List of pseudonyms

This is a list of pseudonyms, in various categories.

This list might be incomplete and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries.

A pseudonym is a name adopted by a person for a particular purpose, which differs from his or her true name. A pseudonym may be used by social activists or politicians for political purposes or by others for religious purposes. It may be a soldier's noms de guerre, an author's pen name, a performer's stage name, or an alias used by visual artists, athletes, and fashion designers. Pseudonyms are occasionally used in fiction such as by superheroes or other fictional characters.

Social activists

• Aristides (William Lloyd Garrison)
• Frank Talk (Stephen Bantu Biko)
• H. Rap Brown (Hubert Gerold Brown)
• Kwame Ture (Stokely Carmichael)
• Malcolm X (Malcolm Little)
• Mother Jones (Mary Harris Jones)
• VaGla (Piotr Waglowski)
• WhoIsParadise (Marcus Dawes)

Visual arts

• ABOVE (Unknown)
• W. Andresen (Christian Wilhelm Allers)
• Balthus (Balthazar Klossowski de Rola)
• Banksy (Unknown)
• Bramantino (Bartolomeo Suardi)
• Canaletto (Giovanni Antonio Canale)
• Caravaggio (Michelangelo Merisi)
• Cigoli (Lodovico Cardi)
• Coldmirror (Kathrin Fricke)
• Le Corbusier (Charles Edouard Jeanneret)
• DAIM (Mirko Reisser)
• Donatello (Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi)
• Dosso Dossi (Giovanni di Niccolò de Luteri)
• El Greco (Dominikos Theotokópulos)
• Erté (Romain de Tirtoff)
• Il Garofalo (Benvenuto Tisi)
• Giorgione (Giorgio Barbarelli da Castelfranco)
• Giottino (Maso di Stefano)
• Henriett Seth F. (on Hungarian pseudonym Seth F. Henriett; on birth name Fajcsák Henrietta)
• IceFrog (Unknown)
• Il Sodoma (Giovanni Antonio Bazzi)
• Lee Krasner (Lena Krassner)
• Lo Spagna (Giovanni di Pietro)
• A.M. Cassandre (Adolphe Jean-Marie Mouron)
• Man Ray (Emmanuel Radnitzky)
• Marc Chagall (Moishe Shagal)
• Masaccio (Tommaso Cassai or, in some accounts Tommaso di Ser Giovanni di Mone)
• Notch (Markus Persson)
• ουτις or OYTIΣ (István Orosz)
• Parmigianino (Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola)
• Picasso (Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso)
• Pisanello (Antonio di Puccio Pisano or Antonio di Puccio da Cereto)
• Il Pordenone (Giovanni Antonio de' Sacchis or Giovanni Antonio Licinio according to Vasari)
• Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino)
• Ricco (Erich Wassmer)
• Mark Rothko (Marcus Rothkowitz)
• SAMO (Jean-Michel Basquiat)
• Spy (Leslie Ward)
• Tintoretto (Jacopo Robusti)
• Titian (Tiziano Vecelli)
• Tom of Finland (Touko Laaksonen)
• Utisz (István Orosz)
• Vecchietta (Francesco di Giorgio e di Lorenzo)

Noms de guerre

• Abu Ammar (Yasir Arafat)
• 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 ("Spearhead" - 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.
• Legija ("Legion" – Milorad Ulemek)
• Monter ("Assembler" - Antoni Chruściel)
• M'zée Fula-Ngenge (André A. Jackson)
• 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)
• Strongbow - (Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke)
• The Red Baron (Manfred von Richthofen)
• The Red Knight (Pseudonym created by British journalists for Manfred von Richthofen)
• Taras Chuprynka (Roman Shukhevych)
• Tito (Josip Broz)
• Francisco "Pancho" Villa (José Doroteo Arango Arámbula)
• Wilk ("Wolf" - Aleksander Krzyżanowski)
• Znicz ("Candle" - Tadeusz Komorowski)
• Zośka (Tadeusz Zawadzki)

Pornography names

Main article: List of members of the AVN Hall of Fame

Pen names

Main articles: List of pen names, List of pseudonyms of angling authors and List of Urdu language poets

