When is a pseudonym not a pseudonym? What about El Greco, Fibonacci, Lenin, Erasmus (?), etc? Are these strictly pseudonyms, appelations, nicknames or aliases? -- Tarquin

I vote nickname, of which there are over 100 in wikipedia, but none link to nickname. Someone should create a list (okay, I'll start)

-- dml

Ok whats the difference between a pseudonym, nickname and an alias ? Can royal and religious titles be considered pseudonyms, for e.g., is Dalai Lama a pseudonym for Tenzin Gyatso ? Jay 08:25, 15 Apr 2004 (UTC)

• (copied from Wikipedia:Reference desk) Well, Dalai Lama should be considered a formal title rather than a pseudonym. Since Tenzin Gyatso is generally referred to in English as the Dalai Lama, that's a reference to a title rather than a name. I don't believe that the fact that the title supercedes the name matters in this case. A nickname is generally applied by other people, as opposed to one's self. I believe the main difference between alias and pseudonym is one of connotation; as an alias is more commonly used as a name taken to evade something, whereas a psudonym is usually adopted in order to hide one's actual name but not to actually evade anything. Hope this helps. [[User:Rhymeless|Rhymeless | (Methyl Remiss)]] 07:55, 9 Nov 2004 (UTC)

No, royal and religious titles are not usually considered pseudonyms. A nickname is normally something that other people chose for the person, often a familiar and perhaps slightly derogative term. A pseudonym is another name that one choses generally oneself with specific purposes. Alias tends to imply a multiplicity of alternate names, often for illegal purposes. David.Monniaux 20:55, 10 Nov 2004 (UTC)

My understanding is that nom de guerre is a pseudo-French expression. As a native French speaker, I never saw this expression used in French, only in English. David.Monniaux 07:20, 10 Nov 2004 (UTC)

As for El Greco and Lenin: I would say El Greco is a nickname since it was not adopted by him but rather used by others (I have deleted him from the list of pseudonyms), while Lenin is a pseudonym (or alias) since he used it himself. --Georgius 20:04, 14 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Che Guevara is a nickname, according to Jon Lee Anderson and his biography on Che, named Che Guevara, given to him by his newfound Cuban friends when in Mexico planning the revolution. 212.181.115.254 09:04, 9 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Can anyone confirm that the "editor" in the Heinlein anecdote was Hugo Gernsback? I haven't heard this story before, but I'm 90% sure it was Gernsback anyway, because it's his style. Blair P. Houghton 23:40, 26 Feb 2005 (UTC)

Most of Heinlein's early fiction was published in the John W. Campbell edited Astounding Science Fiction. Among the pseudonyms that he used during that era were Anson MacDonald, Lyle Monroe, John Riverside and Caleb Saunders. BlankVerse ∅ 06:34, 4 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Heinlein's editor was Campbell, yes. But although occasionally more than one Heinlein story would appear in the same issue of Astounding, he wasn't a good case of a prolific author using pseudonyms because of volume of output. He used pseudonyms to distinguish his Future History stories from other stories, and this decision enabled two stories to be published together without a duplication of name, rather than the other way around. While I was at it, I deleted the section on regnal numbers, which has nothing to do with pseudonyms. User:Kalimac

Well they help some while others it hurts. Hey now I have a few nicknames or A.K.A.'s that I use I love mine its easy to remember. Why should people not be able to use them? If people can use them so should authors!

Tiffany

Pseudonym from Greek pseudo + onym = false name Alias from Latin alius = else, other Alibi from Latin alibi = elsewhere

Someone put in the origin of alibi for some reason.