
Names hold enormous power. I’ve always been impressed by people who go by names with only one word — Cher, Beyoncé, Prince, Madonna, Bono, Beck, Banksy or Pelé come to mind. These one-word names are called “mononyms.”
Add Plato, Aristotle, Fergie, Fabio, and Coolio, and you’re looking at quite the lineup of mononymous people. If you’re not singing “mononym” to the Muppet tune of “Mahna Mahna,” you will be by the end of this sentence.
You probably know about pseudonyms. These “pen names,” “noms de plume,” or even “aliases” are the names authors use for a particular purpose. Classic examples include Dr. Seuss, Mark Twain and Mrs. Silence...