History Main / PornNames

* In ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' novel ''Literature/BloodRites'', Harry is hired as supernatural security for a porn studio. There are many examples mentioned, though the actors don't use them behind the scenes, except for entitled diva Trixie Vixen, born Tricia Scrump ("It's been legally changed!"). One of the new actors is trying to come up with a good porn name, but can't think of anything more original than "Rocko Stone", so a coworker suggests "[[GoingCommando Gowan Commando]]". The guy doesn't get the joke, but likes it.

Another reason this trope may be played is that they don't want to be haunted by BleachedUnderpants when they get out of the industry (also see PornCreatorGoingMainstream). The Internet usually finds a way to make this futile, however.

[[folder:Visual Novels]]
* Very common in {{Eroge}}, if it involves a well-known voice actors. Most of the time they will use alternate name(s) for their voicing work (e.g [[Creator/KosukeToriumi Sakiware Spoon]], [[Creator/MinoruShiraishi Ichigo Miruku]], [[Creator/NorioWakamoto Hiruma Kyou-no-suke]], [[Creator/MaiKadowaki Anzu Mitsu]], [[Creator/HyoSei Elena Kaibara]], etc.), possibly due to public image factor. Unlike most examples of this trope, the names are usually normal ones (sometimes punny, e.g [[Creator/DaisukeKishio Sorano Taiyou]], [[Creator/JunichiSuwabe Tom Kunoreezu]][[note]]a pun of Tom Cruise, whose roles were dubbed by Suwabe[[/note]]). Much of the time, male voice actor will have two or more alternate names, one for works aimed at men and one for works aimed at women. There are some who averts this trope, most notably Tamiyasu Tomoe who used her real name for ''any'' voicing work she had done[[note]]She uses ''Tamiyasu☆ROCK!'' for musical works, however[[/note]]. Interestingly, most of the time when an eroge [[BleachedUnderpants gets a console port/all-ages release]], voice actors will be credited with their real names (a case in the ''[[VisualNovel/GrisaiaSeries Grisaia]]'' trilogy).
[[/folder]]

* Very common in {{Eroge}}, if it involves a well-known voice actors. Most of the time they will use alternate name(s) for their voicing work (e.g [[Creator/KosukeToriumi Sakiware Spoon]], [[Creator/MinoruShiraishi Ichigo Miruku]], [[Creator/NorioWakamoto Hiruma Kyou-no-suke]], [[Creator/MaiKadowaki Anzu Mitsu]], [[Creator/HyoSei Elena Kaibara]], etc.), possibly due to public image factor. Unlike most examples of this trope, the names are usually normal ones (sometimes punny, e.g [[Creator/DaisukeKishio Sorano Taiyou]], [[Creator/JunichiSuwabe Tom Kunoreezu]][[note]]a pun of Tom Cruise, whose roles were dubbed by Suwabe[[/note]]). Much of the time, male voice actor will have two or more alternate names, one for works aimed at men and one for works aimed at women. There are some who averts this trope, most notably Tamiyasu Tomoe who used her real name for ''any'' voicing work she had done[[note]]She uses ''Tamiyasu☆ROCK!'' for musical works, however[[/note]]. Interestingly, most of the time when an eroge [[BleachedUnderpants gets a console port/all-ages release]], voice actors will be credited with their real names (a case in the ''[[VisualNovel/GrisaiaSeries]] trilogy'').

Another reason this trope may be played is that they don't want to be haunted by BleachedUnderpants when they get out of the industry. The Internet usually finds a way to make this futile, however.

A raunchier variant of StageNames. Sometimes overlaps with PunnyName and DoubleX; very often overlaps with EuphemisticNames. Compare with ParallelPornTitle, for the names of the movies.

