Apseudonym (/ˈsjuːdənɪm/; from Ancient Greekψευδώνυμος (pseudṓnumos)'falsely named') oralias (/ˈeɪli.əs/) is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym).[1][2] This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's own. Many pseudonym holders use them because they wish to remainanonymous and maintain privacy, though this may be difficult to achieve as a result of legal issues.[3]
Pseudonyms are different from new names that replace old ones. 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, computerhackers'handles, and otheronline identities for services such associal media,online gaming, andinternet forums. Actors, musicians, and other performers sometimes usestage names for a degree of privacy, to better market themselves, and other reasons.[5]
Pseudonym comes from the Greekψευδώνυμονpseudṓnymon 'false name'[7], fromψεῦδοςpseûdos 'lie, falsehood'[8] andὄνομα (ónoma) 'name'.[9]Alias is a Latinadverb meaning "at another time, elsewhere".[10]
Sometimes people change their names 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, includingcommon law countries, a name change can be ratified by a court and become a person's new legal name.
Pseudonymous authors may still have their various identities linked together throughstylometric analysis of their writing style. The precise degree of this unmasking ability and its ultimate potential is uncertain, but the privacy risks are expected to grow with improved analytic techniques andtext corpora. Authors may practiceadversarial stylometry to resist such identification.[11]
Businesspersons of ethnic minorities in some parts of the world are sometimes advised by an employer to use a pseudonym that is common or acceptable in that area when conducting business, to overcome racial or religious bias.[12]
Criminals may use aliases,fictitious business names, anddummy corporations (corporate shells) to hide their identity, or to impersonate other persons or entities in order to commit fraud. Aliases and fictitious business names used for dummy corporations may become so complex that, in the words ofThe Washington Post, "getting to the truth requires a walk down a bizarre labyrinth" and multiple government agencies may become involved to uncover the truth.[13] Giving a false name to a law enforcement officer is a crime in many jurisdictions.
A youngGeorge Sand (real name "Amantine Lucile Dupin")William Sydney Porter, who went by the pen name O. Henry or Olivier Henry, in 1909
Apen name is a pseudonym (sometimes a particular form of the real name) adopted by anauthor (or on the author's behalf by their publishers). English usage also includes the French-language phrasenom de plume (which in French literally means "pen name").[14]
The concept of pseudonymity has a long history. In ancient literature it was common to write in the name of a famous person, not for concealment or with any intention of deceit; in the New Testament, the second letter of Peter is probably such. A more modern example is all ofThe Federalist Papers, which were signed by Publius, a pseudonym representing the trio ofJames Madison,Alexander Hamilton, andJohn Jay. The papers were written partially in response to severalAnti-Federalist Papers, also written under pseudonyms. As a result of this pseudonymity, historians know that the papers were written by Madison, Hamilton, and Jay, but have not been able to discern with certainty which of the three authored a few of the papers. There are also examples of modern politicians and high-ranking bureaucrats writing under pseudonyms.[15][16]
Some female authors have used male pen names, in particular in the 19th century, when writing was a highly male-dominated profession. TheBrontë sisters used pen names for their early work, so as not to reveal their gender (see below) and so that local residents would not suspect that the books related to people of their neighbourhood.Anne Brontë'sThe Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1848) was published under the name Acton Bell, whileCharlotte Brontë used the name Currer Bell forJane Eyre (1847) andShirley (1849), andEmily Brontë adopted Ellis Bell as cover forWuthering Heights (1847). Other examples from the nineteenth-century are novelist Mary Ann Evans (George Eliot) and French writer Amandine Aurore Lucile Dupin (George Sand). Pseudonyms may also be used due to cultural or organization or political prejudices.
Similarly, some 20th- and 21st-century male romance novelists – a field dominated by women – have used female pen names.[17] A few examples are Brindle Chase,Peter O'Donnell (as Madeline Brent),Christopher Wood (as Penny Sutton and Rosie Dixon), andHugh C. Rae (as Jessica Sterling).[17]
A pen name may be used if a writer's real name is likely to be confused with the name of another writer or notable individual, or if the real name is deemed unsuitable.
Authors who write both fiction and non-fiction, or in different genres, may use different pen names to avoid confusing their readers. For example, the romance writerNora Roberts writes mystery novels under the nameJ. D. Robb.
In some cases, an author may become better known by their pen name, rather than their real name. Some famous examples of that include Samuel Clemens, writing asMark Twain, Theodor Geisel, better known asDr. Seuss, and Eric Arthur Blair (George Orwell). The British mathematician Charles Dodgson wrote fantasy novels asLewis Carroll and mathematical treatises under his own name.
