List of pseudonyms
This article gives a list of pseudonyms, in various categories. Pseudonyms are similar to, but distinct from, secret identities.
Artists, sculptors, architects
- Balthus (Balthazar Klossowski de Rola)
- Banksy (Unknown)
- Bramantino (Bartolomeo Suardi)
- Canaletto (Giovanni Antonio Canale)
- Cigoli (Lodovico Cardi)
- Erté (Romain de Tirtoff)
- Le Corbusier (Charles Edouard Jeanneret)
- Dosso Dossi (Giovanni di Niccolò de Luteri)
- El Greco (Dominikos Theotokópulos)
- Il Garofalo (Benvenuto Tisi)
- Giorgione (Giorgio Barbarelli da Castelfranco)
- Giottino (Maso di Stefano)
- Giovanni Barbbaro (Arthur Dudley)
- Il Sodoma (Giovanni Antonio Bazzi)
- Lo Spagna (Giovanni di Pietro)
- A.M. Cassandre (Adolphe Jean-Marie Mouron)
- Man Ray (Emmanuel Radnitzky)
- Masaccio (Tommaso Cassai or, in some accounts Tommaso di Ser Giovanni di Mone)
- ουτις or OYTIΣ (István Orosz)
- Parmigianino (Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola)
- phelgo (Unknown)
- Pisanello (Antonio di Puccio Pisano or Antonio di Puccio da Cereto)
- Il Pordenone (Giovanni Antonio de' Sacchis or Giovanni Antonio Licinio according to Vasari)
- Tintoretto (Jacopo Robusti)
- Tom of Finland (Touko Laaksonen)
- Utisz (István Orosz)
- Vecchietta (Francesco di Giorgio e di Lorenzo)
Noms de guerre, war code names
- Borelowski (Michał Grażyński)
- Bór ("Forest" - Tadeusz Komorowski)
- Carcassonne (name of a city) - Marc Bloch
- Dassault ("For assault" - Darius Paul Bloch)
- Grabica (name of mountain - Stefan Rowecki)
- Grot ("Arrowhead" - Stefan Rowecki)
- Grzegorz ("Gregory", a name - Tadeusz Pełczyński)
- Hubal (Henryk Dobrzański)
- Jean Jérome - Michel Feintuch
- Kalina ("Cranberry" - Stefan Rowecki)
- Korczak (surname or coat of arms name - Tadeusz Komorowski)
- J. Krzemień (Florian Marciniak)
- Lawina ("Avalanche" - Tadeusz Komorowski)
- Leclerc - Philippe François Marie, comte de Hauteclocque, later his legal name.
- Monter ("Assembler" - Antoni Chruściel)
- Niedźwiadek ("Bear cub" - Leopold Okulicki)
- Nil ("Nile river " - August Emil Fieldorf)
- Orsza (Stanisław Broniewski)
- Ponury ("Gloomy" - Jan Piwnik)
- Radosław (a name - Jan Mazurkiewicz)
- Rakoń (name of mountain - Stefan Rowecki)
- The Red Baron (Manfred von Richthofen)
- Taras Chuprynka (Roman Shukhevych)
- Tito (Josip Broz)
- Wilk ("Wolf" - Aleksander Krzyżanowski)
- Znicz ("Candle" - Tadeusz Komorowski)
- Zośka (Tadeusz Zawadzki)
Pen names
- Note: List of Urdu language poets provides pen names for a range of Urdu poets.
