Does gmail only accept a new potential address with a number. Been bitten by the Orange closure and trying to find a new email setup. The best of a bad job is gmail but every vaguely useable address I try is rejected yet anything with a number is ok. I accept that somebody out there might have the same name as me or even all my initials and name combinations (although that’s less likely) but some conbos I am trying are virtually impossible to be used by some one else.
Alternatively any suggestions that might allow me a sensible address for bugger all cost?

I don’t think so. But then I got in early when it was a beta version so didn’t need numbers.

I’ve a few numberless gmail addresses, so no it’s not a requirement unless it’s changed very recently. The problem you’re likely having is that there are a lot of people out there and the chances are the combos you’re trying have just already been taken – even if it’s just other people who also can’t get their first preference and then have tried stranger ones instead. I have a very uncommon name, hence the ease of getting addresses I want (though my personal account was set up when gmail was still beta so you could mostly get what you wanted). Even so I couldn’t get my first choice address for one of my sons as it was already taken.

All mine are numberless and just tried a a few numberless ones that worked (although quite obscure)

try swapping one letter of your name with another or an alternative spelling of your name. Although not ideal it’s still better than a number. my name is michael and I used mykel

All our gmail addresses are numberless, just our names

I’ve a few numberless gmail addresses, so no it’s not a requirement unless it’s changed very recently. The problem you’re likely having is that there are a lot of people out there and the chances are the combos you’re trying have just already been taken

Pretty much what I was going to say.

I’ve a fairly obscure surname and relatively uncommon given name, even five years ago when I moved to gmail I had to stick my middle initial into the name to be accepted.

Gmail used to allow an underscore, but I had to add a modifier even after that

e.g. your_name_uk@gmail.com

Agree – numbers look rubbish.

Point of note is that Gmail ignores dots, so john.smith@gmail.com, johnsmith@gmail.com and j.o.h.n…s.m.i.t.h@gmail.com are all the same address.

Have your tried 69 on the end?

Solves your problems and marks you out as a sexual master.

joshvegas – Member

Have your tried 69 on the end?

Solves your problems and marks you out as a sexual master. Or 48 years old

Point of note is that Gmail ignores dots

You learn something every day….I’ve only had a gmail address since 2005.

Or 48 years old

Or 69 years old.

Point of note is that Gmail ignores dots

It’s great as it means you can sign a version of the email address with a dot in an odd location up to the spam type accounts and have gmail automatically filter out the emails with the dots in those locations into certain folders – ie:spam

johndoh – Member

Or 48 years old

Or 69 years old. forever

Point of note is that Gmail ignores dots

You can also add a plus with any string after it. So if you’re email is bobcarolgees@gmail.com you can also use bobcarolgees+singletrackworld@gmail.com.

Very handy when signing up to a site you don’t trust too well, you’ll know that any future spam you receive to that address came from there. You can then just set up a rule to redirect anything to that address to the bin.

I just have my surname which is nice.

69. Hmmmm
Not sure that would go down well at school.
I am so surprised that the combo I tried last didn’t work. It was a word virtually unique to about 3 people. You live and learn.

Point of note is that Gmail ignores dots
You learn something every day….I’ve only had a gmail address since 2005.

I didn’t know that – and I’ve had one for twelve years or so

it’ll please the wife – people keep missing out one letter in the middle (which annoys some woman in america who then gets them by mistake)

Mine is numberless (just initials and surname) but then I’ve had it since 2004.

I’ve had more people than I can remember who presumably share the same initials and surname who must have signed up for a gmail account and added numbers then forgot to use them. I get offered a Kansas hunting licence every season, and someone with a similar name to me has an order of shoes coming today, while a farmer in Cumbria isn’t getting his animal feed invoices.

Not free, but you can buy your own domain and email forwarding pretty cheaply, then have whateveryoulike@yourdomain.co.uk .

Not free, but you can buy your own domain and email forwarding pretty cheaply, then have whateveryoulike@yourdomain.co.uk .

This. I bought my domain nearly 17 years ago, and have been running the same address on it since, across a number of different emails providers du jour.

