Interesting Pen Names
Here are some interesting and clever pseudonyms I’ve come across over the years. After each nom de plume is the real author name.
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- Abel Shufflebottom (Robert Southey, 1774–1843)
- Æ, or Æon (George William Russell, 1867–1935)
- A Glow-worm (John Lorraine Baldwin)
- Alice Addertongue (Benjamin Franklin, 1706–1790)
- Anser Pen-Dragon (Samuel William Henry Ireland, 1775–1835)
- Anthony Afterwit (Benjamin Franklin, 1706–1790)
- Anti-Climacus (Søren Kierkegaard, 1813–1855)
- Arminius, Baron von Thunder-ten-Tronckh (Matthew Arnold,
1822–1888) - A Sentimental Idler (Harry Harewood Leech)
- Benevolus (Benjamin Franklin, 1706–1790)
- Benjamin Goosequill (James Makittrick Adair, 1728–1802)
- Biblicus (Alexander Tilloch, 1759–1825)
- Bookworm (Thomas F. Donnelly)
- Bottomless Pitt (William Pitt, 1708–1728)
- Boz (Charles Dickens, 1812–1870)
- Burlington Hawkeye-man (Robert J. Burdette)
- Cantell A. Bigly (George W. Peck, 1817–1859)
- Caustic Barebones (Thomas Bridges, c.1710–c.1775)
- Champagne Charlie (Charles Thorpe)
- Christopher Twist-wit, Esq. (Christopher Anstey, 1724–1805)
- Cobweb (Joseph Tinker Buckingham, 1779–1861)
- Cornelius Scriblerus Nothus (Thomas Burgess, 1756–1837)
- Cupid Jones (F. S. Saltus, 1849–1889)
- Daddy Violet (Napoleon Bonaparte, 1769–1821)
- Deep Will (William Pitt, 1759–1806)
- Demetrius Wyseman (Duke Willis, 19th century)
- Dick Kitcat (Richard Doyle, 1824–1883)
- Dizzy (Benjamin F. Disraeli, 1804–1881)
- Doctor Merry (J. Wyndham, 19th century)
- Dolly Dawdle (Mary C. Painter Lukens, b.1842)
- Drew Dogyear (Edward Gorey, 1925–2000)
- Dr. Humbug (Joseph Reed, 1723–1787)
- Dr. Syntax (William Combe)
- Dud Jermyn (Walter R. Benjamin, 1854–1943)
- Ebenezer Pentweazle (Christopher Smart, 1722–1771)
- Edgar E. Wordy (Edward Gorey, 1925–2000)
- E. G. Deadworry (Edward Gorey, 1925–2000)
- Epistolographos (Gouverneur Carr)
- Erratic Enrique (H. Clay Lukens)
- Father Brighthopes (J. T. Trowbridge)
- Fax (Augustine Barnum, 19th century)
- Forest Warbler (M. R. McCormick, 19th century)
- Forlorn Hope (Matilda A. Bailey, 19th century)
- F. Yrubslips (Francis Spilsbury, 18th century)
- Gabriel Silvertongue (James Montgomery, 1771–1854)
- Gary Dredwoe (Edward Gorey, 1925–2000)
- Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. (Washington Irving, 1783–1859)
- George Washington Makewright (Frank Cahill, 19th century)
- Handsome Beard (Baldwin IV Earl of Flanders, 1160–1186)
- Harry Wandsworth Shortfellow (Mary Cowden Clarke,
1809–1898) - Herman Thwackus (Jonas Clopper, 19th century)
- Hibernicus (DeWitt Clinton, 1769–1828)
- Hilarius Bookbinder (Søren Kierkegaard, 1813–1855)
- Honey Bee (Eliza A. E. Smith, 1819–1905)
- Johannes de Silentio (Søren Kierkegaard, 1813–1855)
- Jonathan Oldstyle (Washington Irving, 1783–1859)
- Lola Salt — collective pseudonym (Sarah Alderson and
Becky Wicks) - Lord of Crazy Castle (John Hall Stevenson, 1718–1780)
- Magnus Merriweather (Charles Remington Talbot, 1851–1891)
- Massachusettensis (David Leonard, 1740–1829)
- Maurice O'Quill (Martin Van Buren Denslow,
19th century) - Minnie Mayflower (Catharine Stratton Ladd, 1808–1899)
- Mr. Inkle (Christopher Anstey, 1724–1805)
- Mrs. Fairstar (Richard Hengist Horne, 1802–1884)
