SINCE 1828
pen name
nounDefinition of pen name
: an author's pseudonym
Examples of pen name in a Sentence
Samuel L. Clemens is better known by his pen name “Mark Twain.”
Recent Examples on the Web
The pen name daydreams about the book stopped, too. — Haley Moss, Teen Vogue, "Telling My High School Class That I'm Autistic Is the Best Thing I've Ever Done," 12 Apr. 2019 That's been a surprisingly seamless process for romance novelists Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings, who work together under the pen name Christina Lauren. — Rachel Epstein, Marie Claire, "#ReadWithMC Reviews Christina Lauren's 'My Favorite Half-Night Stand'," 1 Feb. 2019 Lethal White, the latest of the detective novels J.K. Rowling publishes under the pen name Robert Galbraith, is addictively immersive. — Constance Grady, Vox, "J.K. Rowling’s latest Robert Galbraith novel is addictive, murderous fun," 18 Sep. 2018 One is Winter’s Tales by Karen Blixen, better known by her pen name Isak Dinesen. — Louis Cheslaw, Condé Nast Traveler, "Rupert Thomson Had The Worst Two Days of His Life in the Amazon," 13 July 2018 Liu's close friends Gao Yu, a veteran journalist in Beijing, and Wu Yangwei, better known by his pen name Ye Du, said Liu Xia was on a Finnair flight to Berlin that left Tuesday morning. — NBC News, "Liu Xia, widow of Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo, leaves China," 10 July 2018 Liu's close friends Gao Yu, a veteran journalist in Beijing, and Wu Yangwei, better known by his pen name Ye Du, said Liu Xia took a Finnair flight to Berlin on Tuesday morning. — Gerry Shih And Kirsten Grieshaber, chicagotribune.com, "China lets Nobel Prize winner's widow go to Berlin after long house arrest," 10 July 2018 His most famous pen name, W.E.B. Griffin, arose in the early 1980s. — Kelly Kazek, AL.com, "Alabama has an interesting M*A*S*H connection, in addition to Wayne Rogers," 12 Mar. 2018 Her husband, known under the pen name Willy, recruits Colette to ghostwrite a novel to be published under his name. — Sydney Odman, The Hollywood Reporter, "'Colette' Trailer: Keira Knightley Fights for Literary Ownership in Feminist Period Drama," 11 July 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'pen name.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more
Comments on pen name
What made you want to look up pen name? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Test Your Vocabulary
Words for Summer: A Quiz
-
- Which of the following words means “of or relating to summer”?
Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.
TAKE THE QUIZ
Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.
TAKE THE QUIZLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Words at Play
Ask the Editors
Share pen name
Resources for pen name