- A. A. Fair (Erle Stanley Gardner, one of several he published under)
- Abhishek Kumar Yadav (Annu)
- Abigail Van Buren (Pauline Esther Friedman Phillips)
- Abram Tertz (Andrei Sinyavsky)
- Acton Bell (Anne Brontë)
- Æ (George William Russell)
- Alain-Fournier (Henri Alban-Fournier)
- Alan Gould (Victor Canning)
- Alan Smithee (name used by American film directors under certain circumstances)
- Alberto Moravia (Alberto Pincherle)
- Ann Landers (Esther "Eppie" Pauline Friedman Lederer)
- Alcofribas Nasier (François Rabelais)
- Alexander Barks (Charlie Christensen)
- Anatole France (Jacques Anatole François Thibault)
- Andrew MacDonald (William Luther Pierce)
- Anne Rice (Howard Allen O'Brien)
- Anne Knish (Arthur Davison Ficke)
- Arkon Daraul (likely Idries Shah)
- Ashida Kim (Radford William Davis)
- Seiko Legru (Janwillem van de Wetering)
- Banaphool (Balāi Chānd Mukhopādhyāy)
- Barbara Michaels (Barbara Mertz)
- Blaise Cendrars (Frédéric Louis Sauser)
- Bob Hart (Al Trace|Albert J. Trace)
- Boris Akunin (Grigory Shalvovich Chkhartishvili)
- Boz (Charles Dickens)
- Boz (Raymond "Boz" Burrell)
- Branislav Nušić (Ben Akiba)
- Bruno Traven
- Brynjolf Bjarme (Henrik Ibsen)
- Carter Dickson (also Carr Dickson: John Dickson Carr)
- Cherry Wilder (Cherry Barbara Grimm)
- Cherubina de Gabriak (Elisaveta Ivanovna Dmitrieva)
- Christopher Hunter (Radford William Davis)
- Clem Watts ([Albert J. Trace)
- Cordwainer Smith (Paul Myron Anthony Linebarger)
- Currer Bell (Charlotte Brontë)
- Curzio Malaparte (Kurt Erich Suckert)
- Daniel Defoe (Daniel Foe)
- Daniil Kharms (Daniil Ivanovich Yuvachev)
- Danuta de Rhodes (Dan Rhodes)
- David Axton (Dean Koontz)
- David Michaels (Raymond Benson)
- Dazai Osamu (Shuji Tsushima)
- Dear Abby (Pauline Esther Friedman Phillips)
- Douglas Spaulding (Ray Bradbury)
- Doctor A Isaac Asimov
- Dr. Seuss (Theodore Geisel)
- Ed McBain (Evan Hunter, born as Salvatore A. Lombino)
- Edith Van Dyne (L. Frank Baum)
- Edogawa Rampo (Hirai Tarō)
- Edward Pygge (Ian Hamilton, Clive James, Russell Davies)
- Edwin Caskoden (Charles Major)
- Elia (Charles Lamb)
- Elizabeth Peters (Barbara Mertz)
- Ellis Bell (Emily Brontë)
- Ellis Peters (Edith Pargeter)
- Elsa Triolet (Elsa Kagan)
- Elsie J. Oxenham (Elsie Jeanette Dunkerley)
- Emanuel Morgan (Witter Bynner)
- Erich Maria Remarque (Erich Paul Remark)
- Flann O'Brien (Brian O'Nolan)
- Francis Bennett (Edwin Keppel Bennett)
- Françoise Sagan (Françoise Quoirez)
- George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans)
- George Orwell (Eric Arthur Blair)
- George Sand (Amandine Dupin)
- Georges Courteline (Georges Victor Marcel Moinaux
- Grace Greenwood (Sara Jane Lippincott)
