For example, in the phrase “Jennifer Jones, AKA my best friend” adding “also known as” in place of “AKA” would make it, “Jennifer Jones, also known as my best friend. ” This still makes sense, so AKA works well here. However, “also known as” in the phrase, “Disneyland, AKA created by Walt Disney,” would become “Disneyland, also known as created by Walt Disney. ” The “AKA” or “also known as” in this sentence is unneeded. Even if you take out “created by” it would still not work because Disneyland (a place) is not a pseudonym for Walt Disney (a person).
For example, you might use AKA to let readers know what other roles a person plays in your life, such as “Mrs. McKraken, AKA my neighbor Phyllis,” or “Deidre Smith, AKA my mother. ” Another option might be to indicate a role that someone played or still plays in TV or film, such as, “Orlando Bloom, AKA Legolas in the Lord of the Rings,” or, “Retta, AKA Donna from Parks and Recreation. ” You will often see AKA used in this way, especially in articles about film and television.
For example, when talking or writing about your least favorite high school English teacher, you might indicate what that teacher was like using AKA, such as, “Mr. Doherty, AKA the meanest teacher in the entire school. ” You could also use AKA to indicate your feelings about a thing, such as apple pie. For example, you might say or write, “Apple pie, AKA warm hugs in food form. ”[5] X Research source
Keep in mind that writing “a. k. a” is not wrong, it is just less common than it once was. You may still write “a. k. a” this way if it looks better to you or if your teacher prefers this option.
Do not write AKA with 1 or 2 capital letters, such as “aKA,” or “AkA. ” For titles and headings, write AKA in all capital letters, such as “AKA. ”
