So... Pen Names?

[JigokuNeko]

I am in the same situation as the OP; where I live my surname is unique. For reasons, I am 99,9999% certain it is unique to me and my parents in the whole country! Practically that means if someone were so inclined they could rather easily track me down...and that is never a good thing. Unfortunately there is no shortage of assholes on the internet and it only takes one unhinged individual to sour things. I once knew a girl who had a stalker (harassing her online, following her from her job etc) and let me tell you that is a shit deal. Now, as an artist you have to have a strong online presence and it would be at least creepy and at most dangerous if someone doxxed you and stuff.
So yeah, pen names all the way.

[UzukiCheverie]

In relation to what @keii4ii said above, but also addressing the whole topic . . .

My pen name was originally a gag between me and my childhood best friend, who also coincidentally shared the same last name as me (different "clans" though, if that makes any sense; my side is French and First Nations, while hers is French and Irish and Dutch and a whole other slew of stuff lol).

We played a lot of video games and watched a lot of anime, you know, the typical kid noobs, and when The World Ends with You was released, we were both hooked (she even bought it just so we could play multiplayer). There was a character we both loved in it, a Reaper named Uzuki Yashiro.

Cue the references that caught on xD

I took the nickname Uzuki, she took Yashiro. These names ended up sticking like glue, and I ended up using mine professionally by the time I was in senior year and had already done a lot of projects under it. She still calls me Uzuki, I still call her Yashiro, it's just never worn off. And of course, the concept of Reapers plays a role in Time Gate: Reaper, obviously lol

So just Uzuki with my last name attached to it. The real life Yashiro doesn't do this, she's just gone by Yashiro, and she just uses it as a standard username, not quite to the extent that I use it to. My real name is nothing unique or special or complicated (in fact it's one of the most white trash names ever, bonus points to anyone who knows it or can guess it from that assumption alone xD). As far as I'm concerned, Uzuki is my real name, despite my real name being the name that's on my birth certificate, ID, driver's license, school card, etc. I'd like to have it legally changed to Uzuki, or at least have it added to my middle name, when I have the money to do the paperwork, get all my ID's changed, etc (and that costs a lot of money lol). I as well as many others who know me as Uzuki use Uzuki; it's gotten to the point that even my boyfriend never uses my real name, and hasn't called me by my real name in months (I don't use his regularly either; just "Miko".) So it's at the point now where if I'm called by my real name by people who know me, like Miko, I feel like I'm about to be yelled at xD (like when people say your full name to yell at you).

[eagle1]

Eagle is many things to me. It's a long time nickname, and all of my friends and family use it (or sometimes Bird). It's a pen name, and everything I have published has been under that name. It's an identity, to the point that I can do banking under that name, even with the post 9-11 banking laws. So in short, it's more me than my birth name, to the point that most of my friends don't even know my birthname (though I don't try to hide it) nor would the ones that do think of calling me that.

Eagle
(I gotta be me!!)

[SethJH]

I already committed to using my name on my art for copyright and business reasons, but now that I think about it, that might not be a good idea. I wonder if I change it now I can protect my online identity a little better.

[SpavVy]

When it comes to your real name I kinda know how that feels. I have a last name that isn't common at all and there is no one with the same first and last name as me so I'm one of a kind, for my comic I do use my full name which probably isn't a good idea...but for short I go by my nickname online as well which I'm better known for. I've never been fond of pen names at least not for myself, friends had suggested it in the past but it never appealed to me. I'll admit it works great for a lot of authors and if you are really concerned about your privacy then I'd say go for it, you're probably better off that way if you don't want others to pester you in certain places. I get that a lot especially on facebook which is my fault because I chose to go by my full name. I am going to stick to it for copyright reasons since I'm paying to get it done next week anyway.

[Jelw]

Thank you for all the responses! Honestly I thought there would be an overwhelming amount of people using their legal names with their works, but it looks like maybe not so much. (Although this is of course an extremely small sample size.)

If you don't mind me asking advice on another point: do you think it's important for a pen name to resemble a legal name or not? For instance, I've been using Jelw in association with my art for years, so if I could just carry on with that it would be ideal. However it's very obviously not an actual name. No go? Alright?

@UzukiCheverie I totally feel you on the name change thing. I have to go through all that mess to change my firstname when I'm back from Studying abroad and I am not looking forward to it……

[winglesscomic]

Yeah my surname is also very unique and if you search it it will come up with only my family. I do not like using my name on the internet because of issues with stalking in the past. I am EXTREMELY paranoid about using my real name, so I sort of have this fake identity I use to sign up for almost every site. I also made sure that my PayPal account is a business one so I could change it to only display my "business name" and not my real name (not that it matters that much right now because it's my real address so far and not a PO box... but... I want to change that some day).

I say use a pen name that is unique, if you don't want to plaster your real name everywhere. If you live in the US, if you apply for copyright you can choose to input the pen name as the publisher alongside your real name too.

[purrlpankras]

I'd never use my real name, Each time I have to say it I have to spelt it out for people.

Purrl Pankras will do

[vocaloidno1fan]

I usually go by EmoKawaiiChibi/EKC/Chibi
I don't know if I would call it a "pen name" per say but I use it a lot for things like online games, artwork, stories I wrote, etc.
It's more of a "screen-name" if anything :/
But yeah maintaining your personal info is definitely important. especially these days
As for a pen name resembling an actual name, you could do that. (it's what Samuel Langhorne Clemens a.k.a. Mark Twain did)
Ultimately it's up to you

[infectedbloodcomics]

I don't think it's important. I'm always going to be Infected Blood

[UzukiCheverie]

If you don't mind me asking advice on another point: do you think it's important for a pen name to resemble a legal name or not? For instance, I've been using Jelw in association with my art for years, so if I could just carry on with that it would be ideal. However it's very obviously not an actual name. No go? Alright?

