Some really interesting stories here!
When I first went online, I didn't want to use my real name - not so much out of fear as much as embarrassment.
I don't even use my married name when I write in RL; I write under my maiden name, for various reasons. I considered my favorites and thought, like Loriel, about using a Tolkien nick. At the time, though, I wanted something that sounded like it was real. I settled on my other lifelong love: Watership Down, by Richard Adams. I liked Hazel, because while the one who really lived in Hampshire was a male rabbit, Hazel is usually a woman's name when attributed to humans.
In the first year or so, I allowed people to think that Hazel was actually my name; I was too embarrassed to admit it was a nick. Now, though, I'll just cheerfully say that none of you, except Rivka and Gerry and Paul, could pronounce my real name anyway. So there.
Regarding the Tolkien discussion, btw: There is no J is Sindarin, so Jor-El will have to be left out.
And "Kal" would most likely be spelled "Cal" or "Cel" - the C is always a hard one. And considering that one woman was given the nickname "Silverfoot," another was actually *named* "Starspray," and Aragorn managed to turn "Strider" into the far more nicer-sounding "Telcontar," I wouldn't worry too much about it if I was Clark.
Hazel
