Pen name
A
pen name or
nom de plume is a
pseudonym adopted by an
author.
Nom de plume is a
French-language expression.
Some authors take on pen names to conceal their identity: for example the
Brontë sisters, who felt they would either not be published at all, or not taken seriously as women authors. Others do so for fear of violence or harassment, for example
Ibn Warraq. Others do so to segregate different types of work:
Lewis Carroll took a pen name because as Charles Lutwidge Dodgson he wrote linguistic papers;
Agatha Christie wrote romantic novels as Mary Westmacott. Many writers, particularly in
genre fiction, are so prolific that they are forced to take pen names in order to sell their books to different publishers: this is the case, for instance, with
John Dickson Carr, who, in the
1930s, was publishing two detective stories a year under his own name and another two, through another publisher, under the pen name Carter Dickson. Pseudonyms are not always secret:
Stendhal's real name was known: at least one critic disparaged his pen name as an affectation.
Note: List of Urdu language poets provides pen names for a range of Urdu poets.A
shâ'er (a
poet who writes
she'rs in
Urdu or
Persian) almost always has a
takhallus, a pen name, traditionally placed at the end of the name when referring to the poet by his full name. For example
Hafez is a pen-name for
Shams al-Din, and thus the usual way to refer to him would be
Shams al-Din Hafez or just
Hafez.
Mirza Asadullah Beg Khan (his official name and title) is referred to as
Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib, or just
Mirza Ghalib.
Japanese poets who write
haiku often use a
haiga or penname. The famous haiku poet
Matsuo Basho had used fifteen different haiga before he became fond of a banana plant (
bashō) that had been given to him by a disciple and started using it as his penname at the age of 38.
Similar to a pen name,
Japanese
artists usually have a
gō or
art-name, which might change a number of times during their career.
*
Martín Adán (Rafael de la Fuente Benavides), 1907 - 1985; Peruvian poet
*
Cecil Adams (author of The Straight Dope column—real name unknown)
* Æ, used by
George William Russell, 1867 - 1935; Irish poet
*
Guillaume Apollinaire (Guillaume Albert Vladimir Apollinaire de Kostrowitzky), 20th-century
French poet,
writer, and
art critic*
Tudor Arghezi (Ion N. Theodorescu), 20th-century
Romanian poet and children's author
* Avi (
Edward Irving Wortis), writer of children's books
*
Ba Jin (Li Yaotang), 20th-century Chinese writer
*
Richard Bachman (
Stephen King) 20th-century
horror author*
W. N. P. Barbellion (Bruce Frederick Cummings), 20th century diarist
* 'BB' (
Denys Watkins-Pitchford), 20th-century
illustrator and
children's book author*
Beachcomber (
D.B. Wyndham-Lewis and
John Bingham Morton), used for the surrealist humorous column "By the Way" in the
Daily Express* Acton Bell, Currer Bell, and Ellis Bell (
Anne Brontë,
Charlotte Brontë,
Emily Brontë)
*
Nicolas Bourbaki (a group of mainly French 20th-century mathematicians)
*
Mary Westmacott (Agatha Christie) 20th century British writer
*
Kir Bulychev (Кир Булычёв) Igor Vsevolodovich Mozheyko (И́горь 'се́володович Може́йко), 20th century
Russian
science fiction writer and
historian*
Anthony Burgess (John ['Jack'] Burgess Wilson), 20th century
British writer*
Lewis Carroll (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson), 19th century British
author,
mathematician,
Anglican clergyman,
logician, and amateur
photographer, writer of "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland"
* Cassandra (
William Connor), 20th century
left-wing journalist for The
Daily Mirror*
Joseph Conrad (Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski), late-19th/early-20th century Polish-born
British novelish
* P. Mustapää, (
Martti Haavio) 20th century Finnish poet,
*
James Herriot ( James Alfred Wight), 20th century British writer.
*Aapeli, (
Simo Puupponen), 20th century Finnish writer and chatty articler
* Geoffrey Crayon (
Washington Irving), early 19th-century writer
*Petri Pykälä , (
Ilkka Remes) 20th and 21th century Finnish writer
* Maiju Lassila, Irmari Rantamala, Algoth Tietäväinen, Väinö Stenberg, J.I. Vatanen, Liisan-Antti ja Jussi Porilainen (
Algot Untola), 20th century Finnish author.
