Under the name of the opposite sex. Literary pseudonyms Real names of writers and their pseudonyms

Sirin and Alkonost. Bird of Joy and Bird of Sorrow. Painting by Viktor Vasnetsov. 1896 Wikimedia Commons

I. Nicknames “with meaning”

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Perhaps the most important pseudonym for Russia of the 20th century - Maxim Gorky. It belonged to Alexei Maksimovich Peshkov (1868-1936), a writer and playwright who came from the very bottom of society. The Soviet government loved Gorky not so much for his talent as for his background and life experience: a gifted self-taught man from Nizhny Novgorod spent his youth wandering around Russia and participated in several underground Marxist circles. In 1892, 24-year-old Peshkov published his first story “Makar Chudra” in the Tiflis newspaper “Caucasus” and signed it “M. Bitter". Subsequently, the letter "M." became the name "Maxim", probably in honor of the writer's father.

The meaning of the fictitious surname “Gorky” is clear to any reader of the young author’s first collection of stories and essays (1898): he wrote about thieves and drunkards, sailors and workers, about what he later called “the wild music of labor” and “ leaden abominations wild Russian life." The success of Gorky's stories was stunning: according to the biographical dictionary "Russian Writers", in just eight years - from 1896 to 1904 - more than 1860 materials were published about the writer. And ahead of him was long life and colossal fame. In particular, his native Nizhny Novgorod was renamed Gorky in 1932, that is, during the author’s lifetime. And the huge city bore the name of the writer, or rather, his pseudonym until 1990.

It should be noted that Alexey Maksimovich did not use a pseudonym for long in his youth Yehudiel Chlamida. Under this name, he wrote several satirical feuilletons on local topics in Samara Gazeta in 1895.

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The first novels of Vladimir Nabokov (1899-1977) were published under a pseudonym V. Sirin. In 1920 future writer came with his parents to Berlin. Vladimir Dmitrievich Nabokov (1869-1922) was a major political figure, one of the founders of the Constitutional Democratic Party, and in post-revolutionary emigration he continued to be involved in politics, in particular, he published the newspaper “Rul” in Berlin. It is not surprising that Nabokov Jr. began publishing under an assumed name, otherwise the reading public would have been completely bewildered by the abundance of V. Nabokov in periodicals. Under the pseudonym Sirin, “Mashenka”, “Luzhin’s Defense”, “King, Queen, Jack”, a magazine version of “The Gift” and several other works were published. The meaning of the word “Sirin” was beyond doubt among readers: a sad, beautiful-voiced bird of paradise.

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Boris Nikolaevich Bugaev (1880-1934) abandoned his own name and surname, entering the annals of Russian poetry, prose (and poetry) as Andrey Bely. A symbolist pseudonym for the young Bugaev was invented by Mikhail Sergeevich Solovyov, brother of the famous philosopher Vladimir Solovyov. It is believed that the name Andrei was supposed to remind of the first of the called apostles of Christ, and Bely - of the white color, in which all the colors of the spectrum are dissolved.

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In the 1910s, a native of the Kherson province, Efim Pridvorov (1883-1945), began publishing poems under the name Demyan Bedny. The success of his writings was so great that in honor of this “Bolshevik of the poetic weapon” (as Leon Trotsky spoke of him) old town Spassk in the Penza province was renamed Bednodemyanovsk in 1925, and under this name, which long outlived the glory of the proletarian poet, the city existed until 2005.

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Writer Nikolai Kochkurov (1899-1938) chose a self-explanatory pseudonym with a sarcastic undertone: under the name Artem Vesely in the late 1920s and early 1930s, he published several books about the revolution and Civil War(novel “Russia, washed in blood”, story “Rivers of Fire”, play “We”).

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Maxim Gorky’s student Alexey Silych Novikov (1877-1944), who served in the Russo-Japanese War as a sailor, added one name to his own surname topic word and became known as a marine painter Novikov-Priboy. He wrote the novel “Tsushima” (1932), one of the most popular military-historical novels in the USSR, and a number of short stories and novellas. It is noteworthy that Novikov-Priboi made his debut as the author of two essays about the Battle of Tsushima, published under the pseudonym A. Worn out.

II. Exotic aliases and hoaxes

Elizaveta Ivanovna Dmitrieva. 1912 Wikimedia Commons

One of the most famous literary hoaxes of the early 20th century was Cherubina de Gabriac. Under this name, in 1909, Elizaveta Ivanovna (Lilya) Dmitrieva (married Vasilyeva, 1887-1928) published her poems in the symbolist magazine Apollo. She was patronized by Maximilian Voloshin (whose, by the way, real name- Kireenko-Voloshin). Together they managed to create a charming and mysterious literary mask, and Apollo, led by Sergei Makovsky, published two cycles of poems by the young and noble Spanish recluse Cherubina. Soon the hoax was revealed, one of the unexpected consequences of this exposure was a duel between Nikolai Gumilyov, who had previously courted Vasilyeva, and Maximilian Voloshin on the Black River (of all places in St. Petersburg!). Fortunately for Russian poetry, this fight ended bloodlessly. It is interesting that Vyacheslav Ivanov, in the “Tower” where Dmitrieva herself visited, according to Voloshin’s memoirs, said: “I really appreciate Cherubina’s poems. They are talented. But if this is a hoax, then it’s brilliant.”

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In the mid-1910s, Moscow publications regularly published poems, feuilletons and parodies of caustic Don Aminado. This exotic name was chosen for himself by Aminad Petrovich Shpolyansky (1888-1957), lawyer and writer, memoirist. His parodies of famous poets of the beginning of the century, including Balmont and Akhmatova, enjoyed great success. After the revolution, Shpolyansky emigrated. His aphorisms, popular among readers of emigrant Russian-language periodicals, were included in the collection “ Neskuchny Garden"as a single cycle entitled "New Kozma Prutkov".

