Why Pseudo Names?

Posted on October 24, 2011 Updated on November 24, 2025

Pseudonyms, aliases, avatars, handles, monickers and nicknames are more popular than ever, but their popular use long-predates the internet and the reasoning for their use has never been more important (indeed necessary) than it is today. So why then do so many people get agitated enough to make petty insinuations at someone who writes online under an assumed name?

Do these armchair critics just operate under the simple-minded misconception that all professional writers should use their real names or risk losing credibility somehow. How is personal writing under an alias, less authentic than a byline with a given name?  Seems that most people forget that most mainstream writers are produce content that they hope will satisfy the needs of their editors and publishers, and ultimately their advertisers. So whether a journalist is required to pander to the large advertising account, or the satirist is supporting the editorial slant of a paper, the facts of life remain clear. You can’t eat blind idealism. Does the name that gets attached to a story change that in any way?

More importantly, in an age when almost all entertainment and journalism is produced with a commercial interest in mind, which is more important? The actual given birth-name of a writer, or the clear disclosure that they are hoping to be rewarded by a benefactor or paid by an advertiser for what they produce? Let’s consider what’s actually in a name, if we could.