[[folder:Real Life]]
* Some {{mangaka}}s also use different pen names for their porn works. For example, Mikiyo Tsuda used Zaou Taishi and Yana Toboso used Yanao Rock for YaoiGenre works.
* Glamour model Katie Price used the name "Jordan" during her Page 3 days.
* Burlesque artist Creator/DitaVonTeese's real name is Heather Sweet.
* Thanks to Ginger Lynn, Amber Lynn and Porsche Lynn in the 1980s (and their dozens of imitators since), any woman's first name + "Lynn" = "porn starlet".
** Ginger Lynn's real name is Ginger Lynn Allen -- and it was her feud with Amber Lynn for "stealing" her name which turned on the StreisandEffect and created the endless succession of Starlet Lynns.
* [[Creator/ShirleyTemple Shirley Dimples]], so named for her curly red locks.
* The common joke is that your porn name is [Name of First Pet] [Name of First Street you lived on]. There are many variants, and be careful with those: they’re often used for security questions on various sites.
** Creator/KristenBell was once asked this question in a magazine interview. Her porn name would be Chelsey Huntington, which she admitted actually sounded pretty cool.
* Other real life examples:
** Retired porn star [[GagPenis Long Dong]] Silver.[[note]]He has a bizarre connection to early 1990s American politics, as [[UsefulNotes/AmericanCourts Clarence Thomas]], during his confirmation hearings for the Supreme Court, was accused of sexual harassment, and was in particular accused of overtly comparing himself to Long Dong Silver to a woman under his supervision.[[/note]]
** Peter North.
** Letha Weapons.
** Harry Reems (born Herbert Streicher, and given the new name by the makers of ''Deep Throat''. Surprisingly, Reems still went by his alias even after he retired from porn and became a born-again Christian real estate agent in Park City, Utah).
* There is/was a porn actress who went by the name Cindy Crawford. It happens to be her real name.
** PageThreeStunna and softcore performer Theresa May effectively shares a name with the [[UsefulNotes/TheresaMay former Prime Minister of Great Britain]]. The porn T. May came to prominence first, though, and arguably made her living in a cleaner and more ethically responsible profession.
* In ''Superman XXX'', the producers cast someone with obvious nerd cred for their Lois: Andy [[Film/BillAndTedsExcellentAdventure San Dimas]].
* Another geeky porn star is April O'Neil, who, yes, [[TheDanza was cast as the source of her name in a]] ''Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'' [[ParallelPornTitles parody]].
* A famous character-inspired: Kylee Reese. The ''Franchise/{{Terminator}}'' jokes just write themselves ("Come on me if you want to live").
* British porn director Ben Dover.
* Most sex industry workers (strippers, porn stars, and escorts) take a sexy-sounding porn name both as a way of being easily-remembered and also as a way of deterring stalkers. This can sometimes lead to issues where a name that can be phonetically spelled multiple ways results in numerous very similar aliases. One of the best examples is Lanny Barbie, a French-Canadian star whose alternate spellings included Lanni Barbie, Lanny Barby, and Lanni Barby.
* A curious phenomenon relating to this is that the porn name is often trademarked by the studio to which the performer is contracted. This raises the possibly problematic spectre of what happens when a performer wants to leave their currently contracted studio and take their trademarked name with them - imagine an alternate reality where Paramount asserted that they owned the rights to the name "Creator/MichaelCaine", for instance.
* "E. Norma Stitz", the woman with the largest natural breasts.
* Actress Nikki Cox was once asked by an interviewer what her porn name would be. She said it would probably be the same but that she'd probably add an extra ''x'' or two to her last name.
** This is in fact common in any sort of name that can be [[SpellMyNameWithAnS spelled with an X]]; most sex workers with such a name will often be known by the normal spelling ''and'' the "triple x" spelling.
** Humourously enough, real porn star Nikki Rhodes started off her career under the name Nikki Coxxx.
* Male porn stars who perform in both straight and gay porn often use different names depending on which way they're swinging at the time. This has less to do with secrecy than simple courtesy for their fans, preventing someone who's only interested in their gay work from having to sift through countless pages of straight porn (or vice-versa).
[[/folder]]

** Harry Reems (born Herbert Streicher, and given the new name by the makers of ''Deep Throat''. Unexpectedly, Reems still went by his alias even after he retired from porn and became a born-again Christian real estate agent in Park City, Utah).

* Creator/TerryPratchett parodied the hell out of this, [[{{Troperiffic}} of course]], in ''Literature/{{Thud}}'', with one of the co-workers of Nobby's girlfriend pole-dancer Tawneee (real name Betty), who's called Broccolee. She started out calling herself Candee, but changed after learning that broccoli was better for you.

* Creator/TerryPratchett parodied the hell out of this, [[{{Troperiffic}} of course]], in ''Literature/{{Thud}}'', with one of the co-workers of Nobby's girlfriend Tawneee, who's called Brocolee. She started out calling herself Candee, but changed after learning that broccoli was better for you.

