History Main / RealNameAsAnAlias

* In ''Literature/CiaphasCain'' novel, ''For The Emperor'', Inquisitor Amberley Vail goes undercover as an entertainer named Amberley Vail. She also uses her real last name for two different undercover identities in ''Duty Calls'' -- the Lady haut Vail near the beginning of the novel, and Corporal Vail near the end. Possibly justified, in that anyone who can legally look at a roster of active Inquisitors already knows where she is and what she's doing, and she can kill anyone else who might blab.

* In ''Literature/TheGooseGirl'', the princess' full name is Anidori-Kiladra Talianna Isilee. When she goes into hiding, she calls herself Isi.

* In the ''Comicbook/DetectiveComics'' storyline "Shadows of the Bat: The Tower", one of the inmates in Arkham Tower is a woman who suffers from the delusion that she's Comicbook/HarleyQuinn. When the various undercover Team Batman members amongst the staff and patients are activated, she turns out to actually be Harley Quinn.

* The ''Franchise/StarWars'' character Dr. Cornelius Evazan (the pig-nosed human who accosts Luke at the cantina in ''Film/ANewHope'') had numerous aliases, since he was an EvilutionaryBiologist who was just as wanted as he claimed. One of them in ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'' was simply..."Dr. Cornelius", using it as if it were his last name.

* In ''The Goose Girl'', the princess' full name is Anidori-Kiladra Talianna Isilee. When she goes into hiding, she calls herself Isi.

* Creator/OrsonScottCard:
** In the sequels to ''Literature/EndersGame'', Ender simply goes by his given name of Andrew Wiggin. He is secretive about the fact that he's the same Andrew Wiggin who killed off the Bugger race thousands of years ago, but everyone thinks of that boy as "Ender," and the name "Andrew Wiggin" doesn't ring a bell for them. The few who do recognize the name assume his parents chose poorly when naming him.
** In ''Literature/{{Earthborn}}'', a character whose life has been greatly extended travels among people to whom she has become ShroudedInMyth. She uses her own name, and people assume her parents named her after the legendary figure.

* In the 2016 Netflix Series [[Series/TheTick2016 The Tick]], Arthur Everest is arrested while out sleuthing in costume and invokes the right not to reveal his secret identity. They then ask him for his name (meaning his superhero name) and he immediately responds "Arthur," which from then on is his in-costume identity.

* In the ''Podcast/RedPandaAdventures'' episode "The Missing Links", the Red Panda and Flying Squirrel are tracing the steps of supervillain the Mad Monkey, real name Anton Cresswell, and how he got hold of several pieces of high technology. A scientist they speak to reveals a close colleague of his had become close to an "Anthony Cresswell" shortly before he died. The Flying Squirrel notes that, with an alias like that, the Mad Monkey wasn't even ''trying'' to hide. The Red Panda confirms that's exactly the case, as the Mad Monkey wanted them to know it was him.

* Matsuri Kazamaki of ''Manga/AyakashiTriangle'' attends high school under his real name even after [[GenderBender magically becoming female]] and acting as if he was always a girl. [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections His family's connections]] handled the records, while his [[FriendlessBackground asocial history]] (and changing right before the first day) mean no one remembers a boy having that name, even if they went to middle school with him. It also helps that [[GenderBlenderName his name is unisex, while the way he spells it is outright feminine]]. Matsuri even uses his real name with Suzu's family, probably expecting them to have forgotten him after so many years--which backfires when they ''do'' remember, but assume Matsuri was always a girl they mistook for a boy (which would obviously complicate things if he ever becomes male again).

** Yuuki Konno just uses her first name as her alias in ''[=ALfheim=] Online'' and presumably in other VRMMO games as well, although in her case [[spoiler:[[IllGirl given her circumstances]], virtual reality ''is'' the only life she can have]].

** Slade's real name is Slade Wilson. It's enough of a BadassName to work for the main villain even without knowing that in the original comics, he goes by the alias of Deathstroke the Terminator. Of course, he would have done that here too, but [[NeverSayDie the network didn't let him]].

