Name Change?!
May 23, 2011
R.R. Magellan.
Why the sudden name change?
It’s actually quite simple: I never really wanted my real name out in public in the first place. Some people know that I had been thinking about this for a while now. I should’ve done this when I first started but… really… I thought I was going to go through this whole time just by using Rey-Rey. That’s the public name I have used on the internet and on previous communities (hello, anime/cosplay community).
But sportswriting/blogging on a more public domain requires me to have a last name. I used my real last name for the past two years but I had been so hesitant about it. I still wanted to go by Rey-Rey as much as possible. And for a while, I couldn’t come up with a good alternate last name.
A few months ago, I was joking with a friend about writing romance novels. I had just finished refreshing myself with the history of the Philippines and when I said that I needed a pen name when I transition to romance novels, I offered the name R.J. Magellan as a joke. I took the name Magellan from Portuguese explorer, Ferdinand Magellan. He got killed in the Philippines in 1521 and his crew went on to circumnavigate the world. So me being Filipino, there was a little irony in the name.
I thought about it even more in the past couple of weeks. I increasingly got uncomfortable with having my last name out there with all the identity theft issues and wanting to separate more of my private/family life and my conceited public persona out on the internet. So I finally decided to change my public last name to Magellan. I thought it was good enough.
I also decided to go with the initials “R.R.” to look like a total douche bagel. R.R. really only means Rey-Rey. I am in no way changing my first name or nickname in public. Everyone calls me Rey or Rey-Rey. I’m only using the name, R.R. Magellan, when I have to write something sporty in a public domain (like SLAM for instance). Otherwise, I’ll still go by Rey-Rey (or Rey) everywhere else. I’d honestly prefer to just be Rey-Rey the entire time but, again, I needed a last name.
If people want to call me Magellan, that’s fine. To those that know my real last name, I’d prefer that I am not called by that unless I consider them a good friend. But I will answer most to Rey or Rey-Rey. Get used to it.
Oh, well. Either name, I look like a douche bagel. But at least, I didn’t change my name to Swag.
Smile for me, Lizzy.