* Grant Morrison's ''ComicBook/TheFilth'' features a gonzo film producer based on Max Hardcore named [[IncrediblyLamePun Tex Porneau]], as well as a porn star named Anders Klimakks.

* In some hentai titles, Japanese voice actors tend to use fake names, like for ''Urotsukidouji'' -- the voice actors use {{punny name}}s like Randy Woodcock, Rosy Palmer, and Rick Ballsey.

* Some mangakas also use different pen names for their porn works. For example, Mikiyo Tsuda used Zaou Taishi and Yana Toboso used Yanao Rock for YaoiGenre works.

* ''Literature/AbleTeam''. In "Army of Devils", Carl Lyons meets up with a FriendOnTheForce from his LAPD days. Able Team is posing as federal agents, so Lyons suggests they use his callsign "Hardman One". The cop laughs as it sounds like something from a porn movie. They decide to use his InSeriesNickname "Ironman" instead.

* In ''Series/InspectorGeorgeGently'' this is both used and subverted when Gently and Bacchus are investigating a [[FanServiceWithASmile a casino with "Fox Girls"]]. The murder victim's real name was Audrey Chadwick. However, she was using the name "Blaise" for working purposes. Not ComicStrip/ModestyBlaise, as "she doesn't have any modesty". However, Fawn Granger, her best friend was using her real name.
* In ''Series/TheUnit'', when Tiffy does a bit of pole-dancing at a Bikini Bar during her separation from Mack, she is announced as "Monique".
* In ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'', George says that his porn name would be "Buck Naked".

* Invoked in an early 80s ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' sketch from an episode hosted by Bernadette Peters, in which Peters' Broadway vehicle of the time, ''42nd Street,'' was re-envisioned set on the contemporary [[WretchedHive 42nd Street]], in an adult theatre rather than a Broadway theatre. The stage manager dubs her character [[LineOfSightName Lotta Hose]], and her co-star (played by Creator/EddieMurphy) goes by "Miles Long".
** Several of the porn stars in the "Former Porn Stars'' series of sketches have names that are sexual puns, from Sammy Stamina and Creator/JamesFranco to [[Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean Captain Jack Swallow]] and [[Music/GarthBrooks Girth Brooks]].

* During Letterman's more ribald years, he did a show in Vegas where he displayed artifacts from the Museum of Las Vegas. One was a Showgirl Name Decoder: put in your name, or the name of a showgirl, and you find out what your showgirl name will be (or what her real name is). Susan, for example, becomes Suzie.
* In ''Series/VeronicaMars'', an escort site had, among their employees, a lady named "Bambi Gasm".
-->'''Mac:''' (in posh accent) Of the ''Boston'' Gasms?\\
'''Cassidy:''' One would hope.
* In the ''Series/TwoAndAHalfMen'' episode "One Nut Johnson", Alan mentions that using the [Name of First Pet] [Name of Street you grew up] combination, his porn name would be Rusty Knob. Walden says his would be Snowball Honeysuckle.

* One episode of the first season of the US ''Series/QueerAsFolk'' has Michael and Ted meet porn star Zack [[BiggerIsBetterInBed O'Tool]].

* In the ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'' episode featuring ''Film/OverdrawnAtTheMemoryBank'', the first name that shows up is "Wanda Cannon"
-->'''Crow:''' "Wanda Cannon"! Now that's a porno name if I ever heard one! [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial Not that I've... heard one.]] [[OverlyLongGag I don't subscribe to... lots of publications or anything...]]
* In ''Series/{{Jessica Jones|2015}}'', Trish suggests that Jessica [[ComicBookMoviesDontUseCodenames uses "Jewel" as a superhero alias]].
-->'''Jessica Jones:''' Jewel is a stripper's name. A really slutty stripper. And if I [[LeotardOfPower wear that thing]] you're going to have to call me Cameltoe.
* Played for laughs in ''Series/{{QI}}'', during the Season 7 episode "Gothic", when they talk about the painting "American Gothic" by Grant Wood. Sue Perkins said that the name Grant Wood sounded like a porn star.
-->'''Alan:''' I grant Wood! Whoa!
* In ''Series/BroadCity'', Abbi finds out that her boss Trey used to make masturbation videos as Kirk Steele.