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The pseudonym of Alexander Stepanovich Grinevsky (1880-1932) should be classified as exotic: the author of timeless romantic stories « Scarlet Sails" and "Running on the Waves", the creator of the sonorous fictional cities of Zurbagan and Liss signed his books with a short foreign surname Green.

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The name of Nadezhda Aleksandrovna Buchinskaya, née Lokhvitskaya (1872-1952) says little to the modern reader, but her nickname is Teffi- is known much better. Teffi is one of the most caustic authors in Russian literature, the author of the inimitable “Demonic Woman” and a long-term employee of “Satyricon”, the main humorous magazine of pre-revolutionary Russia. In the story “Pseudonym,” Teffi explained the origin of this name from “one fool,” because “fools are always happy.” In addition, by choosing a strange, meaningless, but sonorous and memorable word, the writer bypassed the traditional situation when female writers hide behind male pseudonyms.

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Daniil Ivanovich Yuvachev (1905-1942) used dozens of pseudonyms, but the most famous of them is Kharms. The questionnaire that the poet filled out in 1925 has been preserved. He gave his last name as Yuvachev-Kharms, and when asked if he had a pseudonym, he replied: “No, I’m writing Kharms.” Researchers have linked this short, memorable word to English harm(“harm”), French charme(“charm”), Sanskrit dharma(“religious duty, cosmic law and order”) and even Sherlock Holmes.

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You just have to get into the exotic nicknames section Grivadiy Gorpozhaks. Unfortunately, this author penned only one work - a parody of a spy novel called “Gene Green - Untouchable” (1972). Three authors were hiding behind the impossible Grivadiy: poet and screenwriter Grigory Pozhenyan (1922-2005), military intelligence officer and writer Ovid Gorchakov (1924-2000) and none other than Vasily Aksenov himself (1932-2009). Perhaps, after Kozma Prutkov, this is the most striking collective literary pseudonym.

III. Translated surnames, or anagrams

I. Repin and K. Chukovsky. Caricature of Mayakovsky from the album “Chukokkala”. 1915 feb-web.ru

Almost certainly the most popular author of the 20th century who wrote in Russian is Korney Chukovsky: in Russia it is difficult to grow up without Aibolit and Telefon, Mukha-Tsokotukha and Moidodyr. The author of these immortal children's fairy tales was named Nikolai Vasilyevich Korneychukov (1882-1969) at birth. In his youth, he created a fictitious first and last name from his last name, and a few years later he added the patronymic Ivanovich to them. The children of this wonderful poet, translator, critic and memoirist received the middle names Korneevichi and the surname Chukovsky: such a “deep” use of a pseudonym is not often found.

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Creating nicknames by rearranging the letters of your own name is an old practice. literary game. For example, the famous fabulist Ivan Andreevich Krylov (1769-1844) several times used the wild but cute signature Navi Volyrk. In the 20th century, Mark Aleksandrovich Landau (1886-1957), better known as Mark Aldanov, author of the tetralogy “The Thinker” french revolution, a trilogy about the Russian revolution ("The Key", "Escape", "The Cave") and several other large and small works.

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Alias ​​meaning Gaidar, taken by Arkady Petrovich Golikov (1904-1941), a classic of Soviet children's literature, still raises questions. According to Timur Arkadyevich, the writer’s son, the answer is this: ““G” is the first letter of the Golikov surname; “ay” - the first and last letters of the name; “d” - in French “from”; “ar” - the first letters of the name hometown. G-AY-D-AR: Golikov Arkady from Arzamas.”

IV. Pseudonyms for journalism

Illustration from the book “Key to the upper Devonian of southern New York: designed for teachers and students in secondary schools.” 1899 A chisel is a tool for working metal or stone. Internet Archive Digital Library

To publish under a pseudonym as literary critic- a long-standing magazine tradition even by modest (chronologically, not qualitatively) Russian standards. And the sun of Russian poetry did not disdain to sign with a fictitious name (Feofilakt Kosichkin). So by the beginning of the 20th century, pseudonyms for publicists had just become optional. For example, Nikolai Stepanovich Gumilev (1886-1921), publishing in his own magazine “Sirius”, used the pseudonym Anatoly Grant. And Yuri Karlovich Olesha (1899-1960), collaborating in the famous satirical department of the Gudok newspaper, signed as Chisel.

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The journalistic pseudonym had to be catchy, otherwise readers might not pay attention to it. Thus, the poetess and writer Zinaida Gippius (1869-1945) signed critical articles in the magazines “Scales” and “Russian Thought” as Anton Krainy. Among the guises of Valery Bryusov (1873-1924) were Aurelius, And Harmody, And Pentaur. And the author of popular stories for young people at the beginning of the 20th century, book historian and memoirist Sigismund Feliksovich Librovich (1855-1918) was published in the “Bulletin of Literature”, signing Lucian the Strong.

V. Pseudonyms “according to circumstances”

Ivan III tears up the Khan's letter. Painting by Alexey Kivshenko. 1879 Wikimedia Commons

Seventeen-year-old Anna Andreevna Gorenko (1889-1966) did not risk publishing her first poems under her own name and took her great-grandmother’s surname as a pseudonym - Akhmatova. Under Tatar name it remained in literature. In her autobiographical essay “Budka,” written in 1964, she focused on the importance of this name for history: “My ancestor Khan Akhmat was killed at night in his tent by a bribed Russian killer, and with this, as Karamzin narrates, the Mongol yoke ended in Rus'.”

