Toni Morrison’s Pseudonym: Nobel Prize winner had given four different reasons for using “Toni” instead of “Chloe” (her birth name)

Toni Morrison’s birth name was Chloe Ardelia Wofford. How did “Chloe” become “Toni”? As reported here in a post of November 25, 2015, she had given and/or tolerated four different explanations:

First, people mispronounced “Chloe” as “Toni.” Second, at age 12, she chose the baptismal name of St. Anthony of Padua (the patron saint of finding lost things and people), and she got Toni from that name. Third, her middle name was Anthony (but that wasn’t true). Fourth, one of her early manuscripts had the name “Toni” on it, and by the time she told the publisher to use “Chloe,” it was too late, so she became known as “Toni.”

This is not a criticism. Toni Morrison was just as entitled to use a pen name as was Mark Twain and many other great writers. Her giving or tolerating four different explanations may only have meant she had a sense of humor.

But my opinion is that Mark Twain and various other great writers have used pseudonyms, because they had multiple personality (the normal trait, not the mental illness): Their pseudonyms were the names of their writing personalities.