History Main / NomDeGuerre

* The conventional and commonplace Arabic practice of ''kunya'' - which includes geographic or familial identifiers - are often used as this trope by militias and insurgent groups in the Middle East. Jihadis - particularly foreigners - are especially fond of making their kunya as their primary identifier as a way to divorce themselves from their past, "sinful" lives. That the use of a kunya makes it harder for them to be identified in the event of their return is an extra bonus. While many such Nom De Guerre adhere to conventional Arabic norms of the kunya, some fighters adopted (or were given) nicknames based on their battlefield exploits. Such examples include Abu Tow[[note]]Literally "Father of Tow (Missiles)"[[/note]] and [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Abu Azrael]].

** Some pilots in the Literature/XWingSeries also picked up nicknames, although they used numbers for official callsigns (e.g. "Rogue One" or "Wraith Five"). Notable instances included Garik "[[TheFace Face]]" Loran, Hohass "Runt" Ekwesh ([[IronicName actually huge]], but tiny by comparison to others of his species), and Voort "Piggy" saBinring (ostensibly a FantasticSlur against his appearance as a Gamorrean, Wedge and Janson reinterpret it in tribute to Jek "Piggy" Porkins, who died in ''A New Hope'').

* Common in the military, particularly amongst pilots, who use their nicknames as "Callsigns", basically a distinct way of identifying themselves over the radio without using their names. Not only does it help protect your identity from the enemy, but it also helps avoid confusion when your squadron includes three Smiths, five Johnsons, and a couple of Sanchezes.

* [[ProfessionalWrestling Hunter Hearst Helmsley]], known to most as Wrestling/TripleH (or "Trip").

* Practiced by prominent members of the French Army during the ancient regime and still widely practiced by [[LegionOfLostSouls Foreign Legionaries]]. In World War Two, prominent leaders of the Free French (and about every member of LaResistance) adopted Noms De Guerre to protect their families from retribution from the Nazis and LesCollaborateurs. One example is Darius Paul Bloch, who used Dassault as his alias. His brother took the name as well and used it for his aviation company.
* Many French canadian/acadian surnames come from colonial soldiers' nom de guerre sticking after their service.

* Saloth Sar, better known to the world as Pol Pot. He took that name to lead his guerilla movement, the Khmer Rouge. He may have been trying to imitate Vladimir Illitch Ulyanov (Lenin) or else Josef Vissarionovitch Dzugashvili (Stalin). But maybe not: the communist leader who Pol Pot most admired, UsefulNotes/MaoZedong, used his real name throughout his life (family names being SeriousBusiness in Chinese culture, this wasn't too surprising.)

* Practiced by prominent members of the French Army during the ancient regime and still widely practiced by [[LegionOfLostSouls Foreign Legionaries]]. In World War Two, prominent leaders of the Free French (and about every member of LaResistance) adopted Noms De Guerre to protect their families from retribution from the Nazis and LesCollaborateurs.
** Such as Darius Paul Bloch, who used Dassault as his alias. His brother took the name as well and used it for his aviation company.
** The pre-revolution version of it is still visible in french canadian/acadian names, as most flower names come from colonial soldiers' nom de guerre sticking after their service.

* Saloth Sar, better known to the world as Pol Pot. He took that name to lead his guerilla movement, the Khmer Rouge.
** He may have been trying to imitate Vladimir Illitch Ulyanov (Lenin) or else Josef Vissarionovitch Dzugashvili (Stalin). But maybe not: the communist leader who Pol Pot most admired, UsefulNotes/MaoZedong, used his real name throughout his life (family names being SeriousBusiness in Chinese culture, this wasn't too surprising.)

* The conventional and commonplace Arabic practice of ''kunya'' - which includes geographic or familial identifiers - are often used as this trope by militias and insurgent groups in the Middle East. Jihadis - particularly foreigners - are especially fond of making their kunya as their primary identifier as a way to divorce themselves from their past, "sinful" lives. That the use of a kunya makes it harder for them to be identified in the event of their return is an extra bonus.
** While many such Nom De Guerre adhere to conventional Arabic norms of the kunya, some fighters adopted (or were given) nicknames based on their battlefield exploits. Such examples include Abu Tow[[note]]Literally "Father of Tow (Missiles)"[[/note]] and [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Abu Azrael]].

** The PlayerCharacter from ''VideoGame/AceCombat7SkiesUnknown'' ends up with five, the most among Ace Combat protagonists. He gets three different callsigns: Mage 2, Spare 15 and Strider 1. His AWACS, flight group, and people talking ''to'' him use his nickname "Trigger". People, friend or foe, talking ''about'' him refer to "[[TheDreaded Three Strikes]]".

* ''Webcomic/SleeplessDomain'': Each {{magical girl}} has a unique title that they use while on the job. This name is usually formed by combining the girl's team name with a unique {{them|eNaming}}atic identifier -- for example, Team Alchemical includes Alchemical Water, Alchemical Fire, and Alchemical Earth, while Team Thrash consists of Knuckle Thrash and Laser Thrash. Given the [[CelebritySuperhero idol culture]] façade that hides the reality of their work as ChildSoldiers, this title functions as much as a magical girl's StageName as it does her call sign.