* ''Series/{{Friends}}'': Phoebe is horrified to discover that her [[EvilTwin twin sister]] Ursula has been starring in porn under the name "Phoebe Buffay". When confronted, Ursula refuses to stop using the name. Phoebe gets her revenge by going to the studio and picking up "Phoebe"'s paychecks (since they're in her name).

* In ''Videogame/AgentsOfMayhem'', Hollywood's alias back when he was a porn star was "Gregory Prickington". Ironically his real name Rod Stone sounds even more like a pornstar name.
* ''VideoGame/TheSims3:'' The ''Generations'' pack includes "party dancers" who can attend bachelor and bachelorette parties. They are typically granted sensual {{Punny Name}}s like Sugar Free, Jack Hammer, Lex Dance, and Candy Bar.

* ''Webcomic/ExploitationNow'': During a mini-arc where Bimbo goes to a adult film shoot, one of the actresses asks how she came up with the porn name of Bimbo Moneymaker. When Bimbo explains it's her [[RealJokeName real name]], the actresses wonders if Bimbo's parents didn't like her.

* While not an ''exact'' fit, this is used in ''WesternAnimation/TheBoondocks'' for the prostitute "Cristal" (Like the Champagne), managed by a pimp named "A Pimp Named Slickback". Yes, you have to say the whole thing, like Music/ATribeCalledQuest.

* In some hentai titles, the {{Seiyuu}} tend to use fake names, like for ''Urotsukidouji'' -- the voice actors use {{punny name}}s like Randy Woodcock, Rosy Palmer, and Rick Ballsey.
* Most male seiyuu averts this for their voicework in BoysLoveGenre [[AudioPlay Drama CD]], most notably Creator/HiroshiKamiya and Creator/DaisukeOno in their voice work for ''Kotonoha no Hana'' [=CDs=]. For some reason though, these very same seiyuu play it straight for erotic Otome [=CDs=], however.

* Very common in {{Eroge}}, if it involves a well-known seiyuu. Most of the time they will use alternate name(s) for their voicing work (e.g [[Creator/KosukeToriumi Sakiware Spoon]], [[Creator/MinoruShiraishi Ichigo Miruku]], [[Creator/NorioWakamoto Hiruma Kyou-no-suke]], [[Creator/MaiKadowaki Anzu Mitsu]], [[Creator/HyoSei Elena Kaibara]], etc.), possibly due to public image factor. Unlike most examples of this trope, the names are usually normal ones (sometimes punny, e.g [[Creator/DaisukeKishio Sorano Taiyou]], [[Creator/JunichiSuwabe Tom Kunoreezu]][[note]]a pun of Tom Cruise, whose roles were dubbed by Suwabe[[/note]]). Much of the time, male seiyuu will have two or more alternate names, one for works aimed at men and one for works aimed at women. There are some who averts this trope, most notably Tamiyasu Tomoe who used her real name for ''any'' voicing work she had done[[note]]She uses ''Tamiyasu☆ROCK!'' for musical works, however[[/note]]. Interestingly, most of the time when an eroge [[BleachedUnderpants gets a console port/all-ages release]], seiyuus will be credited with their real names (a case in the ''[[VisualNovel/GrisaiaSeries]] trilogy'').

* Male porn stars who perform in both straight and gay porn often use different names depending on their audience. This has less to do with secrecy than simple courtesy for their fans, preventing someone who's only interested in their gay work from having to sift through countless pages of straight porn (or vice-versa).

* ''VideoGame/TheSims3:'' The ''Generations'' pack includes "party dancers" who can attend a bachelor(ette) party, who are typically granted sensual {{Punny Name}}s like Sugar Free, Jack Hammer, Lex Dance, and Candy Bar.

* Parodied in ''Film/AustinPowers'' with names like "Alotta Fagina", "Felicity Shagwell" and "Ivana Humpalot".
* In ''Film/BoogieNights'', protagonist Eddie Adams adopts the porn name Dirk Diggler.

* Uli Kunkel, one of [[GoldfishPoopGang the Nihilists]] from ''Film/TheBigLebowski'', went by the [[SoBadItsGood delightfully stupid]] moniker of ''Karl Hungus'' during his brief career as a pornstar.
* When Ricky Bobby is in a coma in ''Film/TalladegaNightsTheBalladOfRickyBobby'', [[TheLancer his childhood friend Cal Naughton Jr.,]] reveals he once posed for Playgirl under the name "Mike Honcho".