Pseudonym

A pseudonym (; from Ancient Greek ψευδώνυμος (pseudṓnumos) 'falsely named') or alias (, AY-lee-əs) is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). 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 remain anonymous and maintain privacy, though this may be difficult to achieve as a result of legal issues.

Scope

Pseudonyms include stage names, user names, ring names, pen names, aliases, superhero or villain identities and code names, gamertags, and regnal names of emperors, popes, and other monarchs. In some cases, it may also include nicknames. Historically, they have sometimes taken the form of anagrams, Graecisms, and Latinisations. 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, computer hackers' handles, and other online identities for services such as social media, online gaming, and internet forums. Actors, musicians, and other performers sometimes use stage names for a degree of privacy, to better market themselves, and other reasons. Some pseudonyms are part of a cultural or organisational tradition; for example, devotional names are used by members of some religious institutes, and "cadre names" are used by Communist party leaders such as Trotsky and Lenin.

Collective pseudonyms 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, Erin Hunter, Ellery Queen, H. Bustos Domecq, Nicolas Bourbaki, or James S. A. Corey. Publius was a collective pseudonym used by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and John Jay in writing The Federalist Papers. The individual authorship of some of the papers is still debated.

Etymology Pseudonym comes from the Greek ψευδώνυμον pseudṓnymon 'false name', from ψεῦδος pseûdos 'lie, falsehood' and ὄνομα (ónoma) 'name'. Alias is a Latin adverb meaning "at another time, elsewhere".

Usage

Name change

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, including common law countries, a name change can be ratified by a court and become a person's new legal name.

Concealing identity Pseudonymous authors may still have their various identities linked together through stylometric 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 and text corpora. Authors may practice adversarial stylometry to resist such identification.

Business 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.

Criminal activity

Criminals may use aliases, fictitious business names, and dummy 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 of The Washington Post, "getting to the truth requires a walk down a bizarre labyrinth" and multiple government agencies may become involved to uncover the truth. Giving a false name to a law enforcement officer is a crime in many jurisdictions.

Literature

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