Hooping.org

It’s inevitable – after you’ve been hooping for a little while, you start to realize you have a hooping persona! Eventually you want to give your alter ego a name. That’s where the hooping names directory comes in! You can check here to see which names are already being used:

http://www.hooping.org/2008/02/hooping-names-directory/

When checking the list, don’t just look for your exact name. Use the search function (control F) to look for part of your name. For example, if you want to use “fun hoops,” only looking under F won’t tell you if someone else is already using “hoop fun.”

The hooping community is very supportive of having room for everyone, but it’s important to be respectful of those who already joined the circle and chose a name before you, so please be sure to check the list before you start buying domain names, business cards, etc.

There are new hoopers every single day, so the list is dependent upon people submitting their names to the database. It’s helpful to do a quick google search too. Be thorough and check the name as one word all smushed together, as two separate words, with the order of the words reversed, and with whatever alternate spellings you can think of. If the name you want has the word hoop, check google using different forms of the word (fun hoop, fun hoops, fun hooping, fun hooper, fun hoopers, etc.).

For example, before I fully committed to using Hoopsie Daisy, some of the name combinations I googled were:
hoopsie daisy / hoopsiedaisy
hoopsie daisie / hoopsiedaisie
hoopsy daisy / hoopsydaisy
hoopsy daisie / hoopsydaisie
hoopsi daisy / hoopsidaisy
hoopsi daisi / hoopsidaisi
hoopsy daisi / hoopsydaisi
daisy hoops / daisyhoops
daisie hoops / daisiehoops
daisy hooper / daisyhooper
daisy hooping / daisy hooping

Be sure to check alternate spellings and misspellings. If your name is different from someone else’s by only one or two letters, you will end up getting all kinds of email/inquiries meant for the other person. I remember Candice of the Whirlygirlz in Portland said that they are often mixed up with whirlygirls.org (a group for women helicopter pilots).

Lastly, you might want to check the lists of burlesque and roller derby names. There is a lot of crossover between hoopers and both burlesque/roller derby. When I started hooping, I never imagined that it would lead to me performing in burlesque shows or at roller derby halftimes, but that’s what happened!

A little bit of courtesy and research can prevent time, money, and heartache that might be spent on fighting over names in the future. Besides, you want to be easily distinguished from the rest of the pack!

If you find a name already in use that is similar to the one you want to use, keep in mind that even if you file a trademark, the person who used the name first will win a legal battle 99% of the time. Is it worth going through a lawsuit to keep your name? That’s a lot of paperwork and legal fees for something that can be easily avoided by choosing a unique name.

It’s been several years since hoopers started performing/teaching/hooping with hooping monikers, so there are now hundreds of hoop names floating around. The easiest way to keep from having a duplicate name (aside from checking the list/googling) is to choose a name that doesn’t have the word HOOP in it. That might sound counterintuitive, but once you look at the list you’ll see why. Chances are if you thought of a cute hooping pun, someone else already thought of it! If your name has the word “hoop” or “hoops” in it, expect to find lots of google results involving basketball or earrings!

Thanks for this!

I just went through all 100+ comments and added all names with valid websites last week, but I didn’t see one from you. Philo mentioned to me that at some point there were some problems with comments posting on blog entries (due to some issue that escapes me now), so it’s possible that your comment was eaten by the internet – sorry about that! The comments are definitely working again, so you can post your name on the hooping names directory page now.

As for the system not being foolproof, nothing ever is But the truth of the matter is that the hooping community depends upon everyone to register their names on the directory AND to search the internet (both before they begin using it and periodically to see if anyone else has begun using it). The directory is a really great resource, but it also depends on people to be respectful if they see that someone else is using the same name. This is why we require a valid URL so that if there is a name conflict, you can contact each other.

What hooping.org can’t guarantee, however, is that the person will respond to you. I know how frustrating that is because it’s happened to me in the past so I wasn’t sure if I was being ignored or if the person was no longer using that website/email any longer. Since it sounds like you are comfortable with someone else using a similar name, then it’s not as much of an issue but you might want to try contacting her again.

I already went through all 600 links last week to see which ones were still working, and Philo will be posting an announcement soon asking people to update their links on the directory. After that, the list will be totally current. As you said, it is a huge job to go through all of those links so it’s not something that we will be doing on a weekly basis. I thought my eyes were going to fall out of my head when I got to the H section!

Thanks to everyone who has registered – it really helps the entire hoop community when people add their names! It is so much easier for someone to see that a name is taken BEFORE they begin using it than later on down the road.

As I said in my previous post, Philo will be posting an announcement soon to ask people to check/update their links. Keep in mind that some people added a name/link three years ago when the list was initially started so it’s possible that people forgot to add their new link when they abandoned tribe/myspace or got a new domain name.

If it’s a regular URL, you can enter the address at Whois.com and use the contact info there to get in touch with the person in question. If the URL is no longer being used, that doesn’t necessarily mean the name has been abandoned. I know some people/companies (hooping and otherwise) who accidentally let their domain registrations lapse. And sometimes, as we all learned this weekend, sometimes there is a problem with whoever is hosting the site

In other words, I wouldn’t assume the name is up for grabs just because the website link isn’t working. Use google to see if there’s another way to contact them. Maybe they now have a FB page or other way to get in touch. And before you commit, google like crazy. It’s much easier to find out now and pick a new name before you get started than to find out a month or even a year from now that someone else is still using that name!

Thanks HoopsieDaisy (-:
One other thing, um maybe 2 lol.
Im in Australia. Here I am legally able to use the words “hula hoop/s” in my business name/s. Does that mean they can be listed as such in the names directory, or do I have to drop the “hula” part?

As I mentioned, one of my business names is listed already by someone else and I havent had a reply from them. (I will try again though as you suggested.) They are in America, I am in Australia – is it possible for me to be listed as >business name Australia< so we can both coexist in the directory?

Thank you (-:

Hi Briana, my name is Erin and I have started a website http://www.ladyhoopsalot.com. I am in the process of putting it up. In fact it will be up within the next day or so. I did my research before using the name, I googled, I looked on both hooping.org and hoopcity.ca and did not see anyone using it in the business listings and no one else had the domain name registered. I hope we can work together to resolve this but I did not see you on youtube with that name.

Briana, thank you and don’t worry about the youtube take your time. I am sure there will not be any confusion. I am not performing but hope to be forming classes and getting my certification this weekend. As for a name…that is hard one! I know it takes a lot of thought. I will think on it and let you know if I come up with anything maybe Lady Nerd Hoops. Good luck in your performing.