- Mrs. Literary (S. Elizabeth Hillyer Ballard Maynard,
19th century) - Mrs. Margaret Caudle (Douglas W. Jerrold, 1803–1857)
- Mr. Sparrowgrass (Frederick Swartwout Cozzens, 1818–1869)
- Mrs. Ramsbottom (Theodore Edward Hook, 1788–1841)
- Mrs. Silence Dogood (Benjamin Franklin, 1706–1790)
- Mr. Zigzag, the Elder (John Wykeham Archer, 1808–1864)
- Nemo Nobody, Esq. (James Fennell, 19th century)
- Noah Lott (George V. Hobart, 1867–1926)
- Nobody Nothing, of Nowhere (James Alexander Young,
1810–1870) - Normyx (Norman Douglas, 1868–1952)
- Oliver Oldschool, Esq. (Joseph Dennie, 1768–1812)
- Orange Peel (Sir Robert Peel, 1750–1830)
- Parallax (Samuel Rowbotham, 1816–1884)
- Parenthenopeus Hereticus (Mr Gordon, 18th century)
- Patience Strong (Winifred Emma May, 1907–1990)
- Periwinkle (Louisa May Alcott, 1832–1888)
- Peter Paragraph (James Makittrick Adair, 1728–1802)
- Peter Query (Martin Farquhar Tupper, 1810–1889)
- Petroleum V. Nasby (David Ross Locke, 1833–1888)
- Philocosmos (Hamlet Clark, 19th century)
- Philo-Veritas (Thomas D'Arcy M'Gee, 1825–1868)
- Phœnix (Henry Martin, 19th century)
- Q (Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch, 1863–1944)
- Queen of Hearts (Mrs. E. M. Patterson Keplinger, 19th century)
- Queerquill (Mary T. Waggamon, 1846–1931)
- Ray Adverb — character (Dave Barry, b.1947)
- Rev. Dr. Jonas Dryasdust, of York (Walter Scott, 1771–1832)
- Samuel A. Bard (Ephraim George Squier, 1821–1888)
- Sarah Search (Frederick Nolan, 1784–1864)
- Scriblerus Maximus (James Love, 1721–1774)
- Shirley Dare (Susan Dunning Waters, 19th century)
- Σ (Thomas Sharp, 1771–1841)
- Sigma (Lucien Manlius Sargent, 1786–1867)
- Simon Spunkey (Thomas Green Fessenden, 1771–1837)
- Sir Gregory Nonsense (John Taylor, 1580–1653)
- Smelfungus (Patrick Proctor Alexander, 1823–1886)
- Solomon Secondthoughts (John Pendleton Kennedy,
1795–1870) - Sophie Sparkle (Jennie E. Hicks, 19th century)
- Soul of Numbers (Ben Jonson, 1573–1637)
- Spiral Groove (Wilson MacDonald, 19th century)
- Squinteyed (Gian Francisco Barbieri, 1590–1660)
- Sut Lovengood (George Washington Harris, 1814–1869)
- The Cocoa-tree (Philip Francis, 1708–1773)
- The Ghost of Harry the Eighth's Fool (A. H. Forrester,
1804–1872) - The Greatest Hypocrite in England (John Wesley, 1703–1791)
- The Inspired Idiot (Oliver Goldsmith, 1728–1774)
- The Most Impudent Man Living (William Warburton,
1698–1779) - The Most Unpatriotic Man Alive (Charles James Fox, 1749–1806)
- Theodore Thinker (Francis Channing Woodworth, 1812–1859)
- Thomas Jefferson Snodgrass (Samuel Clemens, 1835–1910)
- Travis Tea — collective pseudonym (thirty-nine authors, 2004)
- Tydus-Pooh-Pooh (John Bowring, 1792–1872)
- U. Donough Utis (Richard Grant White, 1822–1885)
- Uniche (Mrs. R. A. Heavlin, 19th century)
- Ursa Major (Samuel Johnson, 1709–1784)
- Vagabondia (Frances Hodgson Burnett, 1849–1924)
- Veni Vidi (Mrs. J. Cunningham Croly, 1829–1901)
- Vieux Moustache (Clarence Gordon, 1835–1920)
- Walking Library (John Selden, 1584–1654)
- W. Epaminondas Adrastus Blab (Samuel Clemens, 1835–1910)
- Who Thinks-I-To-Myself? (Edward Nares, 1762–1841)
- Winning Hazard (Albert De Vere, 19th century)
- Xenette (Pamela S. Vining, 19th century)
- Xo Ho (Horace Walpole, 1717–1797)