How to Create a Pseudonym, Pen Name, or Stage Name for Business.
For artists, pseudonyms have been a fashionable necessity. Consider the famous theater director, Konstantin Stanislavski, born Konstantin Sergeievich Alexeiev, who needed the Polish surname to flee the social taboo of actors in Russia.
As a playwright, I am a character coining couturier. I pull names out of my hat all the time. Eventually, I got into the business of helping others become semantic celebrities.
Not just for art, but for hard business: A stage name is a personified keyword. Think beyond SEO or PPC. When you’re discussed word-to-mouth, your intrigue is more than a PageRank metric.
The process of name naming is never linear. People aren’t linear. I do my best, instead, through the right interview questions. I then work with the most prominent factors in my interviewee’s business identity.
Your history is your story.
The greatest successes in pseudonyms come by matching the name to one's past.
While you may think your day job in accounting is drab, 9 times out of 10, my clients have at least one coming-up story or interesting challenge along the way. I’ve even worked magic with a car salesman.
Grab ideas from your hobby self, for your work self. For example, I, Bob Bohemian, address my freelance self as a “bohemian,” not because I’m a for-profit hippie, but because of my hobby as a formal theater critic. I prefer contrary, unpopular, and colorful opinions.
Consider what you like about other names.
Study the competition. Some people like to be blunt n’ brisk: U2, Cher. Some people prefer to be abstract: Deadmou5 techno, P!nk rock. Close in on the properties of your favorite name to clarify your preferences:
Gender neutral: dark pop singer, Billie Eilish
Sober McSerious: Dida Pelled’s song, Jack Nice
Wacky Wonka-esque: The Delightful Children from Down the Lane, from the cartoon, Codename: Kids Next Door
Punny: Ice-T, Tracey Lauren Marrow, notable from Law and Order: SVU
Note, that puns are sometimes no fun when they convolute your search traffic. Take DJ Marshmello, for example:
Is there a reoccurring idea, or motif, in your work?
From philosophy to theater, and even my politics, I’ve somehow been ambushed by the motif of butterflies. I just can’t stop chasing them. What spirit animal is hiding within your soul?
Animals:
1. What’s your favorite mascot?
2. What mythical creature could define you?
3. What nonfiction creature could define you?
Idols:
1. What tools do you use frequently?
2. What group of people do you see frequently?
3. What are your hobbies?
Know your knack with a nick name.
Consider nicknames that others have bestowed upon you, even from endearing mockery. They may just need some touching up to your taste before they’re ready.
Sounds weird? Consider happy hardcore producer, DJ S3RL. When he was young, his parents prevented him from swearing. His cousins would improvise by calling him an, “arse-hrl.” T’was the dawn of his stage name, and his first DJ scratch.
Open up what you do.
You are what you repeatedly do.
Look at your portfolio or achievements. Understand where you specialize, rather than generalizing yourself: a computer guy, a knitter, versus, a build-from-scratch computer unboxer, a patriotic speed knitter.
What topics or niches have you found yourself doing?
What type of people do you serve?
Bonus points: if you clarify your niche and audience, this data will help you proactively market yourself.
Incorporate lingo from your industry.
Lingo is excellent for clever conflations, e.g., Buddhist principals + birds = Birdhism, birdhist.
Alliterations are lovely, too. Use them to make the biggest punch within the fewest syllables:
Grammar Girl, MAN MAID.
Jumble ideas in a word salad. Add or remove prefixes or suffixes. Delete letters. Add letters.
Compare trademarked content.
Is someone already using your brilliant idea? Make sure to check your trademarked, USPTO bases.
The quick n’ dirty tip for cutting through the mountain of legal jargon, is that usage = protection. If a dedicated research shows no one prominent is using the term, then makes the case later that the term belongs to them, proving earlier and prominent usage is typically the way to win.
The second largest factor is industry relevance. Old McDonald may run a farm, but he cannot do business, as is, in the fast-food industry.
Basic words = least protection (and terrible keyword ranking) E.g., DJ Marshmellow
Unique words = highest protection (and killer keyword ranking) E.g., DJ Marshmello (better)
Give yourself a stage name or pseudonym that entitles you to what you do. When you adopt a pen name, you become a keyword. Don’t miss your opportunity to charge your brand with authority via a name your future clients won’t forget.
“How to Create a Pseudonym, Pen Name, or Stage Name for Business.”
By Mr. Bohemian
