What is an alias? Many people have probably heard this word, but represent its meaning, meaning, origin and other interesting features only in general terms. In the article we will become more familiar with this concept, and you will learn what a pseudonym is and what it is eaten with.
Definition
An alias is a fictitious, fake name that a person uses to not give out real data recorded in documents.
Foreign and Russian pseudonyms are equally good, but some people (both "ours" and foreign ones) deliberately use foreign letters to make the finished new name look as original as possible. Famous personalities, "glowing" on the screens, have a more complete name: an artistic pseudonym or, as they call it differently, a stage name.
Synonyms of the word
pseudonym: nickname, nickname, nickname. They do not always mean the same thing, but they can be called the closest to the concept under discussion.
Origin
Despite the similarity of the concepts of “nickname” and “pseudonym”, they are still slightly different. At least the fact that nicknames appeared earlier. What is an alias? Fictional name. A nickname is also a name, but most often given to a person by other people for some of his features and characteristics.
The origin of pseudonyms can be traced even before the appearance of a production book, but the roots come precisely from writers. It was the authors who first began to use fictitious names. True, even earlier people began to use nicknames, as mentioned above. It’s just that once a new name “stuck” to some person, ridiculing his shortcomings or emphasizing his dignity, as a result of which the real data was completely forgotten. Then more active use of both nicknames and pseudonyms began, and now they are unlikely to ever be abandoned.
Why use aliases
The reasons may be different. The most common are listed below:
1. Reluctance to shine with real data in front of the public. For this, again, there are branches. Reluctance may be caused by:
- Fear of persecution. People do not always write or put on public court what everyone will like. Sometimes real data are revealed, for example, about criminals, which means that someone may wish to find a writer and take revenge. Tracking a person with a real name is much easier than hiding behind a pseudonym.
- Inadequate status. This was especially true of previous centuries. People from dysfunctional families could not be taken seriously by the people just because of their origin. This is unfair and insulting, so the authors had to hide their own surname.
- Fear "screwed up." Beginning authors never know exactly how critics and ordinary people will react to their work - success awaits them or failure, so pseudonyms inspired more confidence: if the “first pancake” is unsuccessful, you can try again and no one will be biased due to a previous miss .
- Natural modesty. Not everyone becomes famous people for the sake of fame, for some it comes out almost by accident. To at least slightly protect themselves from strangers, modest people take pseudonyms.
2. Dislike for a real name. Due to the fact that the person does not like the real name given by the parents, but for personal reasons he does not want to change it officially (for example, due to paperwork with documents), the author can realize his dreams about the new name in a different way.
3. The solidity of the real name. A real name can be impossibly banal and mediocre, because of which its owner has to come up with a creative pseudonym that is really able to please the public. This applies to well-known actors, singers and musicians, as well as more highly specialized people like fortune-tellers, cooks and local (urban, rural, roadside) "stars".
4. The entertaining nature of the new name. This can occur in:
- Mysterious nickname. People are trying to unravel the secret that is hidden behind an unusual and strange name, trying to understand why the author chose such a nickname, etc.
- Associations. The author deliberately creates a pseudonym for himself, which most people will involuntarily associate and / or identify with someone / something.
- Curiosity. The author carefully hides, leaving behind only a pseudonym, which makes people incredibly interested in who is behind this or that nickname, what kind of person he is, how real he is, etc.
5. "Automatic" pseudonym. This option applies to those who do not invent a nickname for themselves. Serial killers, such as famous thieves or other people who have a pseudonym thanks to the public and the media, fall into this category.
Who are the most common nicknames?
Earlier
As soon as one person called himself a fictitious name, others began to repeat after him. Most often, pseudonyms were used by public figures who were constantly in sight, which people know. These may be writers and writers who do not want to shine on the covers of books with real data, singers and singers who simply cannot speak with the name of Ivan Ivanov, since this is too commonplace and ordinary, artists and people of other creative professions who have become world-famous criminals (take the same Jack the Ripper), as well as political figures (for example, Lenin).
Now
Of course, modern writers and people of art and other areas continue to use pseudonyms, as before, since this will never go out of style with stars, but another category of people who almost have to use this method of hiding a real name has been added. Aliases are used by almost every more or less active Internet user: nicknames that you regularly need to come up with with numerous registrations are the same aliases.
How to come up with an alias?
Whether you are a beginner author or just do not know how to come up with a new nickname, it will be useful for you to know about some secrets that allow you to come up with a new name:
- Own qualities. Clever man, daredevil, hero, fool, etc. - all these words characterize a person. By defining your strengths or weaknesses - for those who are not strangers to self-irony - you can come up with any nicknames and concepts close to them.
- Compilation of existing names / aliases of the new. Marilyn Manson, for example, took the name from the singer Marilyn Monroe - a sex symbol, singer and actress - and the name of Charles Manson - the once famous killer.
- Anagrams. With the help of this literary device, that is, by rearranging syllables, sounds or letters, you can create an incredible amount of new, unusual, but at the same time mysterious pseudonyms. A sniper can turn into Naysper'a, True to Hell Warp'a, etc. Sometimes it is almost impossible to recognize the old in a new word.
Writers (and poets) using pseudonyms
The most common way to sign books is not by their own name among writers. But, since these people are connected with literature, they get really interesting nicknames. The pseudonyms of writers are often well remembered and sound original. But not so much as to shock the reader, and therefore it is not always immediately clear whether the name is false or real.
So, the most famous aliases of writers:
- Agatha Christie.
- Andrey Bely.
- Anna Akhmatova.
- Arkady Gaidar.
- Boris Akunin.
- Voltaire.
- Demian Poor.
- Jack London.
- Igor Severyanin .;
- Korney Chukovsky.
- Lewis Carroll
- Max Fry.
- Maksim Gorky.
- Mark Twain.
- O.Henry.
- Richard Bachmann
- Sasha Black.
Actors and TV hosts using pseudonyms
This includes everyone who shines on screens or in theaters. By the way, the modern world allows us to bring to your attention not only film and / or theater actors or television presenters, but also video bloggers.
So, the well-known “screen” personalities using pseudonyms:
- Antonio Banderas.
- Bruce Lee.
- Demmy Moor.
- Jackie Chan.
- Jodie Foster
- Ilya Maddison.
- Kate Clapp.
- Marilyn Monroe.
- Nicolas Cage.
- Roma Acorn.
- Sophia Loren.
Singers and musicians using pseudonyms
Of course, in addition to writers and TV stars, fictitious names are also used by singers, of whom there are many. The most famous:
- Alena Apina.
- Bono
- Vera Brezhneva.
- Dima Bilan.
- Jeanne Friske.
- Masha Rasputin.
- Giacomo Meyerbeer.
- Marilyn Monroe.
- Marilyn Manson.
- Tina Karol.
- Freddie Mercury.
- Elton John.
Other figures
Others are all the rest: criminals, politicians, circus performers, etc.
So, the most famous and best pseudonyms of people not related to literature, music and cinema:
- Jack the Ripper.
- David Copperfield.
- Joseph Stalin.
- Konstantin Stanislavsky.
- Leon Trotsky.
- Lenin.
- Paracelsus.
- Pele.
- Sandro Botticelli
- Student.
- Tintoretto.
Conclusion
Now you know what a pseudonym is; moreover, you can come up with your own. The main thing is not to be afraid to show imagination - and then the new fictitious name will become truly attractive, interesting and memorable.