* Sue Denim (
Dav Pilkey), writer and
illustrator of the popular "Captain Underpants"
children's book series (Sue Denim is a parody of the word
pseudonym); also used by
science fiction writer
Lewis Shiner*
Carter Dickson (
John Dickson Carr), 20th century author of
detective stories *
Isak Dinesen (Karen Blixen), 20th century
Danish author of
"Out of Africa"
*
H.D. (Hilda Doolittle), 20th century
American imagist poet, novelist and
memoirist*
George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans), 19th century
English novelist*
Paul Eluard (Eugène Grindel) 20th century
French Dada and
Surrealist poet
*
C. S. Forester (Cecil Smith), 20th century writer of the Captain
Horatio Hornblower novels,
"The African Queen". and other novels
*
Anatole France (Jacques Anatole François Thibault), 20th century French author
*
Pat Frank (Harry Hart Frank), 20th century author of the
apocalyptic novel
Alas, Babylon*
Nicci French (Nicci Gerard and Sean French)
*
Anthony Gilbert (Lucy Beatrice Malleson), British author of the Arthur Crook
crime fiction novels
* K. Hardesh (
Clement Greenberg), 20th century American art critic
*
O. Henry (William Sydney Porter), American author of
short stories and novels
*
Hergé (Georges Remi), 20th century
Belgian comics writer and
artist, famous worldwide for creating the
Tintin series of books
*
Iceberg Slim Robert Beck, an
African American writer.
*
Jinyong or Kam-yung (Louis Cha), 20th century
Chinese-language novelist
*
Robert Jordan (James Oliver Rigney, Jr.), the author of the bestselling
The Wheel of Time fantasy series.
* Deidrich Knickerbocker (
Washington Irving), early 19th-century writer
*
Ann Landers (Esther Pauline Friedman), advice
columnist*
Stan Lee (Stanley Martin Lieber),
comic book pioneer
*
Lu Xun (Zhou Shuren), 20th century Chinese writer and cultural critic
*
Maddox (George Ouzounian),
The Best Page in the Universe*
Mao Dun (Shen Dehong), 20th century
Chinese novelist, cultural
critic, and
journalist*
Multatuli (Eduard Douwes Dekker),
Dutch writer famous for his
satirical novel,
Max Havelaar (1860)
*
Murray Leinster (William Fitzgerald Jenkins), 20th century
science fiction author
*
Molière (Jean Baptiste Poquelin), 17th century French
theatre writer,
director and
actor, and writer of comic
satire.
*
Natsume Sōseki (Natsume Kinnosuke), early 20th century Japanese novelist
*
Gérard de Nerval (Gérard Labrunie), 19th century French
poet,
essayist and
translator*
Pablo Neruda (Ricardo Eliecer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto) 20th century Chilean poet.
Nobel laureate.
*
Abu Nuwas (Hasin ibn Hani al Hakami) 8th century
Arabic language poet (
Persia)
*
George Orwell (Eric Arthur Blair), 20th century British author and essayist
*
Ouida (Marie Louise de la Ramée), 19th century English novelist
*
William Penn (
Jeremiah Evarts), 19th century activist against
Indian removal* Q (
Arthur Quiller-Couch), late 19th and early 20th century British author, poet, and literary
critic*
Ellery Queen (
Frederic Dannay and
Manfred B. Lee), 20th century
detective fiction*
Pauline Réage (Anne Desclos), 20th century
French author and critic who wrote
Histoire d'O*
Henry Handel Richardson (Ethel Florence Lindesay Richardson), early 20th century
Australian author
*
Saki (Hector Hugh Munro), early 20th century British
satirist*
George Sand (Armandine Lucie Aurore Dupin), 19th century French novelist and early
feminist*
Sapphire (Ramona Lofton), 20th century African-American poet and author
*
Sayeh (ه. ا. سایه) Hushang Ebtehaj, 20th century
Iranian poet (هوشنگ ابتهاج)
*
Dr. Seuss (Theodore Seuss Geisel), also used "Theo. LeSieg", 20th century American writer and
cartoonist best known for his of
children's books*
Shahriar (شهریار) Seyyed Mohammad Hossein Behjat-Tabrizi (Persian: سید محمدحسین بهجت تبریزی), an
Iranian poet, writing in
Persian and
Azerbaijani*
Émile Ajar (Romain Gary), French Author, only Author to win the
Prix Goncourt twice, once under his real name, and once under his pen name.
