Hi Forz my old friend! 
Indeed you have been around like me for a long long while… and indeed like many old players you should have been entitled to the use of your existing names or at least one.
The issue is that in a highly social game like AO and as old as AO AND where reputations matter a lot (there is no MMO combining those three factors as much as AO does), a well-known and respected name is extremely important.
There is obviously a serious mistake in the event design there. I feel sorry for you and for everyone else, faithful AO players, who will experience the same thing.
Some people already told me that without their long-used name, and worse with thei long-used names taken by someone else, they will not play on the new server.
That’s a waste of good people. I don’t undertand why it was not possible to reserve at least one name to save honorable names.
And I don’t evne mention ORGANIZATION NAMES that can be hacked too…
Side note: Athen Paladins on the New server is the real one.