15 Pen Names You May Not Have Known Are Author Pseudonyms by Tracy O'NeillMarch 2, 2015

Authors are no strangers to fiction, and sometimes the genius of their imaginations even extends to their own names. We know, of course, that Mark Twain was born Samuel Clemens and J.K. Rowling is Joanne Kathleen Rowling. But below we've gathered fifteen pen names you may not have known are author pseudonyms. Thinking of another great writer with a nom de plume? Show us your stuff in the comments section below. And if you can't get enough of pen names, check out Nom de Plume: A (Secret) History of Pseudonyms by Carmela Ciuraru for the stories behind the names behind the writers behind your favorite books.

Toni Morrison LIVE from the NYPL
Toni Morrison LIVE from the NYPL
  1. Anne Rice a.k.a. Howard Allen Frances O'Brien
  2. Flann O'Brien a.k.a. Brian O'Nolan
  3. Ford Madox Ford a.k.a. Ford Hermann Hueffer
  4. George Eliot a.k.a. Mary Ann Evans
  5. George Sand a.k.a. Amandine Lucie Aurore Dupin
  6. Italo Svevo a.k.a. Aron Ettore Schmitz
  7. Isak Dinesen a.k.a. Karen Blixen
  8. John le Carré a.k.a. David John Moore Cornwell
  9. Joseph Conrad a.k.a. Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski
  10. Lewis Carroll a.k.a. Charles Lutwidge Dodgson
  11. O. Henry a.k.a. William Sydney Porter
  12. Pablo Neruda a.k.a. Ricardo Eliecer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto
  13. Stendhal a.k.a. Marie-Henri Beyle
  14. Toni Morrison a.k.a. Chloe Anthony Wofford
  15. Voltaire a.k.a. François-Marie Arouet
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Comments

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This reminds me of a time

Submitted by M. Anderson (not verified) on March 6, 2015 - 11:12am

This reminds me of a time when I was assigning research topics based on lists each student had submitted. I gave one student William Sydney Porter and he said that he was so disappointed because he wanted O. Henry.

Noms de plume

Submitted by Amy Stoller (not verified) on August 7, 2015 - 10:29pm

Saki, né H. H. Munro.