* Sirin (and Vladimir Sirin) (
Vladimir Nabokov), 20th century novelist, who used it early in his career
*
Cordwainer Smith (Paul M. A. Linebarger), 20th century
science fiction author
*
Lemony Snicket (author of A Series of Unfortunate Events—Daniel Handler)
*
Stendhal (Marie-Henri Beyle),19th century French writer
*
Max Stirner (Johann Kaspar Schmidt), 19th century
German philosopher* Juhani Tervapää (
Hella Wuolijoki) 20th-century Estonian-born Finnish writer
*
James Tiptree, Jr (Alice Sheldon), 20th century science fiction author
*
Toegye (
Yi Hwang), 16th century
Korean Confucian scholar*
Tom Tomorrow (Dan Perkins) 20th century
editorial cartoonist*
Lazlo Toth (Don Novello), using name taken from that of a deranged man who vandalized Michelangelo's Pieta in Rome, the pen name was used for the satiric
"The Lazlo Letters" and other books
*
Trevanian (Dr. Rodney Whitaker), 20th century American
spy novelist
*
Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens), 19th century American
humorist, writer and
lecturer*
Abigail Van Buren (Dear Abby - Pauline Esther Friedman Phillips), advice
columnist*
Voltaire (François-Marie Arouet), 18th century French
Enlightenment writer,
deist and philosopher
* Walter (
Henry Spencer Ashbee), 19th Century book collector, writer,
bibliographer, and suspected author of
My Secret Life, the sexual memoirs of a
Victorian era gentleman
*
Wang Shiwei 王實味 (Wang Sidao 王思禱), 20th century Chinese
journalist and literary writer
*
Artemus Ward (Charles Farrar Browne), 19th century American
humor writer
*
Ibn Warraq is a pen name that has traditionally been adopted by dissident authors throughout the history of Islam, including a current writer from India.
*
Wonkette (Ana Marie Cox) [
1], political gossip weblog writer
*
Hajime Yatate (Various
Sunrise animation staff members)
*
Yulgok (
Yi I), 16th century Korean Confucian scholar
*
Paul French (
Isaac Asimov), Classic Science Fiction Author
*
K. A. Applegate (Katherine Alice Applegate) wrote the
Animorphs,
Remnants, and
Everworld book series. She wrote/writes books under many other pen names as well.
**
Harlequin romance novels, as Katherine Kendall.
*
Girl Talk novels, as L.E. Blair
*
Ocean City series (republished as
Making Waves)
*
Boyfriends/Girlfriends series (republished as
Making Out)
*
Barf-O-Rama series, as Pat Pollari
**
Disney's
The Little Mermaid series
**
Disney's
Aladdin series, as both A.R. Plumb and her own name
*
Silver Creek Riders series, as Beth Kincaid
*
Love Stories series
*
Summer series
*
The Story of Two American Generals: Benjamin O. Davis Jr. and Colin L. Powell*
The Very Best Jinx McGee*
Disney's Christmas with all the Trimmings: Original Stories and Crafts from Mickey Mouse and Friends*
Disney's Enter if you Dare: Scary Tales from the Haunted Mansion, as Nicholas Stephens(Some of these books that weren't meant for a male audience were actually written under her real name, (the female name) Katherine Applegate.)
*
E. L. Konigsburg (Elaine Lobl Konigsburg)is an American author of children's books, and two time winner of the Newbery Medal for children's literature.
*
Bruna Surfistinha (Raquel Pacheco) is a writer and weblog writer
Book and magazine publishers have sometimes used a penname or pseudonym as the author of a series of stories that would be shared by any number of authors. Often these works are done as a "
work for hire" with the writers receiving a flat fee and no royalties. Examples include:
*The
Stratemeyer Syndicate used a number of house names. The Syndicate was quite secretive; ghostwriters were contractually obliged never to reveal their authorship, and many ghostwriters remain unknown. Some of Stratemeyer's most famous house names include:
**
Victor Appleton for the
Tom Swift children's adventure novels
**
Franklin W. Dixon for the
Hardy Boys mysteries.
**
Carolyn Keene for the
Nancy Drew mysteries, as well as
The Dana Girls, which featured detective sisters.
*Also from the publisher
Grosset & Dunlap, but not part of Stratemeyer:
*
John Blaine for the
Rick Brant (more realistic science/adventure) series
*
Bruce Campbell for the
Ken Holt (newspaper reporter/adventure) series
*
Maxwell Grant: used by
Street and Smith Publications, the publishers of numerous
pulp magazines, for
The Shadow.
*
Watty Piper: used By
Platt & Munk for
The Little Engine That Could and its spinoffs as well as numerous unrelated children's books.
*
Kenneth Robeson: used by
Condé Nast Publications for the
Doc Savage stories.
*
Chinese courtesy name*
List of pseudonyms*
Art-name*
Pseudepigraphy*
Pen Names*
'Should You Use a Pseudonym?' by Moira Allen*
How to Choose a Pen Name
