On Monday 13th April Linden Lab officially announced the return of last names for the Second Life community. It’s now effective as a new option for only Second Life Premium Members. You can now change either your first, last or both names.
Please note that “display names” are still available at no charge to everyone.
Log into your Second Life account online to check them out. It will cost you $39.99 and a Premium subscription. It does seem expensive but maybe the lab may lower the cost at a later point. The list of names will be refreshed on a regular basis.
In order to ensure your name changes proceed smoothly, please make sure you are logged out of the viewer before changing your name. There may be a delay of 24-48 hours for your new name to show across all services in Second Life.
For all new residents joining Second Life they will not be able to change names until they upgrade to premium. It will still remain and show “Resident” as default.
THE RETURN OF LAST NAMES
Given the ongoing interest in “last names” among our community, we’ve reinstated “last names” effective today as a new option for Second Life Premium Members. If you have a Premium account, you will be able to visit https://secondlife.com/my/account to change your first, last or both names. In the true spirit of the original “last names” option last seen in 2010, participating Residents will once again be able to choose from a rotating list of available last names. Some names may only be available for a limited time, so if you see one you like then you might want to claim it quickly!
Already changed your name and want to go back to one of your old names? You can do that too! After you have changed your name once, you will see a list of your previous names below the list of available last names.
What do you think of the return of last names ?
Daniel Voyager 
I have been one of those most eager to change my name, since when I created my avatar I made a stupid choice that I have regretted ever since. I am glad to be able to change my first name. But I find the list of last names very disappointing. They are heavy on the whimsical and wacky, with few appealing choices. I’ll use one of them, but after such a long build-up, I was hoping for something better.
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The most disappointing thing is that this launch of last names should be on the signup page for new residents joining Second Life.
A simple drop down list of last names that updates often. Upgrade to Premium to change it for a small fee. That is what I was hoping for.
The price is far too high and that includes VAT.
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Daimon — the list of names is on a rotating basis. This is only the first set of names — *not* the only set. If you don’t like any of these names, you will have to wait for the second list. Or third.
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I am not particularly confident that future sets of names will be any different. I suspect this is a trend and that “cute” and “whimsical” are the new order of the day. In the old days, the selection usually included some darker sounding names like Nightfire, Darkstone etc. Not all of us want our name to be funny. We’ll see how it goes.
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I agree with Daniel’s comment above, exactly what I was thinking!!!!
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