else has noticed this?
They changed the policy I know I had to pay for one alt but when I reactivated my alt from 2003 they said I didn't have to and after that 2nd alts the 9.95 charge no longer was there.
Yet if I want to reactivate my older alts I deleted recently I have to pay.

Also: this 'last name they let you have depends on first name you've chosen' is very disappointing. My alt's last name is Magic, and I've been thinking I'd like to make him a brother and sister named Washday Magic and Grout-Cleaning Magic. But I guess that is a dream that must die.

Yeah I wanted Drawing or Creating Twine but it didn't work but I wasn't able with that name combo.
I thought about Paint Dirval but the combo didn't work either

I wonder if Climb Dirval would work.

I suppose LL has people that just sit around thinking of possibilities to prohibit...

Wow, they have changed it a lot. My last few alts I registered thru one of the alternate portals cuz that is where the last name was that I wanted.

@Ponsonby -- They do not charge for extra accounts at this time. There is plenty of question/confusion over how many you can have because no two people seem to have the same experience in that regard. My advice is to just not abuse it and create hundreds of alts.

Yes I was thinking about name puns but the one's I came up for Dirval or Hermit seemed just bitter and jaded I thought about that didn't seem to work.
Graphics or Artistic Hermit but G one only showed up with Hermit, Sideshow and Excellentant but Graphics Sideshow or Excellentant seem bit too much for me.
I enjoy having certain creative new names to go exploring, creating and hanging out with minimal distractions, I find it fun to come up with new names.
I never go over 5 so there always certain one's I have to delete if I want specific name.
I didn't try Wandering Hermit so I am not sure if that name combo would work or if I kept getting to look up it would eventually give me that name.
It use be little different you could get name list and change the first to suit it without getting a new list of names, now you if you change the first name a new list comes up of last names.

Good point. (And I really appreciate your answer, as I have spent a LOT of time trying to find this information--people are being understandably discreet, but it's nice not to have to scratch my head anymore.)

Easy to go 'bitter' with that one--tough to avoid it, really.

(I might try TheGun'sIn Hermit, but it's a stretch.)

Having a space just for one interesting named alt periodically can be fun, and now its free and its great way to go explore and do new things it doesn't have to be for anything other then just having some quiet time.
It is fun to see what combos you can do when you're bored too.

I'm interested in the Newly-Registered experience, too. The one I had with my one Magic alt was DREADFUL (certainly in comparison with the fairly decent experience I had with Ponsonby.)

So to be able to make a couple of new alts, spaced in time, to check out what they're doing now, sounds good.

(To explain a bit: I'm interested partly out of good ol' intellectual curiosity, but also because I've made a substantial investment in SL, and therefore have a legitimate business interest in LL's capacity for retaining registrants.)

(((but aside from that, the fun of making Punny names cannot be denied.....)))

Don't be rediculous.

That's a pip!

Yes it does help too to know what new arrivals are going through to help them.
I would be really, really confused what to do at this point with how they have changed things.

I haven't tried registering an alt for a couple of months.. At that point it was "Update Magic". (name of my one and only bot.. guess what her job is).

But when I was doing it, I found that it worked best to refresh the signup page several times. It seems that the group of displayed lastnames is randomized. So let's say there are 100 names available.. and the list shows you 50. It might take 20 refreshes before the lastname you KNOW is there.. shows up again.

The process can be quite daunting at times... and the best "name verifier" is the one on the Linden Lab site. Many of the other portals, while they may have better interfaces, use more rudimentary "is this name available?" checks.. and don't check as hard for "is this name legal?" Of course, the official "Linden Lab" signup sheet is a huge pain to work with.. since you have to type the firstname you want in, and then hope that the lastname you want is available, AND that it's in the randomized subselection on the page.

A case in point, at least one of the registration portals will allow you to put a space into the firstname.. However we all KNOW that this isn't allowed. SLNameWatch is a great service for finding out what lastnames are available.. but it's still a bit of work to "get the name you want".

However, if you know that your firstname is going to be formatted legally.. I'd probably go with a signup portal like "Orientation Station".. it's first page is just "enter first name and select last name".. so it's an easy one to reload a few dozen times until you see the lastname you want.

There is other login portals still for new residents?
Because on the official page when I go there it is blank, so if I was going to recommend a place
for friend or aquaintance to start at I wouldn't know what to suggest.
Onrez/CSI one is no more but that was bit hard too you couldn't set it as home location or return to it either after the first time.

Go here: http://slnamewatch.com/botlog/last_avail_log.html

Use the bolded links.

Linden Lab®'s Official Resistration Portal Join Now
GossipGirl RegAPI
orientation_station RegAPI

Etc.

If you've selected a starting look and a first name, and you don't like the available names, there IS a way to keep a first name and see a different subset of the surname choices. Click the button that says "Change first name", but don't change it. Then click on the "see available last names" button, and you'll usually get a new random assortment to select from. repeat this process to see all the actual choices.

Thanks that was helpful I didn't scroll down far enough I guess but it will be helpful information if I need it again since Second Life's registration page seems bit difficult for name choices, while the others allow you to pick whatever first name and last name easier.