Pen Name

[twitchywoman.livejournal.com]

I am a writer and I've been thinking if I ever get published, I'd like to keep my fiction writing separate from my non-fiction and memoir writing since they are about vastly different things.  My real name is Alyssa Kuglin (Koog-lynn) and I'd like to use that name for my non-fiction and memoir writing but I think I need a pen name for my fiction writing.  I'd like to keep my first name if possible, but I'm open to all suggestions.  I was thinking of taking a last name from one of the fandoms I belong to, but I go through phases where I love certain things so I don't want to commit to something that is just going to be a phase.

Comments

[lipsty.livejournal.com]

How about your middle name or your mum's maiden name? Would either of those work?

[how-obscure.livejournal.com]

I like the above mentioned idea of using your mother's maiden name or using a name found somewhere in your family tree.

Do you have any idea of what region from which you would like the name to come? Or perhaps there is a meaning you would like? That sort of thing would make it easier for me to offer suggestions. Otherwise, I might sit here offering Alyssa MacGregor, Alyssa MacDougal, and Alyssa McLeod when you would rather Alyssa Rademacher, Alyssa Petrov, or Alyssa Dubois.

[how-obscure.livejournal.com]

Oh, and I forgot--have you checked out Behind the Name's surname site? http:// surnames dot behindthename dot com
Trying to avoid being marked as spam for a link, so just change the dots to . and remove the spaces.

[earn-my-wings.livejournal.com]

What if you chose a first name that is similar? Like Alice or Amelia?

For last names, something easy to remember and spell:

Murray
McFarren
Fellows
Brighton
Arlington
Masters
Parker
Jeffrey

[twitchywoman.livejournal.com]

It's funny that you mention Amelia, that is actually my mom's favorite name. I could easily do an homage to my mom and do Amelia Klein (Klein being her maiden name).

[twitchywoman.livejournal.com]

I think I'd like to honor my heritage. My last name is German and I am mostly German and Norwegian. I think it would be really cool if I could honor where I live which is in Minnesota, but I don't know where to get a last name from that. I know there is a city called Ada in MN, but Ada is one of my favorite names and I'd like to save it for one of my daughters.

[raze--the-rose.livejournal.com]

How about something that sounds similar to your real name? The first thing that popped into my head was Alison Cooley.

[sarahrose.livejournal.com]

Maybe something with the same initials?


I'm a writer of fiction and memoir as well!

[roseofjuly.livejournal.com]

To create my pen-name, I used elements from my real name. My pen name right now is Rose Asali; Asali is the Swahili word for "honey" and it is an actual name (a girl's first name and not a surname, but you know). My first name is Melissa, which means "honeybee," and I'm of African descent, so I wanted to honor that in my pen name. I settled on Rose more arbitrarily - it does have some symbolic imagery to me, but it was kind of a whimsical pick.

Alyssa means "noble" according to Nameberry, and there are a lot of men's names that could be surnames that mean the same. One of them is Ellsworth, meaning "nobleman's estate." Another is Ansel, meaning "follower of a nobleman" (and alliterative names are easy to remember - Alyssa Ansel.) Ewing also means "noble-born", and Patrick means "noble, patrician." O'Grady also means "son of the noble one."

BY extension, you could also find a man's name or surname with a meaning you simply like or that resonates with you. You can use the Super Search at Nameberry.com or a similar search at other naming sites to find that.

[roseofjuly.livejournal.com]

Well, the word "Minnesota" comes from the Dakota name for the Minnesota River (Mnisota), which simply means "water." So you could select a German or Scandinavian surname that means "water" - which would also honor those Minnesota roots. I came up with Bardo, which is a German saint's name that means "water." There's also Kallan, a girl's name that means "river."

If you're willing to branch out in origin, there are a lot of other names that mean "river" or something like it, like Bradford (English), Alwym (Welsh), Deveraux (French), Holmes (English), Eaton (English), Remington (English), Monroe (Scottish origins, spelled in an English way), Shannon (it means "old and wise," but is an Irish river), Wharton (English) and Windsor (English).

There's also the option of using a Minnesota city as your last name - Alyssa St. Paul, or just Alyssa Paul; Alyssa St. Cloud, Alyssa Bloomington, Alyssa Maplewood, Alyssa Fridley, Alyssa Ramsey, Alyssa Andover…

There are some other names that may satisfy for first names - Winona, Eden (from Eden Prarie), Austin (if you don't mind a more masculine name), Crystal, Victoria, or perhaps Paula or Pauline?

[twitchywoman.livejournal.com]

I do like the idea of using Eden. I also love the name Ada which is a small town in Northern Minnesota which is where one of my great grandparents is from. I used to go to school in Morris, MN and thought I'd use Morris as the last name since I love the town so much. I also idolize Paul Wellstone, so I came up with maybe using Wells to honor him. Like Eden or Ada Wells or Eden or Ada Morris or something like that.

[earn-my-wings.livejournal.com]

Amelia Klein has a nice ring to it! Plus Klein is a strong last name