- Guillaume Apollinaire (Wilhelm Albert Vladimir Apollinaris de Kostrowitzky)
- H.N. Turtletaub (Harry Turtledove)
- Hard Pan (Geraldine Bonner)
- Harold Robbins (Harold Rubin)
- Havank (Hans van der Kallen)
- Hergé (Georges Remi)
- Hugh Conway (Frederick John Fargus)
- Ilya Ilf (Ilya Arnoldovich Faynzilberg)
- Irwin Shaw (Irwin Shamforoff)
- Isak Dinesen (Karen Blixen)
- Italo Svevo (Ettore Schmitz)
- J.D. Robb (Nora Roberts)
- J. K. Rowling (Joanne Rowling)
- James Dillinger (James Robert Baker)
- James Tiptree, Jr (Alice Sheldon)
- Jay Livingston (Jacob Harold Levison)
- Jean Paul (Johann Paul Friedrich Richter)
- Jean Plaidy (Eleanor Hibbert)
- Johann Joachim Sautscheck (Roman Turovsky-Savchuk)
- John Beynon (John Wyndham Parkes Lucas Beynon Harris)
- John Christopher (Samuel Youd)
- John le Carre (David John Moore Cornwell)
- John Wyndham (John Wyndham Parkes Lucas Beynon Harris)
- Joseph Conrad (Józef Teodor Nałęcz Konrad Korzeniowski)
- Julia Quinn (Julia Pottinger)
- Korney Chukovsky (Nikolay Vasilyevich Korneychukov)
- Keno (Eric Killinger)
- Lemony Snicket (Daniel Handler)
- Lewis Allan (Abel Meeropol)
- Lewis Carroll (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson)
- Lorenzo da Ponte (Emmanuele Conegliano )
- Louis-Ferdinand Céline (Louis-Ferdinand Destouches)
- Lu Lung (Alicia Garcia)
- Maironis (Jonas Mačiulis)
- Mark Brandis (Nikolai von Michalewsky)
- Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens)
- Martin Roberts (Ralph de Vore)
- Mary Westmacott (Agatha Christie)
- Michael Arlen (Dikran Kuyumjian)
- Michael Serafian (Malachi Martin)
- Michael Innes (J. I. M. Stewart)
- Molière (Jean-Baptiste Poquelin)
- Multatuli (Eduard Douwes Dekker)
- Murray Leinster (Will F. Jenkins)
- Nancy Boyd (Edna St. Vincent Millay)
- Natsume Sōseki (Natsume Kinnosuke)
- Nisa (Nicola Salerno), Italian lyricist
- Nicolas Bourbaki (a group of 20th-century mathematicians)
- Novalis (Friedrich Leopold)
- O. Henry (William Sydney Porter)
- Ogdred Weary (Edward Gorey)
- Onoto Watanna (Winnifred Eaton)
- Pablo Neruda (Neftali Ricardo Reyes Basoalto)
- Paul Annixter (Howard Allison Sturtzel)
- Paul Celan (Paul Antschel)
- Paul French Isaac Asimov
- Jean Ray (Jean Raymond Marie de Kremer)
- Pauline Réage (Anne Desclos)
- Peter Gast (Heinrich Köselitz)
- Pierre Loti (Louis Marie Julien Viaud)
- Piers Anthony (Piers Anthony Dillingham Jacob)
- Phillip Guston (Phillip Goldstein)
- Publius (Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay, when writing The Federalist Papers)
- Q (Arthur Quiller-Couch)
- Rafael Lefort, anagram of "a real effort", Idries Shah
- Richard Bachman (Stephen King)
- Richard Leander (Richard von Volkmann)
- Robert Jordan (James Oliver Rigney, Jr.)
