What's in a name?

[kerravonsen]

a rose, they say, would smell as sweet...

I am wondering whether I should take Kerr Avonsen as my nom-de-net everywhere, instead of my real name. I've been pondering this on and off ever since I discovered, due to the tasteless, thoughtless remark of someone whom I was helping with software stuff, that there happens to be a porn star whose name is very similar to my own. Her first name is the same as mine, and her last name is the more common variation of my own last name. So, despite the fact that if you do a google search on my own, proper name, practically all the first page is references to me (yes, I'm well-googled), if one does a typo of my name -- which people are always doing, because they suffer from selective dyslexia regarding the spelling of my surname, then the third entry comes up with the porn star. (sigh)

Wheras if you search for "Kerr Avonsen", the list is much shorter, and they all refer to me.

But... I've been using my real name on the net since 1988. That's a lot of history, history that would be wiped out if I changed my use-name. And there's nothing there that I've done that I'm ashamed of -- if "prospective employers" don't like gen fanfic, then I probably wouldn't want to work for them anyway. And, more importantly from the "prospective employer" point of view, there are some Free Software projects that I'm associated with that would only do me good if my real name was still on them.
But it was my Free Software that put me in correspondence with the guy who made the remark about me and the "naughty nude pictures". (sigh)

What am I going to dooooo? (wails)

Am I going to have to spend the rest of my life explaining that NO I AM NOT THAT PERSON!
Even though it is not my fault that people can't spell my name correctly.

And then I think, look, I've been on the net for sixteen years, it's a bit late to stop using my real name now. (sigh)