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Both authors of The Twelve Chairs and The Golden Calf wrote under pseudonyms. Evgenia Petrova(1902-1942) was actually named Evgeniy Petrovich Kataev, he was the younger brother of Valentin Kataev (1897-1986) and chose to become famous under a fictitious (semi-fictitious in his case) name. Ilya Ilf(1897-1937) at birth received the name Ilya Arnoldovich Fainzilberg, but shortened it almost to the initials - Il-f.

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A separate chapter in the story about pseudonyms should be written by writers who changed their German, Polish, Jewish surnames to Russian. Thus, the author of “The Naked Year” and “The Tale of the Unextinguished Moon” Boris Pilnyak(1894-1938) at birth bore the surname Vogau, but changed it for the publication of his first youthful works and subsequently published only under a fictitious surname, meaning a resident of a village where wood was cut.

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Vikenty Vikentyevich Veresaev(1867-1945), author of the timeless "Notes of a Doctor", came from the old noble family of Smidovich; major figure in the Bolshevik movement and party leader in Soviet era Pyotr Smidovich is the writer’s second cousin.

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The traveler Vasily Yanchevetsky (1874-1954), having taken up historical fiction and succeeded in this field, shortened his surname to Jan. Readers of “Lights on the Mounds,” “Genghis Khan,” and “Batu” know him by this name.

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Author of "Two Captains" Veniamin Aleksandrovich Kaverin(1902-1989) was born into the Zilber family, but, having entered the literary field, he borrowed the name from a friend of A.S. Pushkin, the daring hussar and rake Pyotr Kaverin. It is remarkable that Zilber defended his dissertation at Leningrad University on Osip Senkovsky, the most popular writer in the mid-19th century, who became famous under the pseudonym Baron Brambeus. And Osip Ivanovich was a master of pseudonyms: he signed, among other things, “Ivan Ivanov, son of Khokhotenko-Khlopotunov-Pustyakovsky, retired second lieutenant, landowner of various provinces and cavalier of integrity” and “Dr. Karl von Bitterwasser.” 

Comedians have always tried to sign in such a way as to achieve a comic effect. This was the main purpose of their pseudonyms; the desire to hide his name faded into the background here. Therefore, such aliases can be distinguished in special group and give them the name paizonyms (from the Greek paizein - joke).

The tradition of funny pseudonyms in Russian literature dates back to the magazines of Catherine's time ("All sorts of things", "Neither this nor that", "Drone", "Mail of Spirits", etc.). A.P. Sumarokov signed them Akinfiy Sumazbrodov, D. I. Fonvizin - Falalei.

At the beginning of the last century, humorous signatures were placed even under serious ones. critical articles. One of Pushkin’s literary opponents, N. I. Nadezhdin, signed his name in the “Bulletin of Europe” Ex-student Nikodim Nedoumko And Critic with Patriarch's Ponds . Pushkin in the "Telescope" two articles directed against F.V. Bulgarin were signed by Theophylact Kosichkin, and he in the "Northern Bee" labored under the name Porfiria Dushegreykina. M. A. Bestuzhev-Ryumin performed in “Northern Mercury” as Evgraf Miksturin.

The comic pseudonyms of those times matched the long, wordy titles of books. G. F. Kvitka-Osnovyanenko in the “Bulletin of Europe” (1828) signed: Averyan the Curious, an out-of-work collegiate assessor, who is involved in litigation and monetary penalties. The poet of the Pushkin galaxy N. M. Yazykov “Journey on the Chukhon couple from Dorpat to Revel” (1822) signed: Negulay Yazvikov, who is at the beck and call of the Dorpat muses, but intends to eventually lead them by the nose.

The nickname was even longer: Maremyan Danilovich Zhukovyatnikov, chairman of the commission on the construction of the Muratovsky house, author of the cramped stable, fire-breathing ex-president of the old vegetable garden, gentleman of three livers and commander of Galimati. This is how V. A. Zhukovsky signed in 1811 a comic “Greek ballad, translated into Russian customs,” entitled “Elena Ivanovna Protasova, or Friendship, impatience and cabbage.” He composed this ballad, which remained unpublished during his lifetime, as a guest at the Muratovo estate near Moscow with his friends the Protasovs. No less long and bizarre was the pseudonym of the author of the “critical notes” to the same ballad: Alexander Pleshchepupovich Chernobrysov, actual Mameluke and Bogdykhan, bandmaster of cowpox, privileged galvanist of dog comedy, publisher of topographical descriptions of wigs and gentle composer of various musical wombs, including the musical howl attached here. Behind this comic signature was Zhukovsky’s friend Pleshcheev.

O. I. Senkovsky “Private letter to the most respectable public about a secret magazine called “Veselchak”” (1858), signed: Ivan Ivanov, son of Khokhotenko-Khlopotunov-Pustyakovsky, retired second lieutenant, landowner of various provinces and holder of integrity.

"The History of Erofey Erofeyich, the inventor of "erofeyich", an allegorical bitter vodka" (1863) was published on behalf of Russian author, nicknamed Old Indian Rooster.

N. A. Nekrasov often signed with comic pseudonyms: Feklist Bob, Ivan Wartkin, Naum Perepelsky, Churmen(probably from “mind me!”).

Such pseudonyms were constantly used by employees of Iskra, Gudok, and Whistle - press organs that played a significant role in the struggle of revolutionary democrats against autocracy, serfdom and reactionary literature in the 60s and 70s of the last century. They often added one or another imaginary title or rank to a fictitious surname, indicated an imaginary profession, striving to create literary masks endowed with the attributes of real personalities.