- Robert Markham (Kingsley Amis)
- Roger Fairbairn (John Dickson Carr)
- Romain Gary (Romain Kacew)
- Rosemary Edghill (eluki bes shahar)
- Saint-John Perse (Alexis Saint-Léger Léger)
- Saki (Hector Hugh Munro)
- Salomėja Nėris (Salomėja Bučinskaitė-Bučienė)
- Sapper (H. C. McNeile)
- Sierra Needle (Emily Axford)
- Silence Dogood (Benjamin Franklin)
- Sister Nivedita (Margaret Elizabeth Noble)
- Stash Cairo (Craig Hamilton)
- Stefan Brockhoff (Dieter Cunz, Richard Plant, Oskar Seidlin)
- Steele Rudd (Arthur Hoey Davis)
- Stein Riverton (Sven Elvestad, born as Kristoffer Elvestad Svendsen)
- Student (William Sealey Gosset, discoverer of Student's t-distribution in statistics)
- Sui Sin Far (Edith Maude Eaton)
- The Fredman (Karl Mikael Bellman)
- Thoinot Arbeau (Jehan Tabourot)
- Tite Kubo (Noriaki Kubo)
- TM Maple (Jim Burke)
- Toni Morrison (Chloe Anthony Wofford)
- Trevanian (Rodney William Whitaker
- Tristan Tzara (Sami Rosenstock)
- Vercors (Jean Bruller)
- Vernon Sullivan (Boris Vian)
- Umberto Saba (Umberto Poli)
- Voltaire (François-Marie Arouet)
- Walter (Henry Spencer Ashbee)
- Willibald Alexis (Georg Wilhelm Heinrich Haring)
- Woody Allen (Allen Stewart Konigsberg)
- Yevegny Petrov (Yevgeniy Petrovich Kataev)
- Yukio Mishima (Kimitake Hiraoka)
Politicians
- Abel Djassi (Amílcar Cabral)
- Anacharsis Cloots (Jean-Baptiste du Val-de-Grâce, baron de Cloots)
- An Craoibhín Aoibhinn (Douglas Hyde)
- Anthony Garotinho (Anthony William Matheus de Oliveira)
- Bob Denard (Gilbert Bourgeaud)
- Che Guevara (Ernesto Rafael Guevara de la Serna)
- Comandante Gonzalo (Abimael Guzmán)
- Germain (Ernest Mandel)
- Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej [Gheorghe Gheorghiu)
- Gracchus Babeuf (François-Noël Babeuf)
- Grigory Zinoviev (Ovsel Gershon Aronov Radomyslsky)
- Gus Hall (Arvo Kusta Halberg)
- Ho Chi Minh (Nguyễn Sinh Cung)
- Houari Boumedienne (Mohamed Ben Brahim Boukharouba)
- H. Rap Brown (Hubert Gerold Brown)
- Iñaki de Rentería (Ignacio Gracia Arregui)
- János Kádár (János Csermanek)
- Joseph Estrada (Joseph Marcelo Ejército)
- Joseph Stalin (Iosif Vissarionovich Djugashvili)
- Josip Tito (Josip Broz)
- J. Posadas (Homero Cristali)
- J.R. Johnson (Cyril Lionel Robert James)
- Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão (José Alexandre Gusmão)
- Kim Il Sung (Kim Song Ju)
- Kwame Ture (Stokely Carmichael)
- La Pasionaria (Dolores Ibárruri)
- Léon José de Ramírez Reina (Léon Degrelle)
- Leon Trotsky (Lev Davidovich Bronstein)
- Lev Kamenev (Lev Borisovich Rosenfeld)
- Loulou (Enver Hoxha)
- Lula (Luiz Inácio da Silva)
- Martin Thembisile Hani (Chris Hani)
- Michel Pablo (Michel Raptis)
- Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu wa za Banga (Joseph-Désiré Mobutu)
- Mother Jones (Mary Harris Jones)
- Nahuel Moreno (Hugo Bressano)
- Pol Pot (Saloth Sar)
- Prachanda (Pushpa Kamal Dahal)
- Ronwaldo Reyes (Fernando Poe, Jr.)