It could be a real name in another country, or it could be complete gibberish, most people don't care about the "official-ness" of it, but whether or not it's what you want to use and the story behind it. Consider Suda51, artist of games such as No More Heroes. I don't know what his real name is, but professionally, he goes by Suda51.

You have control over what your penname is, so if you want it to be Jelw, who cares if no one else in the world has that name. Just makes it more unique

[callmeshane]

In the end, pen names are ultimately in favor of either protecting your identity or serving as an amusing alternative identity that you can find relation in. They are often times self given as a safety net should you work on projects that you feel quite uncertain about or would not want to officially be known for. If you worry that values you find poor will reflect on you and your family with your work, then it would certainly be a good idea to utilize a different alias for that.

Concerning payments, if it involves companies and legalities of monetary concern, you can stipulate in your written agreement ( if any ) that you wish to utilize an alternative name on the project while retaining the payment notice for your official. I myself have done this before and it works even greater in speed without all the write ups. This however falls through if you are receiving payments from something that is not an organization or group because at that point the cat is out of the bag with who you disclose that information to since there are no binding agreements for the information you reveal.

At this point I pretty much just don't care who knows my official name. I often work with three names being Shane_frost, Callmedoc, and Doc-Diventia. Only because I just enjoy the ring to them. If you have something to protect, protect it. If not, go nuts.

[joannekwan]

As a teen I mostly used my online usernames, but then going through college as a design major, we were working on branding ourselves and pen names never really came up. Everyone was using their real names or the nicknames they go by in real life. So I am now just going by my real name. It's more convenient and it's easier to pronounce than my usernames.
I don't care that people know I can draw nsfw things or whatnot, hell, I'm proud of what I can do. And my name falls somewhere in the middle of being generic and being unique. Kwan is a somewhat common Chinese last name and I've met/heard of a few Joanne's too.
Also I think in this day and age, unless you've never used your real name online at all, if people do enough searching, they probably can find your real name.

[Vikiro_Hop]

Pen names have been used for a long time and I think the legal system at least over here has adapted to it. For me a pen name was a way to distance myself from the art I create and let a persona flourish out of it. So even if IRL something is going on that is greatly affecting my life I can slide into that skin and still write the same way I would "normally." It's sorta a way to let me be a human and then an entertainer. I consider Hop (in my comic), Vikiro Hop, and my regular self as different but not all together separate characters if that makes sense.
I plan on using this name as a professional (if and when I could be regarded as such) and if you declare you're a business (again not super difficult in the U.S from what I gather) there is quite alot you can do with banking in that regard I believe.

[RiverKai]

I love my pen name and had quite a few reasons to use it instead of my real name. However, I wouldn't have used my full real name even if I chose to use it, also because my surname is unique where I live. The shorter, easier to read and pronounce pen names are a lot of fun for webcomics and other forms of social media because it seems like a creative business or art-related thing instead of just someone promoting themselves as a person, which is much more glossed over in my opinion.
Also, I have MAJOR issues remembering people's names. But pen names really solve that problem for me, just as if I were to give someone a nickname to help me remember their names. I think they stick easier with people on top of protecting your identity.

[DynamoToon]

It's kinda like a superhero's secret identity. In the world of the interwebs there are many creeps and villains so it'd be best not to give your name and age. Your pen name is like your alter ego, it is your digital version in the cyberworld. He is there to protect you and your personal security. So yeah, pen name is a good.

[epiale]

I know I use a pen-name online for a multitude of reasons. My last name is the product of a mis-typing of an already very uncommon last name, so there are roughly 25 people in the world with the same last name as me. None share my first name. Finding me would be so easy it's not even funny should people know my real name, haha. As I've dealt with some really creepy people in the past it's partly a safety issue. It's also a way to make it harder for people I know irl to find my stuff should I want it hidden.

I also just identify with my pen name (Ethan Epiale) a lot more. Couldn't really explain why, I just do. It feels more like me, and thus works really well for my personal creative endeavors. : )

I do worry about the future and how I'm going to deal with financial stuff when I get there. I'm not sure there are many effective ways to keep your name off financial transactions, and that's kind of an issue. >_>

[theseasick]

My pen name evolved into my online name. I love it. It will be my name for all my work forever. Sea Sick!!!!!!!

[bmacbride]

I use a pen name specifically to separate my artwork from my personal life. I'm not comfortable with my friends or family being able to access my artwork or my internet presence freely. It's quite close to my legal name, anyways, just not close enough for people I know to recognize that it's me. I like the privacy and anonymity a pen name provides. A personalized alias is also somewhat fulfilling in a creative sense... it's like a name that people immediately and exclusively associate with your creativity. Feels nice.

[scythe]

My name is actually fairly common. I'm definitely not the only person to pop up in a search. There are even a few others who art artists. But really, I just think a level of anonymity is a healthy and important part of going about the internet. When I first started posting art online I used my real name and I kind of regret that. I always feel as though I have to watch what I say when using my real name lest one of my 'harmful opinions' bring the wrath of the offenditrons down upon me. These days all you need to do is disagree with someone on the net to put your identity, family and work life at risk.

Plus pens names are cool and add to the mystery.

**throws down smoke bomb and disappears **