With gmail, you don’t even need to faff around with forwarding; set your MX records to the gmail servers, and email goes directly into your gmail account – gmail (and the google app suite) works really nicely with domain names.

The domain costs me about a tenner a year. You just need to remember to renew it 🙂

try your full name including title, eg. mr.bob.smith@gmail.com

The domain costs me about a tenner a year. You just need to remember to renew it.

That’s what Google Calender’s for 😆

Except it’s possibly a combo which is similar to what somebody else would like (but can’t get because it’s already taken).

I have several accounts none of which have numbers. Same for my wife and kids and organisations that I’ve set up with accounts.

69. Hmmmm
Not sure that would go down well at school.

I’ve had students applying to uni with really dodgy email addresses. Having to have the conversation with a girl applying for primary teaching with 32DD in her email address…

I just have my surname which is nice.

You did well to get nice@gmail.com

With gmail, you don’t even need to faff around with forwarding; set your MX records to the gmail servers, and email goes directly into your gmail account – gmail (and the google app suite) works really nicely with domain names.

Does it still tag that “from address on behalf of other-address” nonsense on, or is that something else I’m thinking of?

I’ve had students applying to uni with really dodgy email addresses. Having to have the conversation with a girl applying for primary teaching with 32DD in her email address…

Bit short-sighted, she could gain / lose weight.

One of my mates’ wife has the email address firstnamebjbabe@…

Does it still tag that “from address on behalf of other-address” nonsense on, or is that something else I’m thinking of?

Seconded. It used to be easy to set up to ‘send as’ your domain with Gmail, then it changed and I don’t think I’ve ever got around to fixing it.

I have 2 gmail addresses with no numbers in and neither bear any relation to my real name.

Try coming up with a fictional but memorable name and try that instead.

I got in early with my own name. I’ve seen people add their year of birth, middle initial, mr, etc

Time was, a number in someone’s email address / username was a reliable warning sign, same as someone wearing a hat in a car. Not so much these days as choosing a unique identifier is becoming increasingly difficult.

I have a few gmail accounts that take the forms:

fullnamehome
fullnamework
etc
also scaredymike (scaredypants was presumably long gone)
and an umbrella one, fullnameall, to which inbox all the others are visible (apart from disposamike which I use for scammy-sounding one-off registrations)

PSA: dragonbollocks is available !

Does it still tag that “from address on behalf of other-address” nonsense on, or is that something else I’m thinking of?

Nope – you set the account up with your domain name email address as your username / email address as far as I remember, gmail isn’t aware of any other email addresses connected to the account.

(If you don’t have your MX records sorted before you setup the account you’ll get a temporary address until you do, but things run primarily off your own email address after you get DNS sorted.)

I ran this setup for a company of ~30 folks and no one complained 🙂

Working on it. Even domain providers have used up the easy options. It needs to be a name that is obvious to relative strangers who I am. My mattsccm email is OK for junk but a work linked one needs my name and to be short and easy to give out over the phone.
Any one used Zoho? It looks simple and comes out ahead of gmail in several reviews. I’m a Luddite and a technonumpty. I don’t even understand half the posts above. Gmail looks so complicated and has more than I need by about 99%.
I’ll keep at it. Ta lots

You can also add a plus with any string after it. So if you’re email is bobcarolgees@gmail.com you can also use bobcarolgees+singletrackworld@gmail.com.

This is possibly the most amazing thing I have ever seen! A million thank yous!

Had a gmail account since the beta ‘invite only’ years so have name.surname@gmail.com which is nice on the whole.

The disadvantage is that it’s fairly common for me to get other people’s random emails having the ‘index’ account for my name. For example there’s an Aussie with the same name as me. His email is the same as mine but with ‘xyz’ added at the end but people emailing him seem to miss that bit and it comes to me. Got a right shirty one from a disgrunatled ex of his once which I ignored. Then got a even worse one so told her she had the wrong address and got an embarrassed apology!

Also got a namesake in Texas who seems to think my address is his. He’s always applying for loans and seems to be trawling car dealerships and registering his interest in a new car, which also come to me.