Pseudonym

A pseudonym (/ˈsjuːdənɪm/) or alias (/ˈeɪliəs/) is a name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which can differ from their first or true name (orthonym). The term is not used when a new name entirely replaces an individual's own. A pseudonym (/ˈsjuːdənɪm/) or alias (/ˈeɪliəs/) is a name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which can differ from their first or true name (orthonym). The term is not used when a new name entirely replaces an individual's own. Pseudonyms include stage names and user names, ring names, pen names, nicknames, aliases, superhero or villain identities and code names, gamer identifications, and regnal names of emperors, popes, and other monarchs. Historically, they have sometimes taken the form of anagrams, Graecisms, and Latinisations, although there are many other methods of choosing a pseudonym. Pseudonyms should not be confused with new names that replace old ones and become the individual's full-time name. Pseudonyms are 'part-time' names, used only in certain contexts – to provide a more clear-cut separation between one's private and professional lives, to showcase or enhance a particular persona, or to hide an individual's real identity, as with writers' pen names, graffiti artists' tags, resistance fighters' or terrorists' noms de guerre, and computer hackers' handles. Actors, voice-over artists, musicians, and other performers sometimes use stage names, for example, to better channel a relevant energy, gain a greater sense of security and comfort via privacy, more easily avoid troublesome fans/'stalkers', or to mask their ethnic backgrounds. In some cases, pseudonyms are adopted because they are part of a cultural or organisational tradition: for example devotional names used by members of some religious institutes, and 'cadre names' used by Communist party leaders such as Trotsky and Lenin. A pseudonym may also be used for personal reasons: for example, an individual may prefer to be called or known by a name that differs from their given or legal name, but is not ready to take the numerous steps to get their name legally changed; or an individual may simply feel that the context and content of an exchange offer no reason, legal or otherwise, to provide their given or legal name. A collective name or collective pseudonym is one shared by two or more persons, for example the co-authors of a work, such as Carolyn Keene, Ellery Queen, Nicolas Bourbaki. or James S. A. Corey. The term is derived from the Greek ψευδώνυμον (pseudṓnymon), literally 'false name', from ψεῦδος (pseûdos), 'lie, falsehood' and ὄνομα (ónoma), 'name'. A pseudonym is distinct from an allonym, which is the (real) name of another person, assumed by the author of a work of art. This may occur when someone is ghostwriting a book or play, or in parody, or when using a 'front' name, such as by screenwriters blacklisted in Hollywood in the 1950s and 1960s. See also pseudepigraph, for falsely attributed authorship. Sometimes people change their name in such a manner that the new name becomes permanent and is used by all who know the person. This is not an alias or pseudonym, but in fact a new name. In many countries, including common law countries, a name change can be ratified by a court and become a person's new legal name.