Pen name
American
Mark Twain
Mark Twain is the pen name used by Samuel Langhorne Clemens. Author of Tom Sawyer.
- Birth or original name
- Samuel Langhorne Clemens
- Name-change type
- Pen name
Writers have used pen names to protect privacy, cross gender barriers, separate genres and create a memorable literary identity. A pen name is not necessarily a legal name change, and this page makes that distinction clear.
A stage name, pen name, ring name or mononym can be used publicly without replacing the person's legal identity. We use precise labels so a professional name is not accidentally presented as a legal change.
A name used publicly for work. It may never appear on official documents.
A change reported as having been formalised through the legal process available in that country.
A publishing or sporting identity, usually separate from the person's legal name.
A one-word name, nickname or middle name used as the public identity.
Mark Twain is the pen name used by Samuel Langhorne Clemens. Author of Tom Sawyer.
George Orwell is the pen name used by Eric Arthur Blair. Author of 1984.
Lewis Carroll is the pen name used by Charles Lutwidge Dodgson. Author of Alice in Wonderland.
Dr. Seuss is the pen name used by Theodor Seuss Geisel. Children's author.
Voltaire is the pen name used by Francois-Marie Arouet. Enlightenment writer.
Ayn Rand is the pen name used by Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum. Author of Atlas Shrugged.
O. Henry is the pen name used by William Sydney Porter. Short-story writer.
Saki is the pen name used by Hector Hugh Munro. Short-story writer.
Joseph Conrad was born or originally known as Jozef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski and became famous under a different professional name. Author of Heart of Darkness.
Isak Dinesen is the pen name used by Karen Blixen. Author of Out of Africa.
Maya Angelou was born or originally known as Marguerite Annie Johnson and became famous under a different professional name. Combined the childhood nickname Maya with a version of her former married surname Angelos.
George Eliot is the pen name used by Mary Ann Evans. Used a male name to be taken seriously.
Currer Bell is the pen name used by Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre published under a male name.
Ellis Bell is the pen name used by Emily Bronte. Wuthering Heights published under a male name.
Acton Bell is the pen name used by Anne Bronte. Published under a male name.
George Sand is the pen name used by Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin. Used a male pen name.
J.K. Rowling is the pen name used by Joanne Rowling. Also writes crime as Robert Galbraith.
Richard Bachman is the pen name used by Stephen King. King's alternate publishing identity.
Lemony Snicket is the pen name used by Daniel Handler. A Series of Unfortunate Events.
J.D. Robb is the pen name used by Eleanor Marie Robertson. Also writes as Nora Roberts.
bell hooks is the pen name used by Gloria Jean Watkins. Adopted the name of her great-grandmother and styled it in lowercase to keep attention on the work rather than the author.
Stan Lee was originally named Stanley Martin Lieber and the change was publicly reported as legal. Marvel co-creator, legally adopted his pen name.
Pablo Neruda was originally named Ricardo Eliecer Neftali Reyes Basoalto and the change was publicly reported as legal. Poet, legally adopted his pen name.
A pen name is used for publishing and does not automatically replace a person's legal identity. Some writers later adopted their pen name legally, but most did not need to.
Historically, some women used male pen names to avoid prejudice, reach a wider market or have their work judged without assumptions about gender.
George Orwell was the pen name of Eric Arthur Blair. He remained Eric Blair in private and legal life.
Yes. Writers often use different names for different genres. Stephen King wrote as Richard Bachman, while J.K. Rowling also publishes crime fiction as Robert Galbraith.
These links support selected additions and key examples. The wider list was built from the research spreadsheet supplied for this project and editorially reorganised for clarity.
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