You clicked here to find out more about my strange,
unpronounceable iVillage membername, didn't you? Well, everyone
knows how hard it can be to get the identity you want when you log
in at a website. Seems like all the Janices, JaniceLs and other variants
were taken at a million website when I first decided to start registering
in online communities. So I thought, now WHAT name can I use that won't
be taken?
Then it hit me. When I was in University, I was part of a historical
recreation society known as the Society for
Creative Anachronism which is dedicated to recreating the Middle Ages.
In the "SCA" I created the persona of a late medieval Cornish
gentlewoman known as Ancarett Nankivellis (Keeper of the Cauldron of Ceridwyn, Member
of the Orders of the Willow, Silver Oak, Golden Otter, Bear's Heart, Bear's Claw and Rivenstar,
Holder of the Award of the Purple Fret and Award of Arms). My persona's name is alternately
spelled Angharad of Nankivel: look me up in the Orders of Precedence for the Kingdoms of
Ealdormere and the Midrealm.
Ancarett, or Angharad, is a Cornish woman's name (Cornish being an old Celtic language, rather like Welsh) which
means "beloved." I chose that name in the SCA not so much for its meaning, but because of the national origins.
How is it pronounced? Well, opinion differs (and the pronunciation probably changed over time). You can
either use Ann-car-ette or Anchor-ette as a pronunciation. I don't mind!
So, I typed in "Ancarett" the next time I saw that "register" screen on a website and, wonder of wonders, it
wasn't already taken. So I decided to use that as a name I knew that I wouldn't forget. What
I didn't know was that so many other people would have to learn how to spell and remember the name. So, please
accept my apologies, friend!