Some authors, such asHarold Robbins, use several literary pseudonyms.[18]
Some pen names have been used for long periods, even decades, without the author's true identity being discovered, as withElena Ferrante andTorsten Krol.
A pen name may be used specifically to hide the identity of the author, as withexposé books about espionage or crime, or explicit erotic fiction.Erwin von Busse used a pseudonym when he published short stories about sexually charged encounters between men in Germany in 1920.[22] Some prolific authors adopt a pseudonym to disguise the extent of their published output, e. g.Stephen King writing asRichard Bachman. Co-authors may choose to publish under a collective pseudonym, e. g.,P. J. Tracy andPerri O'Shaughnessy.Frederic Dannay andManfred Lee used the nameEllery Queen as a pen name for their collaborative works and as the name of their main character.[23]Asa Earl Carter, a Southern white segregationist affiliated with the KKK, wrote Western books under a fictional Cherokee persona to imply legitimacy and conceal his history.[24]
A famous case in French literature wasRomain Gary. Already a well-known writer, he started publishing books as Émile Ajar to test whether his new books would be well received on their own merits, without the aid of his established reputation. They were: Émile Ajar, like Romain Gary before him, was awarded the prestigiousPrix Goncourt by a jury unaware that they were the same person. Similarly, TV actorRonnie Barker submitted comedy material under the name Gerald Wiley.
A collective pseudonym may represent an entire publishing house, or any contributor to a long-running series, especially with juvenile literature. Examples includeWatty Piper,Victor Appleton,Erin Hunter, and Kamiru M. Xhan.
Another use of a pseudonym in literature is to present a story as being written by the fictional characters in the story. The series of novels known asA Series of Unfortunate Events are written byDaniel Handler under the pen name ofLemony Snicket, a character in the series. This applies also to some of the several 18th-century English and American writers who used the nameFidelia.
Ananonymity pseudonym ormultiple-use name is a name used by many different people to protect anonymity.[25] It is a strategy that has been adopted by many unconnected radical groups and by cultural groups, where the construct of personal identity has been criticised. This has led to the idea of the "open pop star", such asMonty Cantsin.[clarification needed]
Nicolaus Copernicus put forward his theory of heliocentrism in the manuscriptCommentariolus anonymously, in part because of his employment as a law clerk for achurch-government organization.[26]
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While taking part in military activities, such as fighting in a war, the pseudonym might be known as anom de guerre. It is chosen by the person involved in the activity.[33][34]
Individuals using a computeronline may adopt or be required to use a form of pseudonym known as a "handle" (a term deriving fromCB slang), "user name", "login name", "avatar", or, sometimes, "screen name", "gamertag", "IGN (InGame (Nick)Name)" or "nickname". On the Internet,pseudonymous remailers usecryptography that achieves persistent pseudonymity, so that two-way communication can be achieved, and reputations can be established, without linking physicalidentities to their respective pseudonyms.Aliasing is the use of multiple names for the same data location.
More sophisticated cryptographic systems, such as anonymousdigital credentials, enable users to communicate pseudonymously (i.e., by identifying themselves by means of pseudonyms). In well-defined abuse cases, a designated authority may be able to revoke the pseudonyms and reveal the individuals' real identity.[citation needed]
Use of pseudonyms is common among professionaleSports players, despite the fact that many professional games are played onLAN.[35]
Pseudonymity has become an important phenomenon on the Internet and other computer networks. In computer networks, pseudonyms possess varying degrees of anonymity,[36] ranging from highly linkablepublic pseudonyms (the link between the pseudonym and a human being is publicly known or easy to discover), potentially linkablenon-public pseudonyms (the link is known to system operators but is not publicly disclosed), andunlinkable pseudonyms (the link is not known to system operators and cannot be determined).[37] For example, trueanonymous remailer enables Internet users to establish unlinkable pseudonyms; those that employ non-public pseudonyms (such as the now-defunctPenet remailer) are calledpseudonymous remailers.
