Ray McGirk — The Origins

It’s not the most fascinating of stories, but it’s worth mentioning since I seem to be building a brand around this pseudonym.

The name “Ray McGirk” actually has two separate origin stories. So, let’s start from the beginning.

I grew up in the small airport and manufacturing town of Windsor Locks, CT. My graduating class had about 400 students. My class was small enough that most people vaguely knew each other. Unfortunately, I had a doppelgänger named Ray, and things took a turn when a girl I liked started confusing the two of us.

She began calling me “Ray” in social situations, and I was too shy to correct her. Eventually, the name stuck. By the time she figured out I wasn’t actually Ray, the nickname had taken hold, and even I had started to embrace it.

But that’s just half the story.

Despite the relatively small class size, I shared it with multiple other Shawns/Seans/Shauns. One year, I ended up in a classroom with two other Shawns. As the runt of the litter, the other two started calling me McGirk, probably as a jab. However, like “Ray,” it grew on me. Friends picked it up, and over time, McGirk became my main nickname. It followed me past high school and into the adult world. Honestly, if some of those old friends saw me today, 15+ years later, they’d still call me McGirk without hesitation.

Somewhere along the way, I created an email and a few usernames based on the combined identity: Ray McGirk. And since the Internet encourages pseudonyms, especially ones that stand out, I never saw a reason to drop it.

It’s unique. It’s memorable. And yes, the .com domain was available, so here we are. I’ve leaned into it ever since.

So that’s how Ray McGirk came to be, why it’s still around, and why it’s probably going to stay that way. Don’t worry, in ordinary conversation and business, I go by my real name every time.