Most women who play roller derby use pseudonyms, or “skate names.” They are not the only athletes to assume alternate identities, of course. Yogi Berra, Babe Ruth, Muhammad Ali, Magic Johnson, Dr. J, Sugar Ray Leonard, and even chess champion Garry Kasparov, among others, were defined, in large part, by their given monikers. Even the world’s most famous international athlete, footballer Edson Arantes do Nascimento, played under a nonsense name from his childhood: Pelé.

But roller derby players go further. Almost all skaters, as well as many coaches and officials, use pseudonyms, and the names they choose are seldom nicknames. Rather, these tags are like noms de guerre — names warriors once used to feel more ferocious in battle — or alter egos.

Why do rollergirls use skate names?

One reason is tradition. Modern roller derby — a competitive, full contact, all-woman sport, not the scripted entertainment of America’s disco-era — was born in 2001 as part of punk rock counter-culture in Austin, Texas. The first derby teams had names like rock bands (“Cherry Bombs,” “Holy Rollers,” “Hellcats”) and early skaters either took names like rockstars (“Cherry Chainsaw,” for example, is a bit like “Sid Vicious”) or the masked Lucha Libre wrestlers from neighboring Mexico (“La Muerta” and “Lo Loca,” both names of early skaters, have echoes of famous Luchadores like “El Santo” and “Rey Misterio).

Skate names are like alter egos

Many things changed as roller derby expanded from Austin to the rest of the world, but skate names stayed, becoming an integral part of derby culture. Today, over 100,000 women (and many men) play roller derby worldwide, and more than 90,000 names have been registered with online skate name services.

Another reason for skate names is transformation. For many of the women who play it, roller derby is about becoming — escaping from society’s confining generalizations to become who they truly are. Not weak, but strong. Not helpless, but powerful. Not followers, but leaders. Assuming a new name is an important part of this transition. Names have power. The effects of names are not subtle; they can be measured, especially the effects of names given to women. In one study — there are many like it —economists Bentley Coffey and Patrick McLaughlin analyzed the careers of female lawyers and found that women with “gender neutral” names like “Casey” or “Morgan” were far more likely to be promoted than women with “feminine” names like “Susan” or “Jennifer.”

Roller derby is about becoming

Coffey and McLaughlin called this phenomenon “the Portia effect,” after the character in Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice who disguises herself as a man so she can be a lawyer. The Portia effect is not restricted to women or lawyers: names always affect how we are seen — by ourselves, as well as others — and therefore what we might achieve. A strong, inspiring pseudonym helps create a strong, inspired identity. Put simply, skate names are a source of power.