The continuum of unlinkability can also be seen, in part, on Wikipedia. Some registered users make no attempt to disguise their real identities (for example, by placing their real name on their user page). The pseudonym of unregistered users is theirIP address, which can, in many cases, easily be linked to them. Other registered users prefer to remain anonymous, and do not disclose identifying information. However, in certain cases,Wikipedia's privacy policy permits system administrators to consult the server logs to determine the IP address, and perhaps the true name, of a registered user. It is possible, in theory, to create an unlinkable Wikipedia pseudonym by using anOpen proxy, a web server that disguises the user's IP address. But most open proxy addresses are blocked indefinitely due to their frequent use by vandals. Additionally, Wikipedia's public record of a user's interest areas, writing style, and argumentative positions may still establish an identifiable pattern.[38][39]
System operators (sysops) at sites offering pseudonymity, such as Wikipedia, are not likely to build unlinkability into their systems, as this would render them unable to obtain information about abusive users quickly enough to stop vandalism and other undesirable behaviors. Law enforcement personnel, fearing an avalanche of illegal behavior, are equally unenthusiastic.[40] Still, some users and privacy activists like theAmerican Civil Liberties Union believe that Internet users deserve stronger pseudonymity so that they can protect themselves against identity theft, illegal government surveillance, stalking, and other unwelcome consequences of Internet use (includingunintentional disclosures of their personal information anddoxing, as discussed in the next section). Their views are supported by laws in some nations (such as Canada) that guarantee citizens a right to speak using a pseudonym.[41] This right does not, however, give citizens the right to demand publication of pseudonymous speech on equipment they do not own.
Most websites that offer pseudonymity retain information about users. These sites are often susceptible to unauthorized intrusions into their non-public database systems. For example, in 2000, a Welsh teenager obtained information about more than 26,000 credit card accounts, including that of Bill Gates.[42][43] In 2003, VISA and MasterCard announced that intruders obtained information about 5.6 million credit cards.[44] Sites that offer pseudonymity are also vulnerable to confidentiality breaches. In a study of a Web dating service and apseudonymous remailer,University of Cambridge researchers discovered that the systems used by these Web sites to protect user data could be easily compromised, even if the pseudonymous channel is protected by strong encryption. Typically, the protected pseudonymous channel exists within a broader framework in which multiple vulnerabilities exist.[45] Pseudonym users should bear in mind that, given the current state of Web security engineering, their true names may be revealed at any time.
Pseudonymity is an important component of the reputation systems found in online auction services (such aseBay), discussion sites (such asSlashdot), and collaborative knowledge development sites (such asWikipedia). A pseudonymous user who has acquired a favorable reputation gains the trust of other users. When users believe that they will be rewarded by acquiring a favorable reputation, they are more likely to behave in accordance with the site's policies.[46]
If users can obtain new pseudonymous identities freely or at a very low cost, reputation-based systems are vulnerable to whitewashing attacks,[47] also calledserial pseudonymity, in which abusive users continuously discard their old identities and acquire new ones in order to escape the consequences of their behavior: "On the Internet, nobody knows that yesterday you were a dog, and therefore should be in the doghouse today."[48] Users of Internet communities who have been banned only to return with new identities are calledsock puppets. Whitewashing is one specific form of aSybil attack on distributed systems.
The social cost of cheaply discarded pseudonyms is that experienced users lose confidence in new users,[51] and may subject new users to abuse until they establish a good reputation.[48] System operators may need to remind experienced users that most newcomers are well-intentioned (see, for example,Wikipedia's policy about biting newcomers). Concerns have also been expressed about sock puppets exhausting the supply of easily remembered usernames. In addition a recent research paper demonstrated that people behave in a potentially more aggressive manner when using pseudonyms/nicknames (due to theonline disinhibition effect) as opposed to being completely anonymous.[52][53] In contrast, research by the blog comment hosting serviceDisqus found pseudonymous users contributed the "highest quantity and quality of comments", where "quality" is based on an aggregate of likes, replies, flags, spam reports, and comment deletions,[49][50] and found that users trusted pseudonyms and real names equally.[54]
Comment types used onHuffPost using different kinds of anonymity[55]
Researchers at the University of Cambridge showed that pseudonymous comments tended to be more substantive and engaged with other users in explanations, justifications, and chains of argument, and less likely to use insults, than either fully anonymous or real name comments.[55] Proposals have been made to raise the costs of obtaining new identities, such as by charging a small fee or requiring e-mail confirmation. Academic research has proposed cryptographic methods to pseudonymize social media identities[56] or government-issued identities,[57] to accrue and useanonymous reputation in online forums,[58] or to obtain one-per-person and hence less readily-discardable pseudonyms periodically at physical-worldpseudonym parties.[59] Others point out that Wikipedia's success is attributable in large measure to its nearly non-existent initial participation costs.
People seeking privacy often use pseudonyms to make appointments and reservations.[60] Those writing toadvice columns in newspapers and magazines may use pseudonyms.[61]Steve Wozniak used a pseudonym when attending theUniversity of California, Berkeley after co-foundingApple Computer, because "[he] knew [he] wouldn't have time enough to be an A+ student."[62]
When used by an actor, musician, radio disc jockey, model, or other performer or "show business" personality a pseudonym is called astage name, or, occasionally, aprofessional name, orscreen name.