These are the pseudonyms: N. A. Nekrasova - Literary exchange broker Nazar Vymochkin, D. D. Minaeva - Fyodor Konyukh, Cook Nikolai Kadov, Lieutenant Khariton Yakobintsev, Junker A, Restaurants, N. S. Kurochkina - Poet of the perimeter(the police station was then called the police station), Member of the Madrid Scientific Society Tranbrel, other comedians - Clerk from the knife line Poluarshinov, Ober-exchange counterfeiter Kradilo, Landowner Taras Kutsyi, Telegraphist Azbukin, Fireman Kum, Vodka-alcohol breeder U.R.A. etc.

I. S. Turgenev signed the feuilleton “The Six-Year-Revealer”: Retired teacher Russian literature Platon Nedobobov, and the poems allegedly composed by the author’s six-year-old son - Jeremiah Nedobobov. They ridiculed the shadow sides of Russian reality:

Oh, why did the sorrow of bribes enter my soul from the diapers of infancy! 1

1 ("Iskra", 1859, No. 50)

The young accuser exclaimed.

To make readers laugh, old names, long out of use, were chosen for pseudonyms in combination with an intricate surname: Varakhasiy Neklyuchimy, Khusdazad Tserebrinov, Ivakhviy Kistochkin, Vasilisk Kaskadov, Avvakum Khudopodoshvensky etc. Young M. Gorky in the Samara and Saratov newspapers of the late 90s signed himself Yehudiel Chlamida.

Gorky's signatures in those works that were not intended for publication are full of wit. Under one of his letters to his 15-year-old son is: Your Father Polikarp Unesibozhenozhkin. On the pages of his home handwritten magazine "Sorrento Truth" (1924), on the cover of which Gorky was depicted as a giant plugging his finger into the crater of Vesuvius, he signed Metranpage Goryachkin, Disabled Muses, Osip Tikhovoyev, Aristide Balyk.

Sometimes a comic effect was achieved through a deliberate contrast between the first and last names. Pushkin used this technique, although not to create a pseudonym (“And you, dear singer, Vanyusha Lafontaine...”), and comedians willingly followed his example, combining foreign names with purely Russian surnames: Zhan Khlestakov, Wilhelm Tetkin, Basil Lyalechkin, and vice versa: Nikifor Shelming, etc. Leonid Andreev signed the satire “The Adventures of the Angel of Peace” (1917): Horace C. Rutabaga.

Often the surname of a famous writer was used as a comic pseudonym. In Russian humorous magazines there are also Pushkin squared, and Saratov's Boccaccio, and Rabelais' Samara, and Beranger from Zaryadye, and Schiller from Taganrog, and Ovid with Tom, and Dante with Plyushchikha, and Berne from Berdichev. The name Heine was especially popular: there is Heine from Kharkov, from Arkhangelsk, from Irbit, from Lyuban and even Heine from the stables.

Sometimes the name or surname of a well-known person was changed to produce a comic effect: Darri Baldi, Heinrich Genii, Gribsilov, Pushechkin, Gogol-Mogol, Pierre de Boborysak(hint to Boborykin). V. A. Gilyarovsky signed in "Entertainment" and "News of the Day" Emelya Zola.

D. D. Minaev, under the “dramatic fantasy” dedicated to the reprisal of a certain Nikita Bezrylov with his wife Literature and written in the spirit of Shakespeare, staged Tryphon Shakespeare(under Nikita Bezrylov meant A.F. Pisemsky, who used this pseudonym). K. K. Golokhvastov signed the satire “Journey to the Moon of the Merchant Truboletov” (1890), allegedly translated, as it appears on the cover, “from French into Nizhny Novgorod” Jules the Unfaithful, parodying the first and last name of Jules Verne, who has a novel on the same topic.

Sometimes the names of characters were used as comic pseudonyms literary works. This was done in order to evoke relevant reminiscences in readers, which sometimes had nothing to do with the topic. The main thing is to be funny!

These are the signatures: I. Bashkova - Executor Scrambled Eggs, Midshipman Zhevakin(from Gogol's "Marriage"), D. Minaeva Court Counselor Esbuketov(surname adopted by the serf poet Vidoplyasov from Dostoevsky’s story “The Village of Stepanchikovo”).

In order to enhance the comic effect of a foreign literary hero Russian "registration" was given: Don Quixote St. Petersburg(D. Minaets), Mephistopheles from Khamovniki(A.V. Amphiteatrov), Figaro from Sushchev, Faust of Shchigrovsky district etc.

Type signatures Marquis Pose, Childe Harold, Don Juan, Gulliver, Quasimodo, Lohengrin, Falstaff, Captain Nemo etc., and also Blacksmith Vakula, Taras Bulba, Khoma the philosopher, Repetilov, Poprishchin, Lyapkin-Tyapkin, Crucian idealist etc. were ready-made literary masks for humorists. Regarding the signature Skalozub, then it was connected not so much with the surname of Griboyedov’s character, but with the expression “to show your teeth,” that is, to laugh.

Chekhov signed Ulysses in "Fragments"; under the story "In the Cemetery" during its second publication he put Laertes. Chekhov signed a comic letter to the editor of Oskolkov Colonel Kochkarev(a hybrid of Colonel Koshkarev from " Dead souls" and Kochkarev from "Marriage"). In this letter he addressed the mediocre but prolific playwright D. A. Mansfeld: "Being, like my daughter Zinaida, a lover of the performing arts, I have the honor to ask the respected Mr. Mansfeld to compose for household items four comedies, three dramas and two more tragic tragedies, for which I will send three rubles upon their production" 1 .

