And having an unusual name can also make you run afoul of Google+'s "no unusual name" policy, where accounts get blocked just because someone at Google thinks it can't be a real name (they're often wrong).
Facebook also has a "no unusual name" policy, but it's very randomly enforced.
My friend's first name is "Spider." It is not her birth name, but she's used it professionally and personally her entire adult life.
When she signed up for Facebook they told her she couldn't be "Spider" because somebody (Sony probably) decided that wasn't a "real" name (Spider Robinson and Spider Sabich notwithstanding.) If she wanted to use "Spider" Facebook needed a legal ID with that name on it (which she does not have.)
So she registered under "Spidie" instead with no further problems.
