View source for Themed Aliases

{{trope}}
A character uses a series of aliases to avoid detection. However, when the heroes put the aliases together, one them notices something odd about the list. These are not a random set of names, but rather a group of names that have something in common. Usually this makes easier to track down the target, as they now know the next alias will fit the pattern.

It is not absolutely necessary for the pattern to be picked, but it is usually pointed out for the benefit of viewers who might otherwise miss it.

Can overlap with [[This Is My Name On Foreign]] if the character makes a habit of using foreign language versions of the same name. Or [[Significant Anagram]] is they use different anagrams of their actual name. At its simplest, it might just be always using the same initials.

{{examples}}

== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
* ''[[Darker Than Black]]'' features this both with the Syndicates [[Colourful Theme Naming]], and [[MI 6]]'s date theme naming.

== [[Comic Books]] ==
* In the ''[[The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck (Comic Book)|Uncle Scrooge]]'' story "The Money Champ" by [[Carl Barks]], Flintheart Glomgold stages a series of acts of sabotage against Scrooge, damaging his oil wells, gold mines and diamond mines and reducing their value right at the point Scrooge needs to sell them. Flintheart uses a series of aliases that are just rearrangements of the components of his name (Goldflint Heartglom, Flintgold Glomheart and Heartflint Goldglom). Not terribly subtle, but he was deliberately taunting Scrooge.
* [[The Punisher]] often uses aliases that are linked to Castle, his real last name: Charles Fort, McRook, Frank Rook, Francis Stronghold, Johnny Tower, Frankie Villa, etc.

== [[Film]] ==
* In the 1997 film version of ''[[The Saint]]'', all of Simon Templar's aliases are the names of Catholic saints.
* In ''[[Catch Me If You Can]]'', [[Leonardo Di Caprio]]'s character uses the names of comic book characters as aliases. Something of a deconstruction since it gives the FBI agent following him something to go on.
* In ''[[The Cable Guy]]'', [[Jim Carrey]] uses the names of television characters.

== [[Literature]] ==
* In the ''[[Eighty Seventh Precinct]]'' novels, the Deaf Man always uses aliases that are some sort of play on words on 'deaf' in a variety of languages.
* ''Time Considered as a Helix of Semi-Precious Stones'' is a science fiction short story by [[Samuel R Delany]]. The protagonist was an orphan, saddled with the name Harold Clancy Everet. Turning to a life of crime, he never used that name again. His aliases, however all have the initials HCE. Indeed, he is identified by that to the reader, i.e. we are introduced to each alias and know it is him by those initials. All the aliases used by the narrator have the initials H.C.E., a reference to ''[[Finnegans Wake]]'' by [[James Joyce]].
* In the ''[[Dragonback]]'' books, Jack Morgan always uses aliases beginning with the letter M, such as Jack Montana, to make it easier to remember.
* In ''[[A Series of Unfortunate Events]]'', Count Olaf and his henchman often use aliases that are anagrams of Count Olaf, such as Al Funcoot or O. Lucafont. The Baudelaires finally pick up on this in the eighth book.
* [[The Destroyer]] always uses his real first name "Remo" as part of his aliases.
* [[The Saint]] in the original stories often used his own initials; "Sebastian Toombs" was a frequent alias (at least two science fiction writers have included a [[Shout-Out]] to this particular name).

== [[Live Action TV]] ==
* In the ''[[CSI]]'' episode "Living Legend", the killer uses aliases that the names of movie serial killers: Michael Myers, Pamela Voorhess and F. Krueger.
* ''[[Supernatural (TV)|Supernatural]]'': Sam & Dean tend to use Rock Star aliases when going undercover, like Catholic priests [[KISS (Music)|Father Simmons and Father Frehley]]. Sometimes they use other famous-names-with-connections-to-each-other aliases as well, like [[Star Wars|Agents Ford & Hamill]] from the US Forestry Service. They've only been called on this once or twice.
* ''[[Doctor Who]]'': The Master tends to use aliases which are anagrams of "master" or mean master in another language. From Nu Who, Mister Saxon is an anagram of "Master No. Six" (this being the sixth incarnation of the Master that we've seen). Word Of God is that it was a coincidence.
* The ''[[Leverage]]'' team tends to use ''[[Doctor Who]]''-themed aliases (probably because they're all arranged by Hardison the uber-geek).
{{quote| '''Hardison:''' What IDs have you got on you?<br />
'''Nate:''' Let's see... we've got Peter Davison, Sylvester McCoy, and I have a Tom Baker.<br />
'''Sophie:''' Yeah, I have a Baker. Sarah Jane. }}
* ''[[The Lone Gunmen]]'' sometimes antagonist/sometimes ally Yves Adele Harlow's assumed name is an [[Significant Anagram|anagram]] of [[Who Shot JFK?|Lee Harvey Oswald]], as are most of her one time only aliases.
* ''[[The Incredible Hulk (TV)|The Incredible Hulk]]'' TV show had him always using a last name that started with a 'B': David Banner to David Bradley, etc. The only time he didn't use that was when he ran in to his [[Identical Stranger]], a mobster named Mike Cassidy, and he tried to use that to get out of a scrape. Banner uses the Mike Cassidy alias when he comes face-to-face with his personal [[Inspector Javert]], Jack McGee, who up until the moment he sees him thinks Banner is dead. Banner uses one of his usual aliases when running into the mobsters looking for Cassidy, but they don't believe him.
* ''[[Remington Steele (TV)|Remington Steele]]'' was caught doing this by Laura in the pilot. All of his passports had the names of [[Humphrey Bogart]] characters.
* When Shawn from ''[[Psych]]'' needs an alias for himself and Gus, he will often use some variant of White and Black with their last names (i.e. Shawn White and Gus Black or Shawn Black and Gus White).
* ''[[Fringe]]'': Though Peter hasn't used many aliases during the run of the show, he still knows enough to lampshade this trope.
{{quote| '''Peter''': The best lie, the one that's easiest to remember with consistency, is the one that's based on the truth. Whenever I would do this, I would base it on my own last name. Bishop. So Peter King. Peter Knight.}}
* "Harold Finch", of ''[[Person of Interest]]'', also known as [[Animal Motifs|Harold Crane, Mr. Partridge, Harold Wren and Harold Crow]].

== [[Radio]] ==
* ''[[The Lives of Harry Lime]]'' once featured a female con artist whose aliases [[This Is My Name On Foreign|all meant Brown in different languages]]: Brown, Braun, Brunelle, etc.

{{reflist}}
[[Category:Naming Conventions]]
[[Category:Theme Naming]]
[[Category:Themed Aliases]]