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A pseudonym or allonym is a name (sometimes legally
adopted, sometimes purely fictitious) used by an individual as an alternative to their birth name.
When used by authors, a pseudonym is also called a pen name or (in French) nom
de plume. This is an English expression: in France, such an alias is more
commonly termed a nom de guerre, or "name of war".
When used by actors, performers, or models, a pseudonym is also called a stage name (or sometimes "screen name")
Famous pseudonyms of people who were neither authors nor actors include:
- Le Corbusier, the architect, was Charles Edouard Jeanneret.
- Aphex Twin, prolific techno
artist Richard D. James, who uses up to 11 other different names on various releases.
- Alan Smithee was the name used by directors who disown their own movie.
- David Agnew is used on BBC programmes
where a writer's name cannot used for contractual reasons.
- Nicolas Bourbaki was a famous pseudonym for a group of
mathematicians
- Student was William Sealey Gosset, discoverer of Student's t-distribution in statistics.
- Carlos the Jackal is the nom de guerre of Ilich
Ramirez Sanchez, a terrorist
- Hambali is Riduan Isamuddin, the leader of Jemaah Islamiah, a terrorist group; he was born Encep Nurjaman
- Abu Mazen is Mahmoud Abbas, the former prime minister of the Palestinian Authority
- Abu Ammar was PLO leader Yasser
Arafat's nom de guerre, although this name is no longer widely used
- Abu Ala is the name that Ahmed Qurei uses
On the internet, pseudonymous remailers utilising
cryptography can be used to achieve persistent pseudonymity, so that two-way communication can be achieved, and reputations can be established without
linking a physical identity to a pseudonym.
See also
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