cover name

plural cover names · alternative covername

1. espionageA name used to clandestinely identify somebody or something for confidentiality.

   1941, Richard Krebs (as Jan Valtin), Out of the Night, New York: Alliance Book Corporation, Chapter 31, p. 493, The map of Germany was in my head—its cities, rivers, railroad schedules. I memorized a long string of names and cover names […]

   3 more examples

   By the time that he landed in New York early in June, 1915, Sir Edgar Speyer had good cause to be well aware that the Government was strongly opposed to any communication, direct or indirect, with enemy country and to all attempts to evade the censorship of letters and cables, whether by the use of code words or cover names;

   1922, UK Parliament, Report […] in the Case of Sir Edgar Speyer, London, p. 7

   […] his headquarters were located, under a cover name, at the air terminal.

   1962, Philip K. Dick, chapter 8, in The Man in the High Castle, New York: Ace Books, published 1988, page 113

   ‘That’s a new one for us, isn’t it, Toby? A spy using his own name as a covername? I mean why bother any more? You’re Toby, so we’ll keep it a secret and call you Toby instead. Great.’

   1990, John Le Carré, The Secret Pilgrim, Toronto: Pengin, published 1991, page 150

   Synonyms: code name