Pseudonyms of famous writers, who many consider them to be their real names and surnames

2023 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-08-25 02:21

Writers, especially beginners, often take on literary pseudonyms, the reasons for this may be very different. And it often happens that these pseudonyms of them “grow together” with the authors so much that many of them replace real names and surnames in real life.

A. P. Chekhov and his pseudonyms

The greatest master of inventing pseudonyms was Chekhov. He had more than forty of them.

And the most famous, which everyone knows about from school, of course, was "Antosha Chekhonte". It was under this pseudonym, while still a medical student, that Chekhov sent his first humorous stories to magazines. One of the gymnasium teachers jokingly called the young student Chekhov Antosha Chekhonte.

READ ALSO: Anton Pavlovich Chekhov: How did a great writer get along with a great man?

And it is all the more surprising that out of so many pseudonyms, none of them "got accustomed". For all Chekhov, he was and remains Chekhov.

Green Alexander - Grinevsky Alexander Stefanovich

At school, the guys called Alexander shortly - "Green!", And one of his childhood nicknames was "Green pancake". Therefore, he chose such a pseudonym for himself, without much hesitation. "". Even his third wife received a passport in the name of Nina Green when her surname was changed.

Chukovsky Kornei Ivanovich - Korneichukov Nikolay Vasilievich

The fact that he was illegitimate, in his youth, very much weighed Chukovsky. And having engaged in literary activity, he began to use a pseudonym, which was his surname, divided into two parts: Korneichukov = Korney + Chukov + sky.

READ ALSO: Grandfather Korney's daughter: the non-fairytale life of Lydia Chukovskaya

Subsequently, without further ado, he came up with a patronymic for him - "Ivanovich". After the revolution, changing his real name, patronymic and surname to a pseudonym, he became Korney Ivanovich Chukovsky also by passport.

Anna Akhmatova - according to the passport Anna Gorenko

After her divorce from Gumilyov, Anna took Akhmatova's surname as a pseudonym. The female branch of her mother descended from the Tatar khan Akhmat. She later recalled: ""

READ ALSO: The tragic fate of the son of Anna Akhmatova: what Lev Gumilyov could not forgive his mother

Ilya Ilf - Ilya Arnoldovich Fainzilberg

There are several versions about the origin of this pseudonym, and one of them is as follows: In his youth, Ilya Fainzilberg worked as a journalist, wrote articles for newspapers. But his last name did not fit well for a signature - it was too long and difficult to pronounce. Therefore, Ilya often abbreviated it - now "Ilya F", then "IF", then "Falberg". And, in the end, it turned out - "Ilf".

READ ALSO: Ilya Ilf and Maria Tarasenko: A touching novel in letters that helped to survive separation

Evgeny Petrov - Evgeny Petrovich Kataev

Eugene was the younger brother of the famous writer Valentin Kataev by that time. Not wanting to enjoy the fruits of his fame, he invented a literary pseudonym for himself, forming it on behalf of his father, that is, from his patronymic. So Evgeny Kataev became Evgeny Petrov.

Arkady Gaidar - Golikov Arkady Petrovich

Arkady Golikov, under his real name, wrote only the first book - "In the days of defeats and victories." All others were already published under the pseudonym Gaidar, under which he became a well-known writer. As for the origin of this pseudonym, one can only guess about this. Perhaps it originated from the Mongolian "Gaidar" - "rider galloping in front".

READ ALSO: Writer and soldier Arkady Gaidar: Sadist and punisher or victim of the civil war

According to another version, while on duty in Khakassia, Gaidar often had to ask local residents - "haidar"? ("where to go"?). Perhaps this word - "haidar" stuck to him.

Daniil Kharms - Daniil Ivanovich Yuvachev

The writer Daniil Yuvachev also invented many pseudonyms for himself (Kharms, Haarms, Dandan, Charms, Karl Ivanovich Shusterling, etc.), signing one of them, then another. Until he finally settled on one - Daniil Kharms. However, its meaning is interpreted ambiguously. "Sharm" in French means "charm", while "charm" translated from English means "harm", "suffering". But if we proceed from the fact that Kharms once wrote in his diary: "", then the English version is still preferable. The writer adored this pseudonym to such an extent that he even manually added it to his last name in his passport.

In Western literature, there are also many examples when pseudonyms supplanted the real names of the authors:

O. Henry - Ulyam Sydney Porter Lewis Carroll - Charles Lutwidge Dodgson Voltaire - François-Marie Arouet Stendhal - Marie-Henri Baile Mark Twain - Samuel Langhorn Clemens

The widest distribution of pseudonyms was also found in oriental literature. So, everyone has heard the name of the Japanese poet who lived in the 17th century - Basho.

But this is also a pseudonym, and it means "o". At his house, the poet planted a banana tree, which he looked after. The neighbors began to call him - "fable" - an old man living by a banana. His real name - Matsuo Munzfusa - is known to very few people.

And in continuation of the literary theme great Russian writers who turned out to be the most obnoxious husbands.