Talk:List of pseudonyms

Original names in italics
Why are the original names in italics ? Looks odd. Do any other pages have a similar kind of convention ? Jay 16:40, 1 Feb 2004 (UTC)

Two people with same pseudonym
Dr. Seuss? what if two persons share name? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.106.205.85 (talk) 03:43, 13 March 2004 (UTC)

Links for real names
Why are nearly all real names made into Wikipedia links? Most, if not all, of them are merely redirects to the pseudonym's article. It's my understanding that links to redirects are frowned upon in Wikidom. On the other hand, it might make some sense to have these links so that people will add redirect pages, with the broken links showing which ones remain to be created. Opinions, anyone? -- Jeff Q 18:45, 4 Jun 2004 (UTC)

I was just thinking about this. I agree - don't bother linking to a re-direct, just make sure there is a redirect. We should also have some sort of convention such as the real names are in brackets, only linked if going to a different article - put at the top of the page. Anyone?
 * A.K.A.47 16:20, 20 May 2005 (UTC)

Manoj (Mayank)
I am new to this place but this link definitely seems like a prank. The two names are fairly common Indian names and I dont think they are pseudonyms at all. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 61.17.134.251 (talk) 14:32, 21 March 2005 (UTC)
 * Errrrmm, Who are you? I mean - welcome to wikipedia. whomever you may be.
 * A.K.A.47 16:23, 20 May 2005 (UTC)

"Fake Names" for musical groups?
Should there also be a list of pseudonyms for established musical acts, like The Wonder Who? for The Four Seasons or Suzy and the Red Stripes for Paul McCartney and Wings? B.Wind 20:32, 28 May 2007 (UTC)

Spurious use of the term Pseudonym
A lot of the people mentioned who apparently use pseudonyms don't seem quite right - "Che" Guevara was a nick-name, "Che" meaning "Little Boot" or something like that.. I wouldn't exactly call "Buddha" a pseudonym.. the converts to Islams - I wouldn't call their Islamic names pseudonyms either. The list just looks a little haphazard imo Halfabeet (talk) 17:11, 13 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Ditto. A pseudonym is used to hide someone's identity.  When Cassius Clay changed his name legally to Muhammed Ali it was hardly a secret.  Also, under the fictional pseudonyms are M and Q from the James Bond series.  These are nicknames for the branches the run, M for MI6, Q for Q branch.TychaBrahe (talk) 18:10, 16 January 2013 (UTC)

Merge
There's redundancy between List of pseudonyms and List of pen names. The merge could go either way, but there's no point in having two lists. - Jason A. Quest (talk) 16:22, 2 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Support. Btyner (talk) 23:54, 21 August 2009 (UTC)
 * Not sure I agree. The time will come when the list is too long to be manageable, which it probably is already (I don't remember offhand the recommended length). I'd favour shorter lists (and articles in general) taking full advantage of the cross-referencing functions available to us using wikilinks. But as a newcomer to this list, I'm open to attempts to convince me. Cheers! --Technopat (talk) 00:56, 22 August 2009 (UTC)

To me, the categories are different. For me, pen name is a name that everybody knows the identity behind but pseudonym - often for political reasons, the author has to hide to save his skin. Take for example the case of authorship of Ali and Nino by pseudonym Kurban Said. At issue is whether penname Chamanzaminli (Yusif Vazirov) or penname Essad Bey (Lev Nussimbaum) was the core author. In such cases, I think it is important to keep the lists separate. The content of writing is also very likely to be quite different, given the circumstances under which the author had to hide his identity. I say - Don't merge! gizgalazi — Preceding unsigned comment added by Gizgalasi (talk • contribs) 01:36, 21 March 2011 (UTC)

Additions to Pen Names
Added Stan Lee/Stanley Martin Lieber to the list of pen names with a link to his Wikipedia page. Also want to discuss/suggest two other additions: Colette and Jon Stewart. On her Wikipedia page, Colette is described thus: “Colette was the pen name of the French novelist Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette...” The page clearly refers to Colette as a “pen name”, and she is almost never discussed using her full name. On the other hand, Colette is specifically her surname, not an assumed name. How should one proceed? Secondly, the American Humourist/Political Commenter, Jon Stewart (Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz) in not mentioned. While he is most famous for his work in television and movies, he is also co-author (using the name, Jon Stewart) of America, the Book, described by his Wikipedia page as “one of the best-selling books in the U.S in 2004.” Does the fact that he is better known for other work preclude mentioning him on the Pen Name list for his authorship under an assumed name? Discussion and Guidance on the inclusion of these two individuals would be helpful. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.69.160.130 (talk) 01:00, 18 February 2009 (UTC)


