Hi,
From what I can gather, there is software that can generate e-mails and send them out automatically. If you use a name such as any of the ones you have given, it is fairly simple to track down e.g. alan.???
peter.??? etc. By using a number it is more difficult for whatever to electronically find a name plus a number.
Think about the lottery for, 16,000,000 to one using 6 numbers.
Another way is to use a misspelled name. I would keep away from using names of any description. Many years ago ,one of my old e-mail addresses was
[email protected] within a month I was plastered with spam e-mails, hence the reason to block them completely by using letters and numbers combined.
I hope this helps, please try it and let me know.
Regards
Drew