1 ("Fragments", 1886, No. 3)

The vindictive Mansfeld did not forgive the insult: after Chekhov’s death, he spread a rumor that he was at the very beginning of his literary activity brought him, Mansfeld, who was then publishing a magazine, a thick novel, which he allegedly refused to publish.

Chekhov had many comic pseudonyms. Collaborating in "Dragonfly" and other magazines of the end of the last century, he signed: A doctor without patients (a hint at his medical diploma), Nut No. 6, Akaki Tarantulov, Kislyaev, Baldastov, Champagne, Man without a spleen etc. He liked to put humorous signatures on letters. Under the messages to brother Alexander there is this your Schiller Shakespeareovich Goethe, then your dad A. Chekhov, then A. Dostoinov-Noblerodnov. The signatures under some letters reflect certain facts from Chekhov's biography. So, your Tsyntsynnatus- hint about classes agriculture in Melikhovo (Cincinnatus is a Roman senator who retired to the village). During the days of his trip to Sakhalin, Chekhov writes under his letters to his sister: your Asian brother, Homo sachaliensis. Under one letter to A. Suvorin there is: Indispensable Member for Dramatic Presence Affairs. One letter to his wife is signed Academician Toto(a hint of election to Russian Academy), other - your husband A. Actress son(a hint that his wife did not leave the stage after marriage).

For some; Comedians had a very large number of funny pseudonyms under which they collaborated in various magazines and newspapers, without having a permanent literary name. With insufficiently bright talent, the variety of signatures was disastrous for humorists. I. Bashkov, N. Ezhov, A. A. and V. A. Sokolovs, S. Gusev, A. Gerson each had 50 - 100 comic pseudonyms, but all of them are firmly and deservedly forgotten, just like those who wore them. K. A. Mikhailov, an employee of almost all humor magazines published at the turn of the past and of this century; he had as many as 325 pseudonyms, but not one of them remained in the memory of readers.

Sometimes the nature of the comic pseudonym changed along with the political beliefs of the author. This is what happened to the Iskraist V.P. Burenin, who defected to the reactionary camp and attacked his former comrades-in-arms with such malice that he earned the epigram:

A dog is running along Nevsky, followed by Burenin, quiet and sweet. Policeman! Be careful, however, that he doesn't bite her.

In "Iskra" and "Spectator" Burenin signed: Vladimir Monumentov; Mich. Zmiev-Mladentsev; General of Adversaries 2nd; Dangerous rival of Mr. Turgenev and even Lieutenant Alexis Republicans. Having moved to Suvorin’s “New Time”, he began to prefer pseudonyms with titles (aristonyms): Count Alexis Jasminov; Viscount Kebriol of Dantrachet.

By means of an aristonym, S. I. Ponomarev wittily encrypted his profession, signing Count Biblio(instead of Bibliographer). And another aristonym - d "Actil - of the poet A. Frenkel is formed from the name of one of the poetic meters - dactyl.

Aristonyms are found very often on the pages of humorous magazines: all sorts of titled persons frolicked here, fortunately, anyone who wanted could turn into a noble person here. But these were aristocrats with surnames, one funnier than the other: Prince Ablai the Crazy(D. D. Minaev), Count Entre-Côte, Count de Pavement, Count Lapotochkin, Count de Pencil, Baron Klyaks, Baron Rikiki, Baron Dzin, Baron Meow-Meow, Baron von Tarakashkin, Marquis de Pineapple, de Nevry, de Trubkokur, de Reseda, d'O "Vris d"O"Nezya, Marquise Fru-Fru, Marquise K avar d"Ak, mandarin Lai-on-the-moon, mandarin Spit-on-everything, Khan Tryn-grass, Amur Pasha, Kefir Pasha, Don Flacon etc.

The invention of a pseudonym designed for a comic effect required wit and provided a wide field for the imagination of humorists. No matter how sophisticated they were, coming up with funnier captions! Doctor Oh, Emil Pup, Erasmus Sarkasmov, Not Me at All, I Drink Tea Myself, Chertopuzov, Abracadabra, Begemotkin, Pelmenelyubov, Razlyulimalinsky, Incognitenko, Nonsense, U Morist, Vsekhdavish, Khrenredkineslashev, Vdolguneostayushchensky, Charles Atan etc.

"Songs of Wine and Monopoly" (1906) came out on behalf of Ivan Vsegedyushchensky- a signature that fully corresponded to the contents of the book (a monopoly was then called the sale of vodka in state-owned wine shops).

Funny captions were also created using the epithet “old”: old sparrow(i.e. one that you can’t fool with chaff), Old Sinner, Old Bachelor, Old Romantic, Old Raven, Old Hermit, Old Summer Resident etc.

Sometimes the same comic pseudonym was used by several writers who lived in different, and sometimes at the same time.

Soviet humor magazines of the 20s were full of such signatures, sometimes in tune with the era and the new composition of readers: Savely Oktyabrev, Luka Nazhdachny, Ivan Borona, Vanya Gaikin, Vanya Garmoshkin, Naporylov, Ivan Ditya, Pamphil Golovotyapkin, Glupyshkin(a comic type in cinema), Evlampy Nadkin, etc. It was even published as a supplement to “The Laugher” (1926 - 1927) “Nadkin’s Newspaper”, the editor-publisher of which was listed as “the popular adventurer Evlampy Karpovich Nadkin.”

