20 Historical Figures Who Used Pseudonyms

George Orwell was born Eric Arthur Blair, but he chose a pen name before publishing Down and Out in Paris and London. He did not want the book’s difficult subject matter to be too closely associated with his last name, especially since it was inspired by his own experiences of poverty and low-paying work. The name George Orwell allowed him to forge a distinct public identity, which came to be associated with Animal Farm and 1984.

Pablo Picasso’s name is fairly easy to remember, but it’s actually a shortened version of his much longer birth name. He was born Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso, although different sources differ slightly on the exact order of his first names. By dropping “Ruiz” and using “Picasso”—his mother’s surname—he forged a simpler artistic identity that was easier for the whole world to remember. Phew.

Marilyn Monroe was born Norma Jeane Mortenson and was also known as Norma Jeane Baker during her childhood. She was given her famous stage name upon her arrival in Hollywood, where studio executives wanted a more glamorous and memorable name. The first name “Marilyn” is said to have been inspired by the Broadway actress Marilyn Miller, while the last name “Monroe” came from her mother’s maiden name.

Leon Trotsky was born Lev Davidovich Bronstein, not the name that would later come to play a central role in the history of the revolution. He adopted the name “Trotsky” after escaping from exile in Siberia, using it on forged documents to leave Russia. What began as nothing more than a pseudonym for the occasion became the identity under which he helped shape the Russian Revolution and later opposed Stalin.

Mark Twain was the pen name of Samuel Langhorne Clemens. The name came from riverboat slang, which was perfectly suited to a writer whose youth and imagination were closely tied to the Mississippi River. Under this pen name, he became one of the most famous authors in the United States and gave his readers The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

Joseph Stalin was born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili in Georgia. As a revolutionary, he used several pseudonyms before choosing Stalin, a name associated with the Russian word for “steel.” This chosen identity helped him project the stern political image he wished to convey as he rose to dominate the Soviet Union.

Vladimir Lenin was born Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. Like many revolutionaries who faced police repression, he used pseudonyms to protect himself and his political network. It is under the name “Lenin” that he has gone down in history for leading the Bolshevik movement and founding the Soviet state.

Muhammad Ali was born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr., a name he later rejected after joining the Nation of Islam. He first took the name Cassius X before being given the name Muhammad Ali. For him, this change was closely tied to his faith, his identity, and his rejection of a name he associated with slavery.

Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little, but he replaced his last name with “X” after joining the Nation of Islam. This letter symbolized the African surname he believed he had been stripped of by slavery. Later, after his pilgrimage to Mecca, he was also known as el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz.

Voltaire was born François-Marie Arouet, but the pen name he chose for himself became far more famous than the name on his birth certificate. The exact origin of the name “Voltaire” is a matter of debate, although it first appeared after his first imprisonment in the Bastille. Under this name, he became one of the leading writers of the Age of Enlightenment, renowned for his wit, his critiques, and his scathing attacks on intolerance.

Babe Ruth was born George Herman Ruth Jr., a name that seems almost stuffy compared to the nickname that baseball fans still use today. The nickname “Babe” is said to have been given to him early in his professional career, when his teammates associated him with Jack Dunn, the owner of the Baltimore Orioles who had helped recruit him. By the time Ruth became a Yankees legend, that nickname was already an integral part of baseball history.

Nelson Mandela was born Rolihlahla Mandela, and it was a teacher who gave him the first name “Nelson” at school. This practice was part of a colonial-era school tradition of giving English first names to African children. Mandela’s birth name has retained its full meaning, but it is by the name associated with his role as a leader in the struggle against apartheid and his presidency that the world has come to know him.

Che Guevara was born Ernesto Guevara de la Serna. His famous nickname stems from his habit, while in Argentina, of using “che,” a common expression in everyday conversation. This nickname followed him throughout his revolutionary political career in Latin America and eventually became inseparable from his public image.

Ulysses S. Grant was born Hiram Ulysses Grant, but a mistake made when he enrolled at West Point changed the spelling of his name. The “S” came from Simpson, his mother’s maiden name, although it was not originally part of his official birth name. Grant accepted this new version, and it is by this name that he has been remembered since the Civil War and his presidency.

Most of you probably know that John Wayne wasn’t his real name, but in case you didn’t, this renowned actor was born Marion Robert Morrison, although his middle name was later changed to Mitchell. It was Hollywood that renamed him John Wayne—a name that sounded more powerful and lent itself better to promoting the Western roles that made him famous. This stage name helped shape the public image that accompanied him throughout several decades of American cinema.

Freddie Mercury was born Farrokh Bulsara in Zanzibar. He began going by the name Freddie during his school years, then adopted the name Mercury as the band Queen took shape. This new name perfectly matched his bold stage presence, which helped make him one of rock music’s most iconic artists.

Molière was the stage name of Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, a 17th-century French actor and playwright. He adopted this name as he built his theatrical career, long before works such as Tartuffe, The Misanthrope, and The Imaginary Invalid made him an iconic figure in French literature. This stage name has become so widely accepted that most readers today are familiar first and foremost with “Molière” and regard his birth name as merely a biographical detail.

George Eliot was the pen name of Mary Ann Evans, one of the greatest novelists of the Victorian era. She chose a male name at a time when women writers were often judged by narrow standards, especially when they wrote serious novels. The identity she chose for herself allowed her work to reach readers before they even had a chance to reject it because of her gender.

The Chilean poet Pablo Neruda was born Ricardo Eliécer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto. He began using his pen name early in his writing career, partly because his father disapproved of his literary ambitions. That name eventually became his official one, and it was under that name that he won the Nobel Prize in Literature and became one of the most important poets of the 20th century.

Mother Teresa was born Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu in what is now North Macedonia. She took the religious name Teresa after joining the Sisters of Loreto, choosing it in honor of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux. It was under this name that the world came to know her as she became one of the most famous Catholic humanitarian figures of the 20th century.