coolest pseudonym (Pen name)

[Rjoyadet]

What are some cool pseudonyms you have heard of? It could be names that sound cool, but my favorite are ones with a hidden message.

Example:

One of the scariest short stories I ever read was by a Japanese man named Edogawa Rampo.

When you first read it you may think one of two people.

or

But the name is actually a reference to another celebrated horror and mystery writer. Harlan Ellison pointed out that if you say his name out loud several times you will find out the writer he is channeling

Edogawa Rampo

Edoga waram po

Ed go a wa mp o

(remember R and L is inter-changeable in Japanese)

Edgo aw lampo

Edgo aw lanpo

Edgar Allen Poe

I always found that cool. Maybe it is because it took a Harlan Ellison to point it out but that is my favorite pseudonym

One pseudonym method I like was taking the meaning of a name and changing the language. The writer Agricola knew that his name meant "Farmer" in latin and changed it to the Germanic "Bauer." I found out that my last name means "Jewel" in Spanish. A few minutes on Babelfish and a bilingual dictionary showed me that in Mandarin Chinese my name can be Pao Hu. If I ever get a PhD my first order of business is to legally change my name to Pao Hu and introduce myself as Doctor Hu.