Do You Have a Pen Name?

Just curious into everyone's mindset on here, who would take a professional pen name/handle if they decided to get published, and if so, what would it be?

Has anyone actually used theirs before? Would you use the name/a similar name to the one you use on here?

My pen name is Tatiana Knight and I use it all the time when publishing something on another website or submitting something for a contest.

My pen name on the internet has just always been Icamane.
But I think if I get published, I would use my last name and then a different first name. Artemis sounds fun :D

Mine would be A. A. Mooney.

I like it, I think it has a ring to it Obviously, my first two initials are both A. My gran's maiden name is "Mooney", it's from the Irish side and I love it.

But I'm also tempted to stick with Amy Primrose, as then people who used to tell me I'd be nothing in the future might see it if I got published and recognize me

I don't think I'd ever use a pen name, simply because if I was published I would be so so proud that I would want to see my name on the cover.

I hate my last name... "Ballin"(yeah, I be a g )... so I'd probably change it to Baker. Cassidy Baker. Sounds yummeh.

All of those sound like great pen names!

Dirty Byrd:

I don't think I'd ever use a pen name, simply because if I was published I would be so so proud that I would want to see my name on the cover.

I would totally agree with you, alas I was doomed to mediocrity with my plain and simple, boring names. That's right, all my names: first, given (don't ask), middle and last, all are so short and 'normal' that you couldn't pick them off of a bookshelf for overlooking them.

So I would spice it up a bit just to stand out and give myself a fighting chance.
I would use my initials and then use a significant surname to provide some interest; my first thoughts are either J. J. Green or J. J. Hayes, as the people with these surnames in my life were very important to me in terms of writing.

I would use my own name if I felt that my real name would stand out, unfortunately this is not the case.

I'm nearly certain I've seen a thread like this around... but I can't find it so I'm probably just imagining things.

If I ever got published, I've got a pseudonym picked out already: Lilith Hemingway. I just wouldn't want to be published under my name because I'd feel weird knowing that people I know could pick up something I've written and read it knowing it was written by me. The thought kind of terrifies me, actually.

I would indeed use a pen name, just for the simple fact that my last name is too difficult for 99.9% of people to pronounce correctly. (German.) Whenever I submit stuff for contests I use the name Alberta Spangler, [Alberta is my great grandmother's name, Spangler is my other great grandmother's maiden name], but I think I'd change the name Alberta to something along the lines of Salem, because my family has fairly heavy ties to the Salem Witch trials.

I'm not really looking to get published, but if I ever did, I think I would change my last name. "McDonald" doesn't really scream "accomplished author," more like "garbage fast food chain."

^
I know right?
My last name is Gibbons. I doesn't say "Awesome writer." It screams, "Hairy monkey with really long arms"

I'd use my real name. I can't imagine any other name than Storm Butterworth on the front of the book that I wrote. I wouldn't really feel like it's mine unless it was my name.

I don't want to use a penname, but my mother wants me to. (Don't know why; I'd rather see my name on a book I've written.)
But, if I must, I would use the name Bryce Penrod. Penrod is my middle name, and I don't hate it that much now, but it does have a nice ring as a last name.

My penname is Delia. I use it for most of my names on websites here actually. I only just recently changed my name on here from Delia, to my real name. It comes from a long inside thing/fanfic my friend wrote a few years ago and the name stuck with me.

...come to think of it, I would probably change my last name too at least a little, because no one can spell it right. "Fischer" is apparently WAY too hard to spell for most people
Artemis Fletchler... that sounds cool xD

Artemis Fischer, that does have a pretty good ring to it too

Certainly more interesting than my last name, Neil, which is surprisingly hard to spell for, well, almost EVERYONE! Oh well...

I have a penname that I use as usernames on a lot of sites.

Leslie Wilson Perry.

All three names have a meaning, and if I did use my real name, I'd probably shorten it to my initials then surname like J.K. Rowling.

I absolutely abhor my last name, it's repulsive.
A penname I previously picked out for myself was Elizabeth Rayes, which is my middle name and kind of a nickname of my first, so it fits, but now that I think about it it sounds awfully common.

But it does sound author-y.

Another one I'm considering is Emelie Holt.
'Cause it's my gram's maiden name and a bazillion people have told me I look like an Emelie/Emily.

v That is a wonderful name. I already want to pick your book up off the shelf.

I want my penname to sound almost masculine.
If I ever do get published, I'm probably not going to use Leslie. I may shorten it to L. W. Perry which was what it originally was.

I'd definitely want to use part of my real name in my pen name. My surname is "Hodsdon", which no one can spell either, because it's so similiar to other, more common names, like Hodson and Hodgson and Hodsen. The number of misspellings I see is ridiculous!

But I think Rosie Ellen, my first name and middle name, sounds nice. I think I could just use that as a pen name by itself.

In a way, I think an author's pen name needs to reflect the style of their writing. Rosie Ellen, to me, sounds like a romantic writer, while, to use an exsample from about Artemis Fletcher sounds like someone who writes fast, action-packed, humourous stories.