Pseudonym

Apseudonym(soo-do-nim) oraliasis a fakenameapersonuses instead of their real name. Many people use pseudonyms, including authors (pen names) and performers (stage names). People use pseudonyms for several different reasons: to hideidentity,gender,and/orrace.People (such asrappers) also use pseudonyms to match their stage personality better. Pseudonyms can includestage names,screen names,ring names,pen names,nicknames,aliases,superheroidentitiesandcode names.

Pseudonymcomes from theGreekwordψευδώνυμον(pseudṓnymon), which means "false name".

Use and examples of pseudonyms

There are three main types of pseudonyms: pen names, stage names anduser-names.Pen names are used by authors, usually to hide identity. Many famous books, such asThe OutsidersandA Series of Unfortunate Events,have been written by authors using a pseudonym. Daniel Handler wrote A Series of Unfortunate Events under the pseudonymLemony Snicketboth because he wanted to make the author a character in the story and because he wanted to hide his real name. When she publishedThe Outsiders,Susan Eloise Hinton decided to use her initials, S. E., instead of her first and middle names, because she did not want readers to guess her gender. The Brontë sisters (Anne,EmilyandCharlotte) used pseudonyms to hide the fact that they based many of their characters on theirneighbors.

Musicians,actorsandperformersalso use pseudonyms, calledstage names,both to hide their identity and to give themselves a "cooler" name. For example, rapperSean Combsis currently known by Diddy, but used to call himself P Diddy and Puff Daddy. He says that he changed his name from P. Diddy to Diddy because the name "caused confusion and he wanted to 'simplify things'."

Many people on theInternetuse pseudonyms. There are many names for these pseudonyms, including user-names, user IDs and handles. These pseudonyms help people stay anonymous on the internet, and they also protect people fromidentity theftandphishing.When people log into an account on sites likeWikipedia,MySpaceorFacebook,their user-name helps identify them without entering their real name. If people used their real name instead of a user-name, it would create confusion for two people with the same name. Usernames make this simple, because people create their own user-names. Also, if someone used their real name, it would make it easier for people to guess theirpasswordsand for other people to find them in real life.

Sometimes criminals would use a pseudonym. For example,con manJefferson R. Smith was also known asSoapy Smith.

Related pages

• Pen name
• Stage name
• Synonym
• Nickname