- Saïd Moustapha Mahdjoub (Gilbert Bourgeaud)
- Sara Jane Olson (Kathleen Soliah)
- Tariq Aziz (Michael Yuhanna)
- Ted Grant (Isaac Blank)
- Tetsuzo Fuwa (Kenjiro Ueda; named after N. I. Bukharin)
- Tony Cliff (Ygael Gluckstein)
- Tristán Marof (Gustavo Navarro)
- Vyacheslav Molotov (Vyacheslav Mikhaylovich Skryabin)
- Vladimir Lenin (Vladimir Ilich Ulyanov)
- William Rabbit (Katay Don Sasorith)
- Willy Brandt (Herbert Ernst Karl Frahm)
- X (George F. Kennan)
Religion
- Acharya S (D. Murdock)
- Allan Kardec (Hippolyte Léon Denizard Rivail )
- Mata Amritanandamayi (Sudhamani)
- His Divine Grace Abhay Charana-Aravinda Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (Abhay Charan De)
- Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama)
- Yusuf Islam (Stephen Demetre Georgiou, formerly known as Cat Stevens)
- Bhakti Vaibhava Puri Maharaj (Nrsimha Chakravarti)
- Lord Mahavira (Vardhamana)
- Osho (Rajneesh Chandra Mohan)
- Sathya Sai Baba (Sathya Narayana Raju)
- Mother Teresa of Calcutta (Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu)
- Swami Vivekananda (Narendranath Dutta)
Stage names
See List of stage names.
Sportspeople
- Abédi Pelé (Abédi Ayew)
- Akebono Taro (Chad Haaheo Rowan)
- Al Bummy Davis (Abraham Davidoff)
- Bebeto (José Roberto Gama de Oliveira)
- Bob Baumeister (Reto Demhold)
- Cafu (Marcos Evangelista de Moraes)
- Careca (Antonio de Oliveira Filho)
- Deco (Anderson Luiz de Sousa)
- Dick Tiger (Richard Ihetu)
- Dida (Nélson de Jesus Silva)
- Eduardo Golding (David Edward Michael Gordon Copleston)
- Garrincha (Manuel Francisco dos Santos)
- Garry Kasparov (Gari Weinstein)
- Raymond Kopa (Raymond Kopaszewski)
- He hate me (Rod Smart)
- Henri Cornet (Henri Jaudry)
- Jim McKay (James Kenneth McManus)
- Joe Louis (Joseph Louis Barrow)
- Kaká (Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite)
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor, Jr)
- Karim Abdul-Jabbar (Sharmon Shah)
- Khaosai Galaxy (Sura Saenkham)
- Kid McCoy (Norman Selby)
- Kline (Roland Lam)
- Konishiki Yasokichi (Salevaa Atisanoe)
- Lucien Petit-Breton (Lucien Mazan)
- Míchel (José Miguel González Martín)
- Muhammad Ali (Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.)
- Musashimaru Koyo (Fiamalu Penitani)
- Nenê (Maybyner Rodney Hilario; this is now his legal name)
- Pelé (Edson Arantes do Nascimento)
- Rivaldo (Vitor Borba Ferreira)
- Rocky Marciano (Rocco Francis Marchegiano)
- Ronaldinho (Ronaldo de Assis Moreira)
- Stanley Ketchel (Stanislaus Kiecal)
- Sugar Ray Robinson (Walker Smith Jr.)
- Takanohana Koji (Koji Hanada)
- Tony Zale (Anthony Florian Zaleski)
- Wakanohana Masaru (Masaru Hanada)
- Zico (Arthur Antunes Coimbra)
Fictional
- Rusty Shackleford (Dale Gribble)
- Demosthenes (Valentine Wiggin)
- Locke (Peter Wiggin)
Other
- Aramis (Chevalier d'Herblay)
- Art Vandelay (George Costanza)
- Athos (Le Comte de La Fère)
- The Big Deal (Brice Jordan Foutch)
- Bernard Shakey (Neil Young)
- Colonel Tom Parker (Andreas Cornelis van Kuijk)
- Emmanuel Goldstein (Eric Corley)
- Manoj (Mayank)
- Maxwell Nerdstrom
- Porthos (Monsieur du Vallon)
- Viktor Suvorov (Vladimir Rezun)
See also
- Literary initials
- List of notable pen names
- List of pseudonyms used in the American constitutional debates
- List of works published under a pseudonym