Politicians

• Abel Djassi (Amílcar Cabral)
• Amor De Cosmos (William (Bill) Alexander Smith )
• Anacharsis Cloots (Jean-Baptiste du Val-de-Grâce, baron de Cloots)
• Anthony Garotinho (Anthony William Matheus de Oliveira)
• Bob Denard (Gilbert Bourgeaud)
• Caligula (Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus)
• Che Guevara (Ernesto Rafael Guevara de la Serna)
• Chemical Ali (Ali Hassan Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti)
• Comandante Gonzalo (Abimael Guzmán)
• Germain (Ernest Mandel)
• Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej [Gheorghe Gheorghiu)
• Golda Meir (Golda Meyerson)
• Gracchus Babeuf (François-Noël Babeuf)
• Grigory Zinoviev (Ovsel Gershon Aronov Radomyslsky)
• Gus Hall (Arvo Kustaa Halberg)
• Ho Chi Minh (Nguyễn Sinh Cung)
• Houari Boumedienne (Mohamed Ben Brahim Boukharouba)
• János Kádár (János Csermanek)
• Joseph Estrada (Joseph Marcelo Ejército)
• Joseph Stalin (Ioseb Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili)
• Josip Tito (Josip Broz)
• J. Posadas (Homero Cristali)
• Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão (José Alexandre Gusmão)
• Kim Il Sung (Kim Song Ju)
• La Pasionaria (Dolores Ibárruri)
• Leon Trotsky (Lev Davidovich Bronstein)
• Lev Kamenev (Lev Borisovich Rosenfeld)
• Lula (Luiz Inácio da Silva)
• Martin Thembisile Hani (Chris Hani)
• Michel Pablo (Michel Raptis)
• Mobutu Sese Seko (Joseph-Désiré Mobutu)
• Nahuel Moreno (Hugo Bressano)
• Pol Pot (Saloth Sar)
• Prachanda (Pushpa Kamal Dahal)
• Ronwaldo Reyes (Fernando Poe, Jr.)
• Saïd Moustapha Mahdjoub (Gilbert Bourgeaud)
• Tariq Aziz (Michael Yuhanna)
• Ted Grant (Isaac Blank)
• Tony Cliff (Ygael Gluckstein)
• Tristán Marof (Gustavo Navarro)
• Vyacheslav Molotov (Vyacheslav Mikhaylovich Skryabin)
• Vladimir Lenin (Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov)
• William Rabbit (Katay Don Sasorith)
• Willy Brandt (Herbert Ernst Karl Frahm)

Religion

• Acharya S (D. M. Murdock)
• Allan Kardec (Hippolyte Léon Denizard Rivail )
• Brother Andre (Alfred Bessette)
• Francis of Assisi (Giovanni Francesco di Bernardone)
• Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama)
• Joseph of Cupertino (Giuseppe Maria Desa)
• Lord Mahavira (Vardhamana)
• Mahatma Gandhi (Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi)
• Mata Amritanandamayi (Sudhamani)
• Mother Angelica (Rita Antoinette Rizzo)
• Mother Teresa (Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu)
• Moses David (David Berg)
• His Divine Grace Abhay Charana-Aravinda Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (Abhay Charan De)
• Osho (Rajneesh Chandra Mohan)
• Padre Pio (Francesco Forgione)
• Ram Dass (Richard Alpert)
• Sathya Sai Baba (Sathya Narayana Raju)
• Sister Dora (Dorothy Wyndlow Pattison)
• Swami Vivekananda (Narendranath Dutta)
• Thérèse of Lisieux (Marie-Françoise-Thérèse Martin)
• Yusuf Islam (Stephen Demetre Georgiou, formerly known as Cat Stevens)