 * "Jon Stewart" is really just a stage name transferred to the page, not a pen name. I wouldn't consider "Colette" a pen name, since it is her actual surname.  After all, we call William Shakespeare just "Shakespeare" all the time without considering it a pseudonym (of any kind).  In Colette's case, the use of the surname alone is more of an affectation than a "false name". - Jason A. Quest (talk) 03:24, 18 February 2009 (UTC)

Merge discussion
It has been suggested that this page be merged. If there are no objections this editor will complete the merge.--Amadscientist (talk) 14:14, 28 February 2012 (UTC)
 * Stale merge. No consensus for article with different formatting and different list to be added here. Other article seems original enough to keep as is for now.--Amadscientist (talk) 21:45, 29 February 2012 (UTC)
 * Note: due to these two lists being duplicate, I merged the pen names to List of pen names. --Obi-Wan Kenobi (talk) 17:02, 19 November 2013 (UTC)

Jack the Ripper -pseudonym??????????????
I was thinking of putting a link of the Whitechapel murders in this page.But since Jack the Ripper was never identified so there seems a general consensus of not putting it.And it seems possible in the very least that his name - real name is Jack. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 117.219.224.37 (talk) 13:47, 10 October 2012 (UTC)

Pseudonyms vs. Nicknames
What is the difference between the two? The original pseudonym article doesn't distinguish between the two.

Criminals are often given pseudonyms by the media (i.e., "Son of Sam", "The Night Stalker", "The Hillside Strangler", etc.). How does the fact that it was bestowed upon them by another party make it any less of a pseudonym? Like it or not, that's how they were (or are) known in public life. LizFL (talk) 09:38, 25 April 2013 (UTC)

Sarah Jane Olson = Politician?
Judging from her bio, she appears to be closer to the Unabomber than an actual politician such as Willy Brandt (that is to say, while her actions may have been politically motivated, she's known more for being a terrorist than a politician). LizFL (talk) 20:50, 27 April 2013 (UTC)

This List Is Not Intended To Be Sealed In Amber
Quit deleting Golda Meir and Dabo Swinney. Reliably sourced entries are not to be deleted. It is not the task of any one single person to decide how long the list should be.

There's a notation at the top of the list saying that it's incomplete (and that it SHOULD be expanded). At what point are we to cease adding names? If we've reached that point, maybe we should consider locking the list.

And the Introduction desperately needed editing (I edited it because it was full of syntax and punctuation errors and it was all but unreadable ... assuming it's needed at ALL).

If you can't tolerate someone else coming in and editing your(?) work, maybe you shouldn't be on Wikipedia. LizFL (talk) 13:35, 25 March 2015 (UTC)


 * At first I was wondering who it was you were mad at and what he or she had done. Then I reviewed the edit history and saw that it must be me. I had forgotten my reverts of your rewording of the lede. But that was the only thing I objected to. I didn't remove any names from the list. I am well aware that no one owns anything on this encyclopaedia, and I understand that sometimes going bold is the way to go. So take a deep breath and let's work together to fashion lede criteria we can both agree on. Sorry for upsetting you. Of course the list is dynamic. Yours, Quis separabit?  02:08, 26 March 2015 (UTC)
 * I was confused. Given that the lede and the names were both being deleted at the same time, I was under the impression that the same individual was having issues with both of them.  I apologize for misjudging you.
 * That said, there's no need to denote every single category on the list in the lede (we have a table of contents). To me, it just made for awkward reading. LizFL (talk) 10:48, 26 March 2015 (UTC)
 * I remember I wrote the lede in its current state and added the dynamic list message. It's okay if you need to rewrite the lede; I hope you do a good job; please don't say "et. al.", though. Cheers. Prhartcom (talk) 17:24, 26 March 2015 (UTC)

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Needs significant cleanup
A lot of these entries are not pseudonyms by any definition I am familiar with. Cristiano Ronaldo is a particularly egregious example, but a lot of examples here seem to be getting to the point of saying "actually Mike Smith is a pseudonym, his real name is Michael Smith" which...

At that point you're running up against WP:INDISCRIMINATE in that a significant proportion of the world's population don't necessarily go by exactly the same name in their personal or public lives as the name which appears on legal documents for them.

See also that article that was going around about mistakes computer programmers make about people's names. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2A02:C7F:DC08:9000:E9D8:A1DF:17F2:EAA2 (talk) 12:53, 2 October 2020 (UTC)

People who legally changed their names
Am I right in thinking that this list does/should not include people who legally changed their names (such as Muhammad Ali)? DH85868993 (talk) 09:45, 26 June 2024 (UTC)
 * Yes. -- Valjean (talk) ( PING me ) 15:14, 26 June 2024 (UTC)
 * Thanks for the confirmation. DH85868993 (talk) 23:12, 26 June 2024 (UTC)