Possibly dumb question about online dating and anonymity

[Anonymous]

So, I am thinking about online dating for the first time. Trying to be prudent, I set up a new gmail account that I will use to set up the profiles with. It lists my first name, with my last name given as "Anonymous."

Since I have set up this account, I see 2 people in my real life have added this Google account to their Google+ circles. WTF? How did they know I am the <fairly common first name><last name anonymous> that they know? I don't use Google+ in my real life, so am no expert at it. but I understand that I can choose not to add the people from my real life to my circle on the anonymous account, but still!

First, I didn't give my last name at all, anywhere, on the profile, so how did they find me? Second, from the more practical online dating security perspective, if I was to start emailing some guy from a dating site from this email account, would he be able to see who has added me to their circles (even if I don't add them to mine) and thus be able to figure out my last name, etc. if for instance I am also listed using my last name on these people's Facebook accounts? Do I need to set up a different/new anonymous email account, possibly using something like Hotmail? I am not an internet idiot, I swear, which is why this bothers me. I am trying to be safe here.

[Anonymous]

Hmm I'm stumped. So just to be clear, they added your gmail acct to their circle? Are you close enough to any of them to ask how they found you?

[Anonymous]

Guessing you set up this gmail account from same computer where you had existing gmail and they're connected. It seems to happen sort of automatically.

[Anonymous]

Make sure you log out of Google ever single time after using new account - you probably didn't do that and then liked/commented/whatever on something else and your friends noticed...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hmm I'm stumped. So just to be clear, they added your gmail acct to their circle? Are you close enough to any of them to ask how they found you?

Yes, the added my (allegedly) anonymous account to their circle. I suppose I could ask them, though I really didn't want it widely out there that I was online dating, but that might be the simplest.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Guessing you set up this gmail account from same computer where you had existing gmail and they're connected. It seems to happen sort of automatically.

Aha! I did - thank you this is helpful. I have an account I use to sign up for things like when stores want your email, so they don't clutter up my main account. I never really use it for anything but that purpose so have no circles or anything on that account, but I do use it from the same computer. So what is the solution in this case? Set up another account via a different provider? E.g. hotmail? There's no way to set up another gmail account from same computer (I only have one at home)?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Make sure you log out of Google ever single time after using new account - you probably didn't do that and then liked/commented/whatever on something else and your friends noticed...

This is also good advice, thanks.