Signed Antipka Bobyl A. G. Malyshkin was hiding in Penza newspapers, behind the signatures Mitrofan Mustard And Comrade Rasp in "Gudka" - Valentin Kataev. M. M. Zoshchenko signed Gavrila, and under the names Honored Worker M. Konoplyanikov-Zuev and Privat-Associate Professor M. Prischemikhin acted as the author of funny scientific projects like the “goose bus”, “trailer crematorium”, etc.

Among the pseudonyms of young Marshak was Weller(the surname of Mr. Pickwick's cheerful servant), and Valentin Kataev signed Oliver Twist(another Dickens character).

A. M. Goldsnberg ( Argo) parodies in the magazine "At the Literary Post" (1927 - 1930) were signed by May Day Plenumov, and in "Evening Moscow" - by Sempyadei Volbukhin and Elizavet Vorobey. The poet V.V. Knyazev came up with the pseudonym Tovavaknya for himself, which meant “comrade Vasily Vasilyevich Knyazev.”

Later this tradition almost disappeared. However, for recent years, in connection with humor competitions held by the press, the number of funny pseudonyms began to grow again, since these competitions are often closed and under humoresques are not the names of the authors, but their mottos, which are essentially pseudonyms, usually comic.

What is a pseudonym? The word is of Greek origin and literally means a false (fictitious) name. Most often pseudonyms are used famous personalities- artists, athletes, scientists, religious figures, etc.

One of the most famous aliases Russian writers - Maxim Gorky, under whom Alexey Maksimovich Peshkov worked. The practice of using a literary name other than the real one is quite widespread and dates back to time immemorial. Often we get so used to famous names that we don’t even suspect that underneath them lies a completely different person, and sometimes an entire creative team. For what reasons does this happen? Let's look at this in more detail.

In ancient times, and even today in some nations, a person’s name could change several times throughout his life. This occurred in connection with significant events, emerging character traits or external signs, career, place of residence or other changes in a person's life. At the same time, it was often difficult to distinguish a pseudonym from a nickname, that is, a name given by others. For example, given the fragmentary biographical data, mainly taken from legends, today it is difficult to say whether for the Indian religious poet Ratnakar the term Valmiki was a nickname or a classic pseudonym in the modern sense.

English literature

Pseudonyms are no less popular among writers and poets in English-speaking countries. Samuel Langhorne Clemens is known as one of the founders of American literature under the name Mark Twain. The pseudonym was taken from the terminology of Mississippi River pilots, with which the life and work of the great writer are closely connected - literally mark twain meant the minimum permissible depth for a vessel to pass, two fathoms. However, already being famous writer, Clemens published one of his novels under the florid name of Sir Louis de Comte.

O. Henry is one of the most famous names in American short prose, but not everyone knows that it appeared during the three-year prison sentence served by bank employee William Sidney Porter, accused of embezzlement. Although he wrote before, even published literary magazine, but it was at this moment that the story “Dick the Whistler's Christmas Present” was published with the name O. Henry, under which William Porter will go down in history.

Another reason for Lewis Carroll's pseudonym. The son of a parish priest, Charles Lutwidge Dodgson was very versatile, and if photography or chess were on a slightly different plane, then he published works in the field of mathematics and works of art under the same name seemed inappropriate to him. Therefore, the works of Charles Dodgson are known in the mathematical field, and we know Lewis Carroll as the author of the popular fairy tale “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” and many other works. The pseudonym is formed by swapping synonyms for the first and last names: Charles - Carl - Carroll and Lutwidge - Louis - Lewis.

Initially many English writers published under pseudonyms or anonymously due to doubts about their talent, and only after success was their real name revealed. For almost his entire life, Walter Scott, who initially became famous for his poetic works, published novels incognito, signing himself “author of Weaverly” (his first published novel), and only a few years before his death did intrigued readers learn the real name of the writer. Charles Dickens's first attempts at writing were published under the playful nickname Boz, which came from childhood, and only after checking the success of his works did the writer begin to use his name. The famous prose writer and playwright John Galsworthy signed his first stories and novels as John Sinjon.

Hungary

The role of Sandor Petőfi in the development of Hungarian poetry can be compared with Pushkin for Russia or Shevchenko for Ukraine. In addition, he was an active participant in the Hungarian national liberation movement. But it turns out that ethnic Serb Alexander Petrovich worked under this pseudonym.

The tradition continued among Soviet writers. For example, the editor suggested a pseudonym for the writer Boris Kampov, translating his last name from Latin (campus - field). As a result, we know him under the name Boris Polevoy.

One of the most famous pseudonyms of children's writers and poets is Korney Chukovsky, under whom Nikolai Korneychukov worked. A little later literary name Ivanovich also acquired a full-fledged patronymic - Nikolai Korneychukov himself was illegitimate and did not have a patronymic. After the revolution, the pseudonym became his official full name, and his children bore the middle name Korneevichi.

A similar situation happened to Arkady Golikov - his pseudonym Gaidar became the surname for him and his children.

Kirill Simonov had a problem with diction - he couldn’t pronounce the sounds “r” and hard “l”, so he changed his name to Konstantin and went down in history with it Soviet literature. At the same time, his children bore their “real” middle name - Kirillovichi.

Researcher Igor Mozheiko believed that his literary works will interfere with the main professional activity, so I used the name of my wife, Kira and maiden name mother, becoming known as Kir Bulychev.

Grigory Shalvovich Chkhartishvili, according to him, took a pseudonym because many editors and readers could not pronounce his last name. This is how the now famous detective author Boris Akunin appeared. He signed works that were not part of the “classical outline of Akunin” as Anatoly Brusnikin and Anna Borisova.

In the same area, Marina Alekseeva, known as Alexandra Marinina, is widely published.