* In ''VideoGame/XCOMEnemyUnknown'', every soldier that reach the rank of sergant gets one randomly selected in a list. Averted with Annette Durand (from the expansion ''Enemy Within'') that doesn't get one at all.
** Also present in [[VideoGame/XCOM2 the sequel]].
* ''VideoGame/UnderNightInBirth'': Given the dangerous nature of [[LiminalTime the Hollow Night]], many of the In-Births wandering around in it go by an alias to intimidate threats and make their presence known. Some, like Hyde, just use their own name for this, but others include Linne (Princess of the Night Blade), Gordeau (the Harvester of Greed), Carmine (the Crimson Origins - 'Carmine Prime' itself is also one of these), Hilda (Paradox), Nanase (Windmill), Kei Asuma (Chaos), Byakuya (Predator), Yoshiko (Phonon the Chemeti) and Erika Wagner ([[RedBaron The Crimson Knight]]).

* PlayedForLaughs on a ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' sketch called "Fighter Pilots." The rest of the pilots have predictable call signs like "Wild Card" and "Viper." Creator/WillFerrell's is "Clown Penis." He says he chose it[[note]] a bit of ArtisticLicense; fighter pilots don't choose their own call signs[[/note]] because "when an enemy sees me on his tail, I want him to feel the same way you would if a clown showed you his penis: confused, unsettled and very, ''very'' scared."

* PlayedForLaughs on a ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' sketch called "Fighter Pilots." The rest of the pilots have predictable call signs like "Wild Card" and "Viper." Creator/WillFerrell's is "Clown Penis." He says he chose it[[note]] a bit of ArtisticLicense; fighter pilots don't choose their own call signs[[/note]] because "when an enemy sees me on his tail, I want him to feel the same way you would if a clown showed you his penis: confused, unsettled and very, very scared."

* ''ComicBook/SensationComicsFeaturingWonderWoman'': The captain in "Rescue Angel" is only known by his call sign and the main character Lt. Angel Santiago gains hers, Wonder Woman, over the course of the tale.

* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'': The human members of the regiment in ''Discworld/MonstrousRegiment'' all acquire noms de guerre, and are referred to by them for most of the book: Ozzer, Shufti, Wazzer, Lofty and Tonker. The vampire, troll and Igor are just Maladict, Carborundum and Igor, though. (Actually [[spoiler:they have ''two'' noms de guerre since the male names they signed up under [[SweetPollyOliver aren't their real names either]]. And that ''does'' include Maladicta, Jade and Igorina.]])

* In ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'', the Forsaken were given these when they allied with the Dark One, though after 3000 years of being ShroudedInMyth, they survive in infamy long after their true names were forgotten. These include Ishamael ("Betrayer of Hope"), Moghedien ("[[TheChessmaster the Spider]]"), Semirhage ("[[TortureTechnician Lady of Pain]]"), Be'lal ("[[GreenEyedMonster the Envious]]"), and so on.

** Some pilots in the ComicBook/XWingSeries also picked up nicknames, although they used numbers for official callsigns (e.g. "Rogue One" or "Wraith Five"). Notable instances included Garik "[[TheFace Face]]" Loran, Hohass "Runt" Ekwesh ([[IronicName actually huge]], but tiny by comparison to others of his species), and Voort "Piggy" saBinring (ostensibly a FantasticSlur against his appearance as a Gamorrean, Wedge and Janson reinterpret it in tribute to Jek "Piggy" Porkins, who died in ''A New Hope'').

* ''Literature/ThePrincessBride'': The Dread Pirate Roberts. Because The Dread Pirate [[spoiler:Westley]] just wouldn't carry the same sense of dread with it that makes him so effective as a pirate.

When a soldier or agent ''has'' a name, but is instead routinely called by a nickname. Especially common amongst pilots for a variety of reasons. The Trope Name comes from [[TropeNamer The French]], and translates to English as "war name" -- compare with the very similar "nom de plume", "PenName".

** Some other characters, instead of the simple CodeNames above, have names that change depending on which conflict they're in:

* Many of the troopers in Task Force 141 in ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty: VideoGame/ModernWarfare 2'' use callsigns such as Ghost, Roach, and Worm. {{Inverted}}, in that Captain [=MacTavish's=] nickname is "Soap", but the first time anyone ''calls'' him that,[[note]]Captain Price, when he is busted out of a Russian gulag[[/note]] the nearest trooper asks ''"[[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments Who's Soap?]]"''

** The PlayerCharacter from ''VideoGame/AceCombat7SkiesUnknown'' ends up with five, the most among Ace Combat protagonists. He gets three different callsigns: Mage 2, Spare 15 and Strider 1. His AWACS, flight group, and people talking ''to'' him use his formal callsign "Trigger". People, friend or foe, talking ''about'' him refer to "[[TheDreaded Three Strikes]]".

** The PlayerCharacter from ''VideoGame/AceCombat7SkiesUnknown'' ends up with to. His AWACS, flight group, and people talking ''to'' him use his formal callsign "Trigger". People, friend or foe, talking ''about'' him refer to "[[TheDreaded Three Strikes]]".

* The ''VideoGame/BattleTech'' video game does this with the Mechwarriors available for hire. Interestingly, it pulls names from a pool of potential callsigns when randomly generating available pilots, so 'Spike' might be a black man with an afro in one playthrough and a petite bald Asian lady in the next. Also notable for having quite the spectrum of callsigns, ranging from Hollywood-style cool (Firefly, Reaper) to the gratuitous ShoutOut ([[Franchise/MobileSuitGundam Red Comet]], [[Film/ButchCassidyAndTheSundanceKid Sundance]]). It also has a very large list of callsigns drawing from often-unimpressive or unflattering common words, such as "Wagon", "Jalopy", "Pigeon", and "Sunflower"... which any fighter pilot worth his salt will tell you is very much TruthInTelevision.