The importance of having a great profile name is highly debatable, mostly because it’s largely uncertain how deeply your profile name will actually register with the women you meet online.

And even if women online pay attention to the profile names of the men they meet, we know pretty clearly there are a lot of other factors that go into how those women make their decisions about whom they will check out, message back and go on dates with.

It’s safe to say if your profile has a mediocre or boring name, you will still do just fine if your profile is really well written, if you include appealing pictures and if you message like a pro.

In other words, instead of fixating on making the “perfect” profile name, you should instead think about making sure the rest of your online dating game is up to snuff.

Once the rest of your interactions online seem to be working like a well-oiled machine, you can then go back to optimizing your profile name.

However, this doesn’t change the fact you have to create some sort of profile name as soon as you sign up for a site.

To bypass this problem, consider your first profile name to be something of a place holder, a name that just needs to be “good enough,” a name that might not radically inspire the women you meet but which won’t do you any harm either.

1. How can my profile name hurt me?

There are some online dating writers who argue that signing up for a really boring profile name, something like “John_30880,” is going to really hurt your chances online.

I disagree.

That name might not do much to make a woman excited to talk to you and it might make you blend into the crowd a little bit, but it’s not going to actively hurt your chances with a woman.

If you can’t think of anything particularly clever, positive and attractive, then go ahead and make your profile name “Ski-Fan-2012” or whatever relatively limited title you think you should go by.

While standing out is important online, you want to make sure you stand out in the right way.

Online isn’t exactly like the real world.

In the real world, you can stand out in an initially negative way to a woman you meet and then find that first bad impression transformed into a strong positive and respectful position as you and this woman got to know each other better.

The dating world is filled with couples who didn’t necessarily like each other at first but who grew their appreciation for each other over time.

By contrast, the online dating world doesn’t give you the same opportunity to transform first impressions over time that meeting a woman in your social circle does.

If you creep out a woman online, she’s just going to tune you out and ignore you.

Which means that if you only take one piece of advice to heart when it comes to making your first profile name for your online dating career, consider this:

Avoid names that can be construed as creepy, overly sexual, violent, dangerous or otherwise undesirable.

Don’t name yourself “Fight-Fan.” Don’t include the word “crazy” in your profile name.

Don’t include anything overtly sexual in your title.

When you’re getting started online and you don’t quite understand the digital dating terrain, it’s better to seem normal and natural than like a potential liability.

Keep this in mind when you’re choosing a profile name and go boring before outrageous every single time.

Author's Bio: 

Cynthia Price is the managing editor of DatingAdvice.com, overseeing editorial content, social media engagement and media opportunities for the site. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Journalism from the University of Florida.