The Hidden Identities Behind Famous Lives

History is full of women who had to get creative with their names just to move through the world with a little more freedom. Some used aliases to fight in wars, some adopted pen names to be taken seriously, and others hid their identities because survival depended on it. Their stories are fascinating because a false name wasn’t always about deception for its own sake; sometimes it was the only way to get past the locked doors society kept putting in front of them. Here are 20 women who lived under false names.

George Richmond on Wikimedia

1. Deborah Sampson as Robert Shurtliff

Deborah Sampson wanted to fight in the American Revolution, so she enlisted under the name Robert Shurtliff. She served in the Continental Army while disguised as a man and managed to keep her identity hidden for quite some time. When her secret eventually came out, she was given an honorable discharge and later became the first woman to receive a full military pension in the U.S.

George Graham on Wikimedia

2. Sarah Emma Edmonds as Franklin Thompson

Sarah Emma Edmonds joined the Union Army during the Civil War under the name Franklin Thompson. She worked as a soldier and nurse, and later accounts also described her as taking on spy work. She disguised herself as a man for nearly two years until she contracted malaria, and, fearing a military hospital would expose her biological sex, she left the army and resumed her life as a woman.

Unknown author on Wikimedia

3. Hannah Snell as James Gray

Hannah Snell took on the identity of James Gray and served as a British marine in the 18th century. She reportedly fought overseas and kept her sex hidden while enduring the same brutal conditions as the men around her. After returning to England, she publicly revealed her identity and turned her unusual life into a source of fame.

John Faber on Wikimedia

4. Cathay Williams as William Cathay

Cathay Williams was born enslaved and later became the first known Black woman to enlist in the United States Army. She did so under the name William Cathay, serving with the Buffalo Soldiers after the Civil War for nearly two years. A doctor who was treating her eventually discovered her secret, and she was discharged.

Unknown author on Wikimedia

5. Nadezhda Durova as Alexander Sokolov

Nadezhda Durova left behind the life expected of her and entered the Russian cavalry under a male name. She served during the Napoleonic Wars and became known as Alexander Sokolov, later using the name Alexander Alexandrov as well. Her memoir made her even more remarkable because she didn’t just live the story; she helped make sure people heard it.

А.Брюллов on Wikimedia

6. Loreta Janeta Velazquez as Harry T. Buford

Loreta Janeta Velazquez claimed to have fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War under the name Harry T. Buford. Her memoir is still debated by historians, which makes her a tricky figure rather than a neat one. Even so, her story became part of the larger history of women who used male identities to enter military spaces.

TradingCardsNPS on Wikimedia

7. Frances Clayton as Jack Williams

Frances Clayton reportedly joined the Union Army during the Civil War while using the name Jack Williams. Like many stories of women soldiers from that era, details can be hard to pin down perfectly, but the broad account has remained part of Civil War lore. What stands out is the sheer risk involved, since discovery could mean humiliation, punishment, or being forced out immediately.

Samuel Masury on Wikimedia

8. Dorothy Lawrence as Denis Smith

Dorothy Lawrence was a young English journalist who wanted to report from the front lines during World War I. When official channels blocked her, she disguised herself as a soldier and used the name Denis Smith to get closer to the action. However, the harsh conditions in the trenches led her to decide to reveal her identity to seek medical treatment after only 10 days. 

Unknown author on Wikimedia

9. Jeanne Baret as Jean Baret

Jeanne Baret disguised herself as a man, often identified as Jean Baret, so she could join a French expedition around the world in the 18th century. Women weren’t allowed on French naval ships at the time, so her false identity was the only way onto the voyage. She’s now remembered as the first woman known to have circumnavigated the globe.

Unkwown on Wikimedia

10. Ellen Craft as a White Male Planter

Ellen Craft, the daughter of a white enslaver, escaped slavery with her husband, William, by taking on one of the most daring disguises in American history. She dressed as a wealthy white male enslaver traveling with William, who posed as her servant. The false identity helped them move through dangerous public spaces, and the escape remains one of the most astonishing stories of resistance from the 19th century.

11. Mary Ann Evans as George Eliot

Mary Ann Evans, the author of Middlemarch, published under the name George Eliot because women writers were often dismissed or boxed into lighter fiction. The name helped her work be judged more seriously, though readers eventually learned who was behind it. 

replica by François D’Albert Durade (1804–1886) on Wikimedia

12. Aurore Dupin as George Sand

Aurore Dupin became famous under the name George Sand, and she didn’t exactly tiptoe through the 19th-century literary world. She wrote novels, wore men’s clothing in public at times, and built a reputation for living with unusual independence. Her chosen name became so famous that many people know the alias better than the woman’s birth name.

Nadar on Wikimedia

13. Charlotte Brontë as Currer Bell

Charlotte Brontë published under the name Currer Bell, partly because she and her sisters knew female authors could be treated unfairly. The name gave her work a better chance of being taken seriously before readers focused on the author’s gender. However, once Jane Eyre became a sensation, the secret behind Currer Bell became much harder to keep.

George Richmond on Wikimedia

14. Emily Brontë as Ellis Bell

Emily Brontë used the name Ellis Bell when Wuthering Heights was first published. The alias helped shield her from the assumptions critics often made about women writers, especially those writing intense and unconventional fiction. 

Branwell Brontë on Wikimedia

15. Anne Brontë as Acton Bell

Anne Brontë rounded out the famous Bell trio by publishing as Acton Bell. Her novels tackled serious issues, including alcoholism, abusive relationships, and women’s limited choices, which weren’t exactly topics everyone wanted a woman discussing openly. The pen name gave her a small layer of protection, though her work still had plenty to say once readers opened the cover.

Branwell Brontë on Wikimedia

16. Sophie Germain as Monsieur LeBlanc

Sophie Germain used the name Monsieur LeBlanc so she could correspond with leading mathematicians at a time when women were discouraged from serious scientific study. The alias allowed her ideas to be read before they could be dismissed because of her gender. When her real identity became known, her talent was already too obvious to ignore.

Berthe Chégaray née Becher et J. Poinsot on Wikimedia

17. Mary Read as Mark Read

Mary Read is best remembered as one of history’s most famous female pirates, and she spent part of her life living under a male identity. She reportedly dressed as a boy when she was young and later served as a soldier before eventually joining a pirate crew. Her story has plenty of legend mixed in, but the use of a male name and disguise remains one of the reasons she still stands out in pirate history.

Geo. S. Harris and Sons / Allen & Ginter on Wikimedia

18. Noor Inayat Khan as Madeleine

Noor Inayat Khan worked as a British Special Operations Executive agent during World War II under the code name Madeleine. Operating in occupied France, she used false papers and secrecy while sending radio messages under terrifying conditions. 

Unknown author on Wikimedia

19. Virginia Hall as Marie Monin

Virginia Hall used multiple aliases during her intelligence work in World War II, including Marie Monin. She operated in occupied France despite being hunted by the Gestapo, who considered her one of the Allies’ most dangerous spies. Her false names weren’t stylish accessories; they were survival tools in a career built on nerve, caution, and quick thinking.

Unknown photographer who worked for the CIA. on Wikimedia

20. Margaretha Zelle as Mata Hari

Margaretha Zelle became famous across Europe under the stage name Mata Hari. She built an exoticized public persona as a dancer, and during World War I, that name became tied to accusations of espionage. Her guilt has been debated for decades, but there’s no question that the name Mata Hari became far more famous than the woman behind it.

Koene & Com / Batavia-Amsterdam on Wikimedia