Members of a marginalized ethnic or religious group have often adopted stage names, typically changing their surname or entire name to mask their original background.
Stage names are also used to create a more marketable name, as in the case of Creighton Tull Chaney, who adopted the pseudonymLon Chaney Jr., a reference to his famous fatherLon Chaney.
Chris Curtis ofDeep Purple fame was christened as Christopher Crummey ("crummy" is UK slang for poor quality). In this and similar cases a stage name is adopted simply to avoid an unfortunate pun.
Pseudonyms are also used to comply with the rules of performing-artsguilds (Screen Actors Guild (SAG),Writers Guild of America, East (WGA),AFTRA, etc.), which do not allow performers to use an existing name, in order to avoid confusion. For example, these rules required film and television actor Michael Fox to add a middle initial and becomeMichael J. Fox, to avoid being confused with another actor namedMichael Fox. This was also true of author and actressFannie Flagg, who shared her real name, Patricia Neal, withanother well-known actress;Rick Copp, who chose the pseudonym name Richard Hollis, which is also the name of a character in the anthology TV seriesFemme Fatales; and British actorStewart Granger, whose real name was James Stewart. The film-making team ofJoel and Ethan Coen, for instance, share credit for editing under the alias Roderick Jaynes.[63]
Some stage names are used to conceal a person's identity, such as the pseudonymAlan Smithee, which was used by directors in theDirectors Guild of America (DGA) to remove their name from a film they feel was edited or modified beyond their artistic satisfaction. In theatre, the pseudonymsGeorge or Georgina Spelvin, andWalter Plinge are used to hide the identity of a performer, usually when he or she is "doubling" (playing more than one role in the same play).
David Agnew was a name used by the BBC to conceal the identity of a scriptwriter, such as for theDoctor Who serialCity of Death, which had three writers, includingDouglas Adams, who was at the time of writing, the show's script editor.[64] In another Doctor Who serial,The Brain of Morbius, writerTerrance Dicks demanded the removal of his name from the credits saying it could go out under a "bland pseudonym".[citation needed][65] This ended up as "Robin Bland".[65][66]
Pornographic actors regularly use stage names.[67][68][69] Sometimes these are referred to asnom de porn (like withnom de plume, this is English-language users creating a French-language phrase to use in English). Having acted in pornographic films can be a serious detriment to finding another career.[70][71]
Musicians and singers can use pseudonyms to allow artists to collaborate with artists on other labels while avoiding the need to gain permission from their own labels, such as the artistJerry Samuels, who made songs under Napoleon XIV. Rock singer-guitaristGeorge Harrison, for example, played guitar onCream's song "Badge" using a pseudonym.[72] In classical music, some record companies issued recordings under anom de disque in the 1950s and 1960s to avoid paying royalties. A number of popular budget LPs of piano music were released under the pseudonymPaul Procopolis.[73] Another example is thatPaul McCartney used his fictional name "Bernerd Webb" forPeter and Gordon's songWoman.[74]
David Johansen, frontman for the hard rock bandNew York Dolls, recorded and performed pop and lounge music under the pseudonym Buster Poindexter in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The music video for Poindexter's debut single,Hot Hot Hot, opens with a monologue from Johansen where he notes his time with the New York Dolls and explains his desire to create more sophisticated music.
Ross Bagdasarian Sr., creator ofAlvin and the Chipmunks, wrote original songs, arranged, and produced the records under his real name, but performed on them asDavid Seville. He also wrote songs as Skipper Adams. Danish pop pianistBent Fabric, whose full name is Bent Fabricius-Bjerre, wrote his biggest instrumental hit "Alley Cat" as Frank Bjorn.
For a time, the musicianPrince used an unpronounceable "Love Symbol" as a pseudonym ("Prince" is his actual first name rather than a stage name). He wrote the song "Sugar Walls" forSheena Easton as "Alexander Nevermind" and "Manic Monday" forthe Bangles as "Christopher Tracy". (He also produced albums early in his career as "Jamie Starr").
