Facebook Username Registration Opens Tonight

June 12th, 2009

By Justin Smith

Facebook username registration opens for the firs time in just a few hours, marking a major milestone in Facebook identity. For the first time since Facebook began over 5 years ago, users will be able to choose a username to go by on the site. And while it may not be clear today how broadly Facebook usernames will be used in the future, everyone should be careful to pick a username that they will want to be associated with their real Facebook identity for years to come.

Here’s how the username allocation process will work:

Starting at 12:01am EDT tonight (4:01am GMT on 13 June), Facebook users can choose a username on this page. The names will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Once a name is chosen, Facebook says it can never be changed or transferred – it will be your Facebook username and URL forever. So you should choose a name that you’ll be comfortable associating with yourself for the rest of your life.
Usernames must be at least 5 characters long, and will only be available in Roman characters at launch.
Facebook has restricted a lot of generic and trademarked usernames – so you won’t be able to pick “InNOut,” “GeorgeBush,” or “Mesothelioma.”
If you created your account after June 9, 2009, at 3pm PT, you’ll have to wait until June 28 to get your username.

In addition, Facebook has set up several rules for businesses interested in getting vanity URLs for their Facebook Pages. Only those Pages with more than 1,000 fans on May 31 will be eligible for usernames starting tonight. The rest will also have to wait until June 28.

Facebook chose to start the username landrush at midnight on a Friday night in the US to ease the transition on its internal systems and processes. Europeans probably have the toughest time though – they’ll be getting up at (or staying up until) 4-5am to get their Facebook username.

Good luck getting the name you want!

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24 Responses to “Facebook Username Registration Opens Tonight”

Geoffrey Rosete Says:
June 12th, 2009 at 6:13 pm
nice…

http://www.blogfornoob.com
Facebook Username Vanity URL Registration Countdown « D-Mac’s Blog Says:
June 12th, 2009 at 8:37 pm
[...] with more than 1,000 fans (as of May 31st) to get first rights to their username. As for those legitimate businesses with less than 1,000 fans, you will have to wait until June 28th. [...]
Mike Says:
June 12th, 2009 at 9:19 pm
I got my name as the username.

You don’t need 1,000 Fans to get your own username.

Your Facebook account must be registered before June 9 as the only criteria.

Mike
William White Says:
June 12th, 2009 at 9:32 pm
My new username. The one I wanted and got it:
http://facebook.com/blogmoney

My girlfriend got:
http://facebook.com/blogsoftware

Good luck everyone!
Joffrey Says:
June 12th, 2009 at 10:07 pm
It was hard for Europeans (6 AM in France) but now it’s done, and I got what I wanted:

http://www.facebook.com/joffrey
LouAnn Petersen Says:
June 12th, 2009 at 11:58 pm
Not sure that this is right as it has not told me if it avaible or not
Narem Ali Says:
June 13th, 2009 at 1:10 am
I got what I wanted
http://www.facebook.com/fbdeveloper

Then if you want to publish what you go visit
http://apps.facebook.com/myusername

Good luck to those who haven’t selected a username yet. They are going incredibly fast of course.
Lynn Rose Says:
June 13th, 2009 at 1:12 am
Snatch your username RIGHT AWAY! I went to get mine – less than 2 hours since it opened and I believe I’m already the victim of cyber name squatting.

Tried to get facebook.com/lynnrose but it was already taken by someone who’s listed as evelyn rose. What’s weird is that her name is available so why take ‘lynn rose’ AND her profile is locked and she has no pic – so it looks very suspicious.

Anyone know if there’s anything I can do or any way to investigate?

Thanks for your help…

Lynn
Albert Delalieux Says:
June 14th, 2009 at 4:50 am
“Sexonomics” is my registered trademark (since 1990)
comScore: Facebook Passed MySpace in the US for the First Time in May Says:
June 15th, 2009 at 3:31 pm
[...] share of Internet visits is up from 2.9% of all visits in the beginning of May to 3.6% when the Facebook username floodgates opened on [...]
Username Registration for Facebook Pages Opens Tonight Says:
June 28th, 2009 at 3:17 pm
[...] weeks ago, Facebook opened up username registration to all users, but only those Pages with over 1,000 fans before May 31. Tonight, the second wave of [...]
L’annuaire des noms d’utilisateurs pour les Pages Facebook avec moins de 1000 fans a ouvert ce matin Says:
June 29th, 2009 at 2:49 am
[...] y a deux semaines, Facebook avait ouvert l’annuaire des noms d’utilisateurs à tous les utilisateurs, mais seulement pour ceux dont les pages avient plus de 1000 fans au 31 [...]
L’annuaire des noms d’utilisateurs pour les Pages Facebook avec moins de 1000 fans a ouvert ce matin | MKT planet - News Web Marketing - Nouvelles Technologies Says:
June 29th, 2009 at 11:23 am
[...] y a deux semaines, Facebook avait ouvert l’annuaire des noms d’utilisateurs à tous les utilisateurs, mais seulement pour ceux dont les pages avient plus de 1000 fans au 31 [...]
nadajonhe Says:
July 7th, 2009 at 12:32 am
it’s great and nice i like it
10 Key SEO Strategies Every Facebook Page Owner Should Know Says:
July 13th, 2009 at 12:47 pm
[...] recently launched the ability to choose a vanity URL (Facebook calls it a “username”) for your Facebook Page, one of the most important SEO [...]
50 Million Facebook Users, 20,000 Pages Now Have Vanity URLs Says:
July 20th, 2009 at 1:14 pm
[...] been just over a month since Facebook launched its username registration process, allowing any user or Facebook Page to get its own unique “vanity” URL on Facebook. [...]
john Says:
July 23rd, 2009 at 9:06 am
hi evry i
Facebook Now Letting Users Make a One-Time Username Change Says:
July 23rd, 2009 at 9:45 am
[...] when Facebook opened the username registration process 5 weeks ago, it said at the time that once users chose a username, it would be theirs forever – no [...]
Nameshapes « The shape of things Says:
July 27th, 2009 at 3:48 pm
[...] Then there’s the searchability of your name. My husband opted to keep his ‘bachelor name’ (to coin a phrase) as his middle name (as women sometimes do with their maiden names — e.g. Hillary Rodham Clinton or Heather Mills McCartney) so that a web search for him under his unmarried name would still find him. We’re both lucky enough to have names which are moderately unusual (we’re not drowning in an unsearchable sea of John/Jane Smiths or equivalent), we’ve been early-enough adopters to claim our names on various sites, and we managed to claim our facebook usernames of choice without even having to get up at 4am. [...]
raagini Says:
October 31st, 2009 at 10:31 pm
hi!n hello for all
10 Key SEO Strategies Every Facebook Page Owner Should Know | Instant Money Machine Says:
November 1st, 2009 at 7:11 am
[...] recently launched the ability to choose a vanity URL (Facebook calls it a “username”) for your Facebook Page, one of the most important SEO [...]
ojeleye sunday olugbenga Says:
December 6th, 2009 at 4:09 pm
i found my old pals.
florent hoti Says:
January 18th, 2010 at 9:36 am
facebook is a very good
samdong Says:
January 24th, 2010 at 8:09 am
l appreciate this good electronic forum,l invites all kown and unkown friends for a goodwill relationship,penpal,and friendship.
l am a youngman of 33yrs from ghana west africa, my hobies are reading,sweaming,and at relaxed time watching soccer.
All are invited within the globe.