* Played directly in ''VisualNovel/NineHoursNinePersonsNineDoors'': near the end of the game, it's mentioned that [[spoiler:Clover's real name is... Clover.]]

* PlayedWith in ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' when the main characters are trying to keep a low profile in the Fire Nation. Sokka introduces himself to a master Fire Nation swordsman named Piandao using his own name. [[spoiler:Piandao realizes that "Sokka" is a Water Tribe name and puts it together that he's one of the Avatar's friends. Fortunately for the heroes, he was GoodAllAlong, and advises Sokka to be more careful about his choice of alias ("Try 'Lee'. There's a million 'Lee's.")]]

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Disenchantment}}:'' While working in a factory, Bean introduces herself as "Tia", a shortened version of her full first name, "Tiabeanie".
* On ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy,'' Peter Griffin once tried to pull off a LineOfSightName. The first three things he saw were a ''pea,'' a person crying one ''tear,'' [[RuleOfFunny and a]] ''[[UnusuallyUninterestingSight griffin]]'' that flew in through the window.

** Slade's real name is Slade Wilson. It's enough of a BadassName to work for the main villain even without knowing that in the original comics, he goes by the alias of Deathstroke the Terminator.

* ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'': In "Undercover Carl", when O.W.C.A. suspects that the titular characters are in league with Doofenshmirtz, Carl the intern is sent undercover to investigate. He tries to come up with a cool alias, buy ends up introducing himself by his real name.

* Fanfic/ACrownOfStars: [[spoiler: Chapter 74 reveals that Gendo had snuck into the Army Asuka and Shinji lead back to Earth, using his birth name of Rokubungi as an alias.]]

** Slade's real name is Slade Wilson. In the original comic his alias was Deathstroke the Terminator.

* Many famous women continue to use their maiden name after marrying, since they're already well-known and changing names might confuse fans.

A character needs an alias for some reason and technically ''doesn't'' lie about what their name is... it might be their real name if they're [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname known by a nickname]], [[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep their occupation]], or vice versa, or their maiden name if they're a married woman, or their middle name being used as their first name, but the point is that the character can argue that it ''is'' their real name.

** This was also the case with many other Golden Age kid sidekicks including Sparky/Sparkington J. Northup (Comicbook/BlueBeetle); Wing/Wing How (Comicbook/TheCrimsonAvenger); and Sandy/Sandy Hawkins (Comicbook/TheSandman).

** This was also the case with many other Golden Age kid sidekicks including Sparky/Sparkington J. Northup (Comicbook/BlueBeetle); Wing/Wing How (Comicbook/CrimsonAvenger); and Sandy/Sandy Hawkins (Comicbook/{{Sandman}})

* In the ''Comicbook/DetectiveComicsNewFrontier'' storyline "Shadows of the Bat: The Tower", one of the inmates in Arkham Tower is a woman who suffers from the delusion that she's Comicbook/HarleyQuinn. When the various undercover Team Batman members amongst the staff and patients are activated, she turns out to actually be Harley Quinn.

Often used by [[KingIncognito disguised royalty]] with {{overly long name}}s, since they can just pick one of their many middle names to be called by. One common variation is for a character to use [[NomDeMom their mother's maiden name as their surname]] in place of their father's.

* ComicBook/SpiderMan was cloned, and the clone retained all of Peter's memories, to the point where he originally believed that he was the real one. Eventually the cloned Peter takes the name [[ComicBook/ScarletSpider Ben Reilly]], derived from Peter's middle name and Aunt May's maiden name (which helps facilitate the story that the two are [[StrongFamilyResemblance oddly identical]] cousins, as long as [[FridgeLogic no-one thinks too closely]] about Peter and May's actual relationship).

* ''Manga/CrossplayLoveOtakuXPunk'': Both Shuumei and Hanae take their female alter egos' names (Mei and Hana, respectively) from parts of their own names.