Stage names

Main article: List of stage names

Matronymics

Main article: List of people who adopted matronymic surnames

Sportspeople

• Abédi Pelé (Abédi Ayew)
• Action Jackson (André Action Diakité Jackson)
• Akebono Taro (Chad Haaheo Rowan)
• Al "Bummy" Davis (Abraham Davidoff)
• Babe Ruth (George Herman Ruth, Jr.)
• Barney Oldfield (Berna Eli Oldfield)
• Bebeto (José Roberto Gama de Oliveira)
• Bubba Watson (Gerry Lester Watson, Jr.)
• Buddy Baker (Elzie Wylie Baker, Jr.)
• Cafu (Marcos Evangelista de Moraes)
• Cale Yarborough (William Caleb Yarborough)
• Careca (Antonio de Oliveira Filho)
• Casey Stengel (Charles Dillon Stengel; originally named after the initials of his hometown of Kansas City, Missouri, or "K.C.")
• Chad Ochocinco (Chad Javon Johnson)
• Chi Chi Rodriguez (Juan Antonio Rodriguez)
• Chipper Jones (Larry Wayne Jones, Jr.)
• Cristiano Ronaldo (Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro)
• Dabo Swinney (William Christopher Swinney)
• Deco (Anderson Luiz de Sousa)
• Dick Tiger (Richard Ihetu)
• Dida (Nélson de Jesus Silva)
• Duda (Sérgio Paulo Barbosa Valente)
• Fuzzy Zoeller (Frank Urban Zoeller, Jr.)
• Garrincha (Manuel Francisco dos Santos)
• Geki (Giacomo Russo)
• Gimax (Carlo Franchi)
• Goose Gossage (Richard Michael Gossage)
• Garry Kasparov (Garik Kimovich Weinstein)
• Raymond Kopa (Raymond Kopaszewski)
• He hate me (Rod Smart)
• Hellé Nice (Mariette Hélène Delangle)
• Henri Cornet (Henri Jaudry)
• Henry Arundel (Henry Fitzalan-Howard)
• Ickey Woods (Elbert L. Woods)
• Jim McKay (James Kenneth McManus)
• JJ Lehto (Jyrki Järvilehto)
• Joe Louis (Joseph Louis Barrow)
• John Winter (Louis Krages)
• Johnny Dumfries (John Crichton-Stuart)
• Kaká (Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite)
• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor, Jr.; legally changed name after conversion to Islam)
• Karim Abdul-Jabbar (Sharmon Shah)
• Khaosai Galaxy (Sura Saenkham)
• Kid McCoy (Norman Selby)
• Konishiki Yasokichi (Salevaa Atisanoe)
• Kuba (Jakub Błaszczykowski)
• Leon Duray (George Stewart)
• Lolo Jones (Lori Jones)
• Lucien Petit-Breton (Lucien Mazan)
• Míchel (José Miguel González Martín)
• Metta World Peace (Ronald William Artest, Jr.)
• Mercury Morris (Eugene Edward Morris)
• Mo Martin (Melissa Linda Martin)
• Muggsy Bogues (Tyrone Curtis Bogues)
• 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)
• Pierre Levegh (Pierre Bouillin)
• Razor Ruddock (Donovan Ruddock)
• Rivaldo (Vitor Borba Ferreira)
• Rocket Ismail (Raghib Ramadian Ismail)
• Rocky Marciano (Rocco Francis Marchegiano)
• Rollie Fingers (Roland Glen Fingers)
• Ronaldo (Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima)
• Ronaldinho (Ronaldo de Assis Moreira))
• Satchel Paige (Leroy Robert Paige)
• Spud Webb (Anthony Jerome Webb)
• Stanley Ketchel (Stanislaus Kiecal)
• Sugar Ray Leonard (Ray Charles Leonard)
• Sugar Ray Robinson (Walker Smith Jr.)
• Suso (Jesus Fernandez Saez)
• Takanohana Koji (Koji Hanada)
• Tony Zale (Anthony Florian Zaleski)
• W Williams (William Grover-Williams)
• Wakanohana Masaru (Masaru Hanada)
• Whitey Ford (Edward Charles Ford)
• Yogi Berra (Lawrence Peter Berra)
• Zico (Arthur Antunes Coimbra)

Criminals

• Al Capone (Alphonse Gabriel Capone)
• Arkan (Željko Ražnatović)
• Baby Face Nelson (Lester Joseph Gillis; also used the alias George Nelson)
• The Barefoot Bandit (Colton Harris-Moore)
• Billy the Kid (William H. Bonney; born William Henry McCarty, Jr.)
• Black Bart (Charles Earl Bowles)
• BTK (Dennis Rader)
• Bugsy Siegel (Benjamin Siegelbaum)
• Bumpy Johnson (Ellsworth Raymond Johnson)
• Buster Edwards (Ronald Christopher Edwards)
• Butch Cassidy (Robert LeRoy Parker)
• Carlos the Jackal (Ilich Ramírez Sánchez)
• Dutch Schultz (Arthur Flegenheimer)
• Frank Costello (Francesco Castiglia)
• Green River Killer (Gary Leon Ridgway)
• The Happy Face Killer (Keith Hunter Jesperson)
• Hillside Strangler (collective pseudonym for two serial killers, Angelo Buono and Kenneth Bianchi)
• The Iceman (Richard Kuklinski)
• The I-5 Killer (Randall Woodfield)
• Jack the Ripper (Unknown)
• Legs Diamond (Jack Diamond)
• Kim Philby (Harold Adrian Russell Philby)
• Lucky Luciano (Salvatore Lucania)
• Machine Gun Kelly (George Celino Barnes)
• Meyer Lansky (Meyer Suchowljansky)
• Mickey Cohen (Meyer Harris Cohen)
• Murf the Surf (Jack Roland Murphy)
• Murray The Hump (Murray Humphreys)
• Ned Kelly (Edward Kelly)
• The Night Stalker (Richard Ramirez)
• Pretty Boy Floyd (Charles Arthur Floyd)
• Sara Jane Olson (Kathleen Soliah)
• Son of Sam (David Berkowitz)
• The Sundance Kid (Harry Alonzo Longabaugh)
• The Unabomber (Ted Kaczynski; pseudonym was an FBI acronym for UNiversities and Airline Bomber)
• Waxey Gordon (Irving Wexler)
• The Yorkshire Ripper (Peter Sutcliffe)
• The Zodiac Killer (Unknown)

