Talk:Pseudonym
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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)
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- 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)
- "Nom de guerre" is a well known french expression used for fighters : warriors, politics, trade-unionists... Please look at : [1].
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)
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[edit] Heinlein editor
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
[edit] Whats The Point?
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
[edit] Pseudonym vs. alias vs. alibi
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. HKMARKS 21:57, 5 June 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Dodgy external link
I removed the "list of pseudonyms" link (http://go.to/realnames) because upon going to the site, it asked me via a dialogue box to download some kind of anti virus software, and when I tried to close the box nothing happened and the back button on my browser had been disabled. There was also at least one dubious banner ad on the site, plus it played some annoying music. --Thoughtcat 12:42, 12 June 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Nom de guerre
According to the article Kunya, only Abu Ammar is a nom de guerre as opposed to an honorific. Abu Mazen refers to a son. I am unable to ascertain whether Abu Alaa refers to a son, so I shall leave it for the moment - the Palestinian National Authority website is down at the moment due to the Israeli 'incursion'. Oh, and only the "Che" part of Che Guevara is a nickname. Supersheep 14:30, 19 July 2006 (UTC)
"Abu <name> is a common kunya (honorific) for males in Arab cultures. It is translated to "Father of <name>." This is considered a measure of respect. From the kunya article: "Use of the kunya normally signifies some closeness between the speaker and the person so addressed, but is more polite than use of the first name." It is common for Israelis, for instance, to call Mahmoud Abbas by his given name, rather than by the kunya "Abu Mazzen." It is preferable to remove references to the kunya in the Nom de guerre section and place them instead in their own separate section, or simply move them to the kunya article. While it is true that in some cases these can be considered a nom de guerre(as with Yasser Arrafat, who has no son), it is also worth noting that this is a distinct practice in the Arab world, and the two terms are not synonymous.
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The French were great at pseudonyms. In many small towns in Quebec, and possibly other French areas, as well, people had the same identical first and last name because they were related or just because they had popular names. So they were given "dit" names or nicknames to distinguish them from the other holders of the same name. These frequently became surnames when they seemed to sound better to the recipient. Drives genealogists wild!Student7 00:46, 31 December 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Another interesting example
In order to avoid cries of nepotism as the nephew of Francis Ford Coppola, Cage changed his name from Nicolas Coppola early in his career. Perhaps it should be part of the main article, as the reason here differs from other reasons in an interesting way. 82.195.149.147 08:05, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Computer clan pseudos
Some bastards that have been editing that thing to promote themselves and their clan. Should it be removed? --87.248.2.56 17:55, 5 April 2007 (UTC)