Many Italian-American singers have used stage names, as their birth names were difficult to pronounce or considered too ethnic for American tastes. Singers changing their names includedDean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti),Connie Francis (born Concetta Franconero),Frankie Valli (born Francesco Castelluccio),Tony Bennett (born Anthony Benedetto), andLady Gaga (born Stefani Germanotta)
In 2009, the British rock bandFeeder briefly changed their name toRenegades so they could play a whole show featuring a set list in which 95 per cent of the songs played were from their forthcoming new album of the same name, with none of their singles included. FrontmanGrant Nicholas felt that if they played as Feeder, there would be an uproar over him not playing any of the singles, so he used the pseudonym as a hint. A series of small shows were played in 2010, at 250 to 1,000-capacity venues, with the plan to not say who the band really was, and to just announce the shows as if they were a new band.
In many cases, hip-hop and rap artists prefer to use pseudonyms that represents some variation of their name, personality, or interests. Examples includeIggy Azalea (her stage name is a combination of her dog's name, Iggy, and her home street inMullumbimby, Azalea Street),Ol' Dirty Bastard (known under at least six aliases),Diddy (previously known at various times as Puffy, P. Diddy, and Puff Daddy),Ludacris,Flo Rida (whose stage name is a tribute to his home state,Florida), British-Jamaican hip-hop artistStefflon Don (real name Stephanie Victoria Allen),LL Cool J, andChingy.Black metal artists also adopt pseudonyms, usually symbolizing dark values, such asNocturno Culto,Gaahl, Abbath, and Silenoz. In punk and hardcore punk, singers and band members often replace real names with tougher-sounding stage names such asSid Vicious of the late 1970s bandSex Pistols and "Rat" of the early 1980s bandThe Varukers and the 2000s re-formation ofDischarge. The punk rock bandThe Ramones had every member take the last name of Ramone.[citation needed]
Henry John Deutschendorf Jr., an American singer-songwriter, used the stage nameJohn Denver. The Australian country musician born Robert Lane changed his name toTex Morton. Reginald Kenneth Dwight legally changed his name in 1972 toElton John.
^Jones, Lindsay; Eliade, Mircea; Adams, Charles J., eds. (2005).Encyclopedia of religion (2nd ed.). Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA. pp. Names in Religion: Devotional Names in Various Religious Traditions.ISBN978-0-02-865733-2.
^Robertson, Nan,The Girls in the Balcony: Women, Men, andThe New York Times (N.Y.: Random House, [2nd printing?] 1992 (ISBN0-394-58452-X)), p. 221. In 1968, one such employer wasThe New York Times, the affected workers were classified-advertising takers, and the renaming was away from Jewish, Irish, and Italian names to ones "with aWASP flavor".
^The Ruse That Roared,The Washington Post, 5 November 1995, Richard Leiby, James Lileks
^Please note this is an English construction, and the idiomatic French phrase isnom de guerre discussedbelow. Seenom de plume for details.
^Novak, Jasmine; Raghavan, Prabhakar; Tomkins, Andrew (May 2004). "Anti-aliasing on the web".Proceedings of the 13th conference on World Wide Web - WWW '04. WWW '04: Proceedings of the 13th international conference on World Wide Web. New York, New York, USA: ACM Press. pp. 30–39.doi:10.1145/988672.988678.ISBN978-1-58113-844-3.OCLC327018361.
^Feldman, M., S. Papadimitriou, and J. Chuang (2004). "Free-Riding and Whitewashing in Peer-to-Peer Systems." Paper presented at SIGCOMM '04 Workshop (Portland, Oregon, 30 Aug. – 3 September 2004).
^Johnson, D.G.; Miller, K. (1998). "Anonymity, Pseudonymity, and Inescapable Identity on the Net".ACM SIGCAS Computers and Society.28 (2):37–38.doi:10.1145/276758.276774.
^Tsikerdekis, Michail (2011). "Engineering anonymity to reduce aggression online".Proceedings of the IADIS International Conference – Interfaces and Human Computer Interaction. Rome, Italy: IADIS – International association for development of the information society. pp. 500–504.
^Tsikerdekis Michail (2012). "The choice of complete anonymity versus pseudonymity for aggression online".EMinds International Journal on Human-Computer Interaction.2 (8):35–57.
^abFredheim, Rolf; Moore, Alfred (4 November 2015),Talking Politics Online: How Facebook Generates Clicks But Undermines Discussion,doi:10.2139/ssrn.2686164,SSRN2686164
Peschke, Michael (2006).International Encyclopedia of Pseudonyms. Detroit: Gale.ISBN978-3-598-24960-0.
Room, Adrian (2010).Dictionary of Pseudonyms: 13,000 Assumed Names and Their Origins (5th revised ed.). Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Co.ISBN978-0-7864-4373-4.
The Real Name Fallacy - "Not only would removing anonymity fail to consistently improve online community behavior – forcing real names in online communities could also increase discrimination and worsen harassment." with 30 references
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