If at the beginning of the twentieth century many speakers foreign names strived to become Russian in literature, then by the end of the century the situation changed - in order to somehow separate themselves from the mass of one-day novels, some writers took foreign pseudonyms. One of the most famous examples- Dmitry Gromov and Oleg Ladyzhensky, signing their joint works as Henry Lion Oldie. Initially, the surname was taken from the first two letters of each name (OLeg and DIma) with initials corresponding to the surnames of G.L. “Deciphering” the initials was done later, at the request of one of the editors with whom the authors collaborated.

Conclusion

This article did not set out to reveal the origin or at least list all the pseudonyms used among prose writers and poets - for this purpose special reference and encyclopedic resources are being created. Therefore, you may not find many of your favorite and famous names. The main task is to explain the main reasons for this phenomenon and give the most typical examples.

We know some writers and poets under a fictitious name and surname. Many of them take pseudonyms so as not to be compared with namesakes or famous relatives, to simplify their complex name or to make it more euphonious and effective.

10. Anna Akhmatova (Anna Andreevna Gorenko)

Anna Gorenko's father was a hereditary nobleman Andrei Gorenko, who once worked as a naval mechanical engineer.

She wrote her first poems after a serious illness, when she was only 11 years old. The girl was delirious for several days, and her family no longer hoped for her recovery. But when she woke up and regained her strength, she was able to find her first rhymes.

She read the poems of French poets and tried to compose poems herself. But the father did not really like his daughter’s hobby. Not only was he not interested in her poems, but he also spoke disparagingly about them.

Realizing that Anna had decided to become a poetess, he forbade her to sign her real name, because... was sure that she would disgrace his name. Anna did not argue with him. She decided to choose a pseudonym for herself. Having learned that my maternal grandmother had sonorous surname“Akhmatova,” she took it.

So the famous Russian poetess chose for herself Tatar surname, which supposedly went to her ancestors, because they were from the family of the Tatar Khan Akhmat.

9. Ilya Ilf (Ilya Arnoldovich Fainzilberg)

The famous author of “12 Chairs” took his pseudonym to make it easier to sign his works.

His daughter said that his real last name, Fainsilberg, was too long for a newspaper article. And to shorten it, he often signed himself “Ilya F” or “IF”, and gradually his pseudonym “Ilf” came into being.

But there is another version. At birth he was Yehiel-Leib Arievich Fainzilberg, born into a Jewish family. And his pseudonym is an abbreviation in accordance with the tradition of Jewish nominal abbreviations.

He sometimes signed other names. So, speaking as a literary critic, Ilya called himself Anton Krainy.

8. Evgeny Petrov (Evgeny Petrovich Kataev)

Evgeny Kataev's older brother was Valentin Kataev. He was a famous writer, founder and editor of the magazine "Youth".

Not wanting to take advantage of his brother’s fame and popularity, Evgeniy took a pseudonym. He became Petrov, slightly changing the name of his father, Pyotr Vasilyevich Kataev.

7. Arkady Gaidar (Golikov Arkady Petrovich)

The writer himself never told why he decided to become Gaidar. When asked about it, he usually joked, never explaining anything.

There were several versions of the origin of his name. The most popular version was the version of the writer B. Emelyanov. He was sure that the pseudonym came from the Mongolian word "gaidar", which meant a horseman galloping in front.

There is another version. School friend of the writer A.M. Goldin is sure that the pseudonym is an encrypted message. Since childhood, he was a great inventor; he loved to come up with his own codes. “Gaidar” is deciphered as follows: “G” is the first letter of his last name Golikov, “ai” is the first and last letters of the name Arkady, “d” is from the French “de”, which means “from”, and “ar” is the first letters of his hometown. It turns out “Golikov Arkady from Arzamas.”

6. Boris Akunin (Grigory Chkhartishvili)

The writer publishes critical and documentary works under his own name. He became Boris Akunin in 1998, after he began writing fiction.

At first, no one knew what the letter "B" in front of it meant. new name. A little later, in an interview, he said that this is the first letter of his name - Boris.

There are several speculations as to why he took this pseudonym. "Akunin" can be translated from Japanese as "supporter of evil or villain." Some believe that this pseudonym is associated with the name of the famous anarchist Mikhail Bakunin.

The writer himself explains that his novels are not like his other activities. Akunin’s thought works differently from Chkhartishvili’s, who deals with articles. They are absolutely two different people, Akunin is an idealist, kind, and believes in God. Besides, you shouldn’t write detective stories with such an unpronounceable surname.

5. O. Henry (William Sydney Porter)

He was once accused of embezzlement and was imprisoned. He was trained as a pharmacist, so William was allowed to work in the infirmary as a night pharmacist.

At night, while on duty, he composed his stories. Some of them were released. But the writer did not want readers to know about his convict past. He was always ashamed of him and afraid of exposure. Therefore, he published only under a pseudonym.

It is believed that he became O. Henry by changing the surname of the pharmacist Etienne Océan Henri. He was the author of a reference book that was also used in the prison pharmacy.

William himself insisted that he chose the initial “O” only because it is the simplest letter and it stands for Oliver. And he took the last name “Henry” from a newspaper.

4. Lewis Carroll (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson)

The writer was a famous English mathematician and graduated from Oxford with honors. To become a professor and give lectures, according to the charter, he had to accept ordination, which he did, becoming a deacon.

After that it was dangerous for him to sign humorous stories in your own name, because both the church and his colleagues could react painfully to his work. Besides, he didn't like it given name, it seemed boring and discordant to him.

