SN
Screen Name
Example
Do you remember your old AIM SN?
Haha, yeah... it was GuitarHeroX99. I thought I was so cool
That’s amazing. Mine was PandaPrincess87. No regrets
Entering your SN and PW for AIM
Related Slang
Handle | Twitter username |
IGN | In-game name |
DM | Direct message |
emsg | Email Message |
IM | Instant message |
IM | Instant messenger |
AIM | AOL Instant Messenger |
msg | Message |
Mention | A reference to a Twitter username in a tweet |
Don't @ me | Don't mention me in your tweets |
pw | Password |
SN is the online alias or username a person uses to represent themself on a digital platform. It was especially popular during the early days of the Internet in the 1990s, when services like AOL Instant Messenger (AIM), Yahoo Messenger, and early chat rooms required users to pick a unique identifier.
Back then, picking an SN was a big deal because it represented your digital identity. It was possibly cool, cringey (or both), and almost always was a window into your interests or personality (e.g., "SkaterDude88" or "xXDragonQueenXx").
Origin of SN
The term "screen name," and eventual "SN" shorthand became widely used in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when online chat rooms and messengers were where teenagers and young adults often mingled. While "SN" isn't as commonly used now, replaced by terms like handle or @, it still shows up in nostalgic Internet circles or throwback convos about the AIM era.