Thanks for the great question..

First of all, no serious question you have is considered silly to us. We are more than happy to address any real questions that anyone may have. So don‘t feel silly for asking.

I suppose I’ll start by letting you know that I’m not exactly sure what you mean by your question. When you say, “different names”, Do you mean having different Names as in Bob, John, Susan, Jill etc. OR Nicknames? Also, Do you mean using different names/nicknames on the Internet? OR Do you mean using different names/nicknames in real life? Since I’m uncertain as to which one your question applies to, I will briefly touch on them all. To make this easier for us let’s break this down into 2 sections: Internet/Chat and Real Life 

Internet/Chat

In this age of Internet and Chat Rooms, protecting personal information is important, especially from identity theft, which seems to be on the rise lately. Now, because of this fact, it’s very common for people to use different Nicknames especially in Chat Rooms. Furthermore, for safety purposes many people will sign up for free email accounts or chat accounts under a bogus name to protect their identity.  I personally see no problem with taking safety measures to ensure your protection. However, when it comes to talking to people in a chat room it is very common for people to ask for personal information  (Such as: Name, Age, and Where you live). If you’re uncomfortable giving out personal information in a chat room then just be honest and simply say you do not wish to give that information out but don’t lie about it. Simply put, if you give a fake name, age, etc. to someone who asks, that would be lying and lying is something God does not take lightly. In fact, Proverbs 6:16;17 and Proverbs 12:22 states that God “Hates” lying and it an “abomination” to Him.. Therefore, it would be better not to say anything at all than lie. 

Real Life

When it comes to using different Nicknames outside of the cyber world, a lot of people have nicknames. In fact, it’s quite easy to accumulate many nicknames among different groups of people. Such as, your family members might have a nickname for you, your friends might have another, your co-workers might give you a nickname and a spouse or boyfriend/girlfriend might have one for you, etc. etc.  So it’s very easy to accumulate more than one nickname. Now, usually nicknames have something to do with who you are or something you did, etc. but the idea is, it’s all in fun. Therefore, I see no problem with having a nickname or several nicknames... However, if the nickname(s) are degrading or made to be mean/make a person feel bad then--- it would be wrong. We are all created in God’s image and we are not to degrade people by making fun of them in a mean manner. Instead, we as believers are to live and walk in the Spirit, which is love, kindness, gentleness, self-control, etc..[Fruit of the Spirit] (Galatians 5:22-26).   

Now, as for using different “actual” names, I will first say that having another name in itself is not wrong.. However, I do think it would depend on why and how you were using these different names.

We do know that God, at times, gave people a different name. For Example: Jacob was called Israel (Gen. 35:10) / Solomon was called Jedidiah (2 Sam.12: 24-25). However, in these cases the change of names had spiritual significance because the meanings behind the names. For example let’s look Jacob.. Jacob means [heel catcher] which spoke of when he was born (Gen 25:26). Then God changed Jacob’s name to Israel, which means: [he will rule as God]. This spoke of the Messiah, who was to come through the descendants of Jacob. The point is, in these cases we really can’t use them to answer your question because there was great significance as to why God renamed them. Therefore, since your question doesn’t deal with God renaming you, we’ll have to look for other examples.

Well – When we look a little deeper into scripture we discover that there were some people in scripture that seem to go by two names and not because God renamed them. For example:

 This being the case, it seems that is was not unusual to have more than one name in those day’s. However, it’s important to understand that each name still had a meaning; a name was usually associated to the person in some way; such as their parents, their job, beliefs, attitude, or events etc.. This fact leads me to your question (assuming you meant “actual names” in “Real Life”).

In each case above, all the other people knew them by both names. In other words, the people knew Gideon as both Gideon and Jerubbaal. It wasn’t that some people knew him as Gideon and others knew him as Jerubbaal. They knew him by both names. This is key to my answer because if the purpose of using different names in Real life is to mislead people and/or fool them as to who you really are then it’s definitely not right to do. Mainly because it’s a lie, which we already know how God feels about that.. But also it’s being deceptive, which is a form of lying as well.  Consider these passages:

As you can see, deception is not of God but rather associated with wickedness. Simply put, God say’s to put such things away from our lives; therefore, we need to do just that. Nevertheless, aside from this very important precaution I see nothing scriptually wrong with using different “actual names” in “real life” for fun or whatever. That is, Again-- if you’re not lying or being deceptive by it and people know who you really are.  

In closing,

I would point out that in all cases, lying and deception was the key. So I would encourage you to take a look at how these other names would be/are being used. Does it deceive people into thinking you’re someone your not? Is it being used to trick people in chat rooms or even real life? Etc.. Etc.. I think you get the idea.. The main point being to evaluate the use of these names and to make sure it’s being used in a way that’s not contrary to God’s Word. Ask yourself the purpose for these other names and whether it’s used in a sinful manner.

I hope this has helped answer your question. If you have any questions or comments concerning this issue or anything else, simply contact us and we will be happy to help in anyway we can..

 May God’s blessing always be upon you!  In CHRIST, T.R.M.

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