Should I worry that my great-aunt shows up when one Googles my unusual name?

September 8, 2009 8:03 PM

Should I worry that my great-aunt shows up when one Googles my unusual name?

I have a very unusual name, which is great. I'm just starting a career as a writer and I'm anticipating my web presence will be pretty important at some point.

Problem? I had a great aunt with the same (extremely unusual) name as me, who in 1985 published a book that still comes up all the time in Google and Amazon searches. There are also a few news articles about her from the 1960s.

Is there anything I can do about this? Is it cause enough to start using my middle initial? I wouldn't worry about it if I were called Jennifer Smith; I'm just so not used to the possibility for confusion.

"Chill out and let it go" is an acceptable answer :)

posted by rzperllian to Computers & Internet (9 answers total)

Don't worry about it, it's bound to happen to nearly everybody (there's lots of people out there with identical names!). Unless she was a convicted criminal I wouldn't sweat it.
posted by reptile at 8:07 PM on September 8, 2009

I'm guessing that you're young enough that it will be fairly obvious to most people that references to your great aunt aren't referring to you. I'm also guessing that there isn't anything negative in the search results. So what's the problem? I say just chill out and let it go.
posted by cerebus19 at 8:08 PM on September 8, 2009

I think that when you put up your own web page, you can have a section on "the other Weirdname McWeirdnameface". In it, you can say that you share your seemingly-unique name with your great aunt, who is/was herself an interesting person, and here are some links about some stuff she did. If people had seen stuff about her and were thinking that maybe you were much more elderly than you are, that would clear it up.

I don't have a terribly common first and last name combo, and I have two slightly problematic googlegangers. One used to live in the same city that I lived in and was active in political causes with which I don't want to be associated. The other has wacktastic New Age religious beliefs with which I also don't want to be associated. Both of these people have fairly extensive web presences that come up when you google my name. I've considered putting up a webpage with some stuff about me and then a "links to other people with my name" section, just so potential employers and whatnot will have a heads up that neither of those people are me.
posted by craichead at 8:16 PM on September 8, 2009 [1 favorite]

"Chill out and let it go"
posted by pompomtom at 8:22 PM on September 8, 2009

I knew someone who had the same first and last name as a pedophile. When you googled his name, the first result was a page put together by one of this guy's victims.

The person I knew was a musician who was dependent on the google for getting gigs.

You do not have his problem. Chill out and let it go.
posted by alms at 9:06 PM on September 8, 2009

If you're a writer, this problem will solve itself. The more you publish, the more stuff there will be to float to the top of the search engine results.
posted by acoutu at 9:15 PM on September 8, 2009

The reason she beats you is because she had a 20 year head start. Create compelling content, and it will work itself out.

Also, put in some H1 tags on your self administered wordpress site. And write stuff.
posted by sleslie at 10:17 PM on September 8, 2009

If your great aunt is also a published writer under the same name you might want to consider adopting a pen name to avoid confusion. You don't have to completely change your name, a different spelling or using your initials+last name would differentiate you from your aunt.
posted by missmagenta at 11:31 PM on September 8, 2009

I'm a published author (14 books so far). There's another author with exactly the same name as me, who writes books about the modern-day state of Christianity. My books include titles with 'heresy' and 'damnation' in their names. So far as I know, nobody has ever got us confused.

You do not have a problem.
posted by Hogshead at 10:11 AM on September 9, 2009