Names vs. Nicknames....Part I?

When I started blogging about a year ago, I made a very conscious decision to not use my husband or kids' names for a lot of reasons.  One reason was that even though I don't believe that a lot of strangers are reading this blog, it is just "out there", there is the potential for people who I don't know to read it. It is difficult to tell for sure on the Blogger data sheet (at least for me), but it does look like at least a couple times someone has come to the blog after a Google search.  I don't need or want strangers to be able to put my kids names and faces with our address and other info.  Of course, I haven't given out our address or anything personal on purpose, but I'm pretty sure that anyone who wants to figure out who I am and where I am could figure it out.  I mean, Blogger is linked to Google and it is pretty clear on Google who I am...Or maybe I just watch too many detective shows on tv.

Recently I had lunch with my former secretary who  read me the "riot act" the other day about "only" calling the kids "The Boy" and "The Girl"...saying, "they have names!".  I pointed out that I do use their names in real life and on Facebook, just not on the blog.  She was not convinced and kept on me to use real names, not nicknames.

Added to that is the fact that when I start writing it is sometimes hard to remember not to use their names...I have gone back to edit and proof and removed names sometimes.  But maybe that is because I'm getting old...

So I'm torn...do I have a "big reveal" and tell you all the family's names (and then use them) or do I try to keep a minimal level of "privacy" and continue with the nicknames?  Thoughts?  Advice from anyone who has been doing this longer than me?