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Examples of pen name in a Sentence
Samuel L. Clemens is better known by his pen name “Mark Twain.”
Recent Examples on the Web
While the singer did not pen the novel the movie is based on under a pen name, as many fans have theorized online, her Scottish Fold cats did impact Vaughn’s creative choices.
—Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 25 Jan. 2024
Most were rejected, but a few were published, under a pen name.
—Clay Risen, New York Times, 25 Jan. 2024
Rowling most recently published The Ink Black Heart under her pen name, Robert Galbraith, last year.
—Jenny Goldsberry, Washington Examiner, 19 Oct. 2023
This is the reason that a lot of us choose to write under pen names.
—Jason Parham, WIRED, 13 Sep. 2023
Volume One includes stories by Fredric Brown, Dorothy B. Hughes and Richard Stark (a pen name for Donald Westlake).
—Tom Nolan, WSJ, 16 Nov. 2023
Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher (who is just Ursula Vernon under a pen name) won best novel; Samantha Mills’ Rabbit Test won best short story; The Expanse and Everything Everywhere All At Once and Dune and Andor are all among the nominees and winners.
—David Pierce, The Verge, 29 Oct. 2023
Get Tickets on Fandango The Pigeon Tunnel (Theaters and Apple TV+, Oct. 20)
Before becoming the 20th century’s premier spy novelist, David Cornwell (better known by his pen name, John le Carré) worked in British intelligence.
—Keith Phipps, Rolling Stone, 29 Sep. 2023
Elsewhere, writers like Kepner, Sten Russell (pen name of Stella Rush) and Norman Mailer used the magazine’s pages to illuminate pressing issues that remain all too familiar.
—Manuel Betancourt, Los Angeles Times, 28 Sep. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pen name.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
circa 1864, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near pen name
Cite this Entry
“Pen name.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pen%20name. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.
Kids Definition
pen name
noun
: a false name used by an author
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