Fashion and beauty

• Coco Chanel (Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel)
• Elizabeth Arden (Florence Nightingale Graham)
• Estée Lauder (Josephine Esther Mentzer)
• Halston (Roy Halston Frowick)
• Jil Sander (Heidemarie Jiline Sander)
• Jimmy Choo (Choo Yeang Keat)
• Karl Lagerfeld (Karl Otto Lagerfeldt)
• Manolo Blahnik (Manuel Blahnik Rodriguez)
• Marc Ecko (Marc Louis Milecofsky)
• Max Factor (Maksymilian Faktorowicz)
• Miu Miu (Miuccia Prada)
• Paco Rabanne (Francisco Rabaneda Cuervo)

Other real life pseudonyms

• Alexander Supertramp (Christopher McCandless)
• Bernard Shakey (Neil Young)
• Colonel Tom Parker (Andreas Cornelis van Kuijk)
• Divine Brown (Estella Marie Thompson)
• Emmanuel Goldstein (Eric Corley)
• John of God (João Teixeira de Faria)
• Mata Hari (Margaretha Geertruida "Grietje" Zelle MacLeod)
• Miss Cleo (Youree Dell Harris)
• Viktor Suvorov (Vladimir Rezun)

Pseudonyms used in fiction

Superhero genre

• The Hulk (Dr. Robert Bruce Banner) - Marvel Comics
• Spider-Man (Peter Benjamin Parker) - Marvel Comics
• Black Cat (Felicia Hardy) - Marvel Comics
• Wolverine (Logan, James Howlett) - Marvel Comics
• Captain America (Steven Grant "Steve" Rogers) - Marvel Comics
• Superman (Kal-El / Clark Kent) - DC Comics
• Wonder Woman (Princess Diana of Themyscira / Diana Prince) - DC comics
• Batman (Bruce Wayne) - DC Comics
• Catwoman (Selina Kyle) - DC Comics
  • Catwoman (Patience Phillips) - 2004 film
• Rorschach (Walter Joseph Kovacs) - Watchmen (Alan Moore graphic novel)
• Doctor Octopus (Dr. Otto Gunther Octavius) - Marvel Comics
• Huntress (Helena Wayne) - DC Comics
  • Huntress (Helena Bertinelli) - DC Comics
• Batgirl (Barbara Gordon) - DC Comics
  • Batgirl (Cassandra Cain) - DC Comics
• The Flash (Jay Garrick) - DC Comics
  • The Flash (Barry Allen) - DC Comics
  • The Flash (Wally West) - DC Comics
  • The Flash (Bart Allen) - DC Comics
• The Penguin (Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot) - DC Comics
• The Riddler (Dr. Edward Nigma) - DC Comics

Other fictional characters

• Lord Voldemort (Tom Marvolo Riddle) - Harry Potter Series
• Aramis (Henri d'Aramitz, le Chevalier d'Herblay) - The Three Musketeers
• Scarlet Pimpernel (Sir Percy Blakeney)
• Athos (Armand de Sillègue d'Athos d'Autevielle, Le Comte de La Fère) - The Three Musketeers
• Demosthenes (Valentine Wiggin)
• Chuck Finley (Sam Axe)
• d'Artagnan (Charles de Batz-Castelmore) - The Three Musketeers
• Dylan Sharp (Deryn Sharp - Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld)
• Jeff (Othello Jeffries from the comic strip Mutt and Jeff)
• Locke (Peter Wiggin)
• M (Sir Miles Messervy) - James Bond novels
• Q (Major Boothroyd) - James Bond Novels
• Regina Phalange (Phoebe Buffay)
• Porthos (Isaac de Porthau, Baron du Vallon de Bracieux de Pierrefonds) - The Three Musketeers
• Rusty Shackleford (Dale Gribble)
• Duke Silver (Ron Swanson)
• Speaker for the Dead (Ender Wiggin)
• Ken Adams (Joey Tribbiani)
• Art Vandelay (George Costanza)
• La Volpe - Assassin's Creed II and Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
• Zorro (Don Diego de la Vega)
• Alucard (Adrian Farenheights Tepes)
• Mr. Underhill (Frodo Baggins)
• The Shadow (Lamont Cranston)
• Clint Eastwood (Marty McFly)
• Heisenberg (Walter White)
• Saul Goodman (James "Jimmy" McGill)
• L (L Lawliet) - Death Note
• John Smith - Kyon
• The Doctor (Doctor Who) - Unknown

See also

• Literary initials
• List of people who adopted matronymic surnames
• List of pseudonyms used in the American constitutional debates
• List of works published under a pseudonym
• Mononymous persons
• Nicknames of jazz musicians

External links

• FamousFolk - An extensive list of pseudonyms