Using a pseudonym or alias

A pseudonym is a fictitious name used by a person, or sometimes, a group.

Pseudonyms are often used to hide an individual's real identity, as with writers' pen names, graffiti artists, resistance fighters' or terrorists' noms de guerre and computer hackers' handles. Actors, musicians, and other performers sometimes use stage names, for example, to mask their ethnic backgrounds. Stage names are also used as something that better matches their stage persona, as in the case of hip hop artists such as Ol' Dirty Bastard (who was known under at least six aliases); black metal performers such as Nocturno Culto; and hardcore punk singers such as "Rat" of Discharge. Another example of a pseudonym is Lemony Snicket, used by an author who wanted to hide his identity; or S. E. Hinton, an author who chose a name that was neither male nor female.

In some cases, pseudonyms are adopted because they are part of a cultural or organizational tradition. This has been the case of devotional names used by members of some religious orders, and "cadre names" used by Communist party leaders such as Trotsky and Stalin.

A collective name or collective pseudonym is one shared by two or more persons. This is sometimes used by the co-authors of a work, such as Ellery Queen, or Bourbaki.

The term is derived from the Greek (pseud?nymon), literally "false name", from (pseûdos), "lie, falsehood" and (ónoma), "name". A pseudonym is distinct from an allonym, which is the name of another actual person, which is assumed by someone in authorship of a work of art. This may occur when someone is ghostwriting a book or play, or in parody, or when using a "front" name, such as by screenwriters blacklisted in Hollywood in the 1950s and 1960s.

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