Dodgson had a double name, in honor of his father and mother. He translated both parts into Latin, resulting in "Carolus Ludovicus". After that, I swapped them and again transferred them to English language. This is how his pseudonym Lewis Carroll came about. But he always signed his mathematical works with his real name.

3. Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens)

Once upon a time, an aspiring writer worked as a sailor on the Mississippi River. The safe depth at which a steamer could pass was considered to be 2 phantoms or 3.6 m. In sailor slang, this depth was called “twins”. The boatmen measured it with a special stick, and if everything was in order, they shouted “by mark twain.” The writer liked this combination of words.

2. Daniil Kharms (Daniil Ivanovich Yuvachev)

The writer came up with this pseudonym while still a schoolboy, signing his notebooks with this surname. He later made it his official name.

It is still unknown why he chose this surname; there are many versions of its origin. But the most common one is that Kharms sounds almost like Holmes, and this was Kharms’ favorite character. He adopted his style of dressing from him and often posed with a pipe in photographs.

1. Korney Ivanovich Chukovsky (Nikolai Vasilievich Korneychukov)

The writer was illegitimate. His father was Emmanuel Levenson, and his mother was the peasant woman Ekaterina Korneychuk, who was his servant. Therefore, the boy did not have a middle name.

After he became a writer, he used the pseudonym Korney Chukovsky, adding a fictitious patronymic to it. And after the revolution, the pseudonym became his name.

• Afanasy Fet - Afanasy Shenshin
• Igor Severyanin - Igor Lotarev
• Arkady Gaidar - Arkady Golikov
• Maxim Gorky - Maxim Peshkov

pseudonyms of 19th century writers

• Jack London - John Griffith Cheney
• Kozma Prutkov - Brothers Alexey, Vladimir and Alexander Zhemchuzhnikov and Alexey Tolstoy
• Alexander Green - Alexander Grinevsky
• George Sand - Aurora Dupin
• Mark Twain - Samuel Clemens
• Lewis Carroll - Charles Lutwidge Dodgson
• Andrey Bely - Boris Bugaev

pseudonyms of 20th century writers

• Korney Chukovsky- Nikolay Korneychuk
• Kir Bulychev - Igor Mozheiko
• Grigory Gorin - Grigory Ofshtein
• Eduard Limonov - Eduard Savenko
• Arkady Arkanov - Arkady Steinbok
• Boris Akunin - Grigory Chkhartishvili
• Anna Akhmatova - Anna Gorenko
• Eduard Bagritsky- Eduard Dzyubin
• Alexander Green - Alexander Grinevich
• Victor Suvorov - Vladimir Rezun
• Veniamin Kaverin- Veniamin Zilber
• Daniil Kharms - Daniil Yuvachev
• Alexandra Marinina- Marina Alekseeva

I wondered why they changed their first or last name?

Previously, they decorated their name, then they “hid” their nationality more or made it more memorable (remember Chkhartishvili, for example, Akunin is much easier).

Marinina, say, being a police officer, did not want to “shine” under her name.

Journalists feel safer - they write what they want or come up with.

They still cannot understand why the pseudonym of Lenin or Stalin appeared...

Trotsky Lev Davidovich, second person Soviet Russia from the time of Lenin, from childhood he was called Leiba Davidovich Bronstein. He took the surname Trotsky after serving time in an Odessa prison in 1898. It is clear that after his imprisonment he changed his name, without Russifying much. Also several versions.

Sergey Kostrikov became Kirov - it is assumed that he really liked the Persian ruler Cyrus.

Charles Aznavour - Aznavuryan Shahnur Vaginak (Varenag)

Irina Allegrova - Klimchuk? Inessa? Alexandrovna

Russian pop singer. When she arrived in Moscow and entered the circus school, she borrowed her name from her neighbor in the dorm, and instead of her surname she took the first word she came across from Musical dictionary, which was "allegro".
According to another version, the singer’s father, operetta artist Alexander Sarkisov, took the pseudonym Alexander Allegrov, and his daughter Irina received this surname at birth.

Nadezhda Babkina Zasedateleva Nadezhda

Russian pop singer, creator and soloist of the Russian Song ensemble (1975). If the surname is difficult to pronounce, then your path to success will be difficult. As long as they see you, they love you, they finally remember your last name... So Nadezhda Babkina has much more advantages than Nadezhda Zasedateleva.

VALERIYA Perfilova (Shulgina) Alla

Russian pop singer. I came up with a nickname for her ex-husband and producer A. Shulgin (possibly because the name Alla is strongly associated with Alla Pugacheva)

Marina Vladi - Polyakova-Baidarova Marina-Louise Vladimirovna

French actress and singer. V. Vysotsky's wife, daughter opera artist Vladimir Polyakov-Baidarov, native Russian Empire. Marina took the pseudonym Vladi after the death of her father in his honor.

Lada Dance Volkova (Velichkovskaya) Lada

Russian pop singer. The pseudonym Lada Dance was “born” on tour. After the performance, Sergei Lemokh announced: “It was Lada! And everything behind her is a dance!” those. girls on the backup dancers.

Chris Kelmi Kalinkin Anatoly

And he’s not a Baltic, it’s just his pseudonym. At that time, Baltic artists were in fashion.

PENCIL Rumyantsev Mikhail Nikolaevich

Famous soviet clown, he received the nickname Pencil not for his short stature, but came up with it himself when he saw a poster French artist Karan d'Asha. (Yes, there really was one!)

Klara Novikova Herzer Klara Borisovna

Russian pop artist. She changed her surname Herzer to Novikova - (the surname of her first husband)... but why, if she portrays Aunt Sonya from Odessa?

True, it’s interesting - just for fun.