80 Spy Names From Real Life And Fiction
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Struggling to find the perfect name for your spy character?
Well, hopefully we can help. This list of full of the names of the best spies from the real world as well as the fictional world.
Spies (also known as Secret Agents and Intelligence Agents) carry out espionage. Their work often involves going undercover to retrieve confidential information, they often do this by infiltrating the group of enemies.
Spies are employed by governments and they are used to get inside information on enemies or even allies. British spies all work in the Secret Intelligence Service, hence why they are known as Secret Agents (which is another word for spy).
A spy can become famous if his or her work achieves something great in the national interest. The bravery it takes of an individual to put their lives at stake and infiltrate the territory of enemy is never an easy task and should not be underestimated.
There are also many famous fictional spies, perhaps with James Bond being the most famous spy from popular culture.
We hope that this spy names list inspires you. For more, check out a look at our articles on the best hacker names and these names that mean mystery or secret.
Famous Spy Names
These are some names of the most famous spies in history.
1. Adolf Tolkachev (1927-1986), an electronic engineer and one of the secret agents who provided documents to the CIA.
2. Aldrich “Rick” Ames (Born 1941), one of the secret agents who worked both for the CIA and the KGB.
3. Alexander Litvinenko (1962-2006), worked for Russian secret services and later took asylum in London.
4. Ana Montes (Born 1957), worked for American Intelligence Agency and provided information to Cuba.
5. Belle Boyd(1844-1900), at the time of American Civil War she worked as a Confederate spy.
6. Benedict Arnold (1740-1801), was an American military officer who later defected to the British side.
7. Chi Mak (Born 1940), one of the secret agents who shared America defense technology with China.
8. Carl Lody (1877-1914), was a German Navy officer who spied on Great Britain in World War I.
9. Elizabeth Van Lew (1818-1900), was an American who worked for Union Army and built a spy ring.
10. Emil Julius Klaus Fuchs (1911-1988), a German physicist who carried out espionage against Canada, America and Britain.
11. Edward Bancroft (1744-1821), a physician who became a double agent.
12.Frederick “Fritz” Joubert Duquesne (1877-1956), worked as spy in both World Wars for Germany.
13. Harold Adrian Russell "Kim" Philby (1912-1988), worked as a double agent for both the Soviet Union and Britain.
14. John Anthony Walker (1937-2014), an American Navy officer who gave away secrets to the Soviet Union.
15. Julius and Ethel Rosenberg (Died in 1953), an American couple who supplied information to the Soviet Union.
16. Larry Wu-Tahi Chin (1922-1986), worked as a translator for C.I.A and U.S. Army and supplied information to China.
17. Melita Norwood (1912-2005), supplied the KGB with valuable information.
18. Mata Hari (1876-1917), a Dutch dancer who worked as a spy for Germany. One of the best agent names.
19. Nathan Hale (1755-1776), worked as a soldier during American Revolutionary War and spied on British Troops.
20. Noshir Gowadia (Born 1944), sentenced to 32 years of imprisonment. Gowadia supplied information to Switzerland, Israel and China.
21. Oleg Gordievsky (Born 1938), a KGB member who worked as a spy for Britain from 1974-85.
22. Richard Sorge (1895-1944), an undercover agent worked as a spy in Nazi Germany and Japan.
23. Rose O’Neal Greenhow (1817-1864), a Confederate spy who used her political connections during the American Civil War.
24. Rudolf Abel (1903-1971), a Russian spy who worked for the KGB and was charged with conspiracy by the FBI. This is one of the most famous Russian spy names.
25. Robert Hanssen (Born 1944), an American spy and a former FBI agent who spied for Russia.
26. Sir Francis Walsingham (1532-1590), a popular English spymaster who was against Catholicism during the reign of Elizabeth I.
27. Sir William Stephenson (1896-1989), known by his code-name 'Intrepid' during World War II.
28. Sidney Reilly (1837-1925), was referred to by the cool codename: 'Ace of Spies'. He spied against four different organizations.
29. Ursula Kuczynski (1907-2000), a German spy who is also famous for her autobiography titled 'Sonja's Rapport'.
30. Virginia Hall (1906-1982), was one of the most extraordinary female spies who worked for both America and Britain.
31.William G. Sebold (1899-1970), he was coerced by Germany to spy against the United States.
32. Whittaker Chambers (1901-1961), an American journalist who earlier worked for Communist Party.
Some Famous Spy Names From Comics
Many comic books feature characters working in espionage.
33. Agent Maria Hill, appeared in 'Marvel Comics' and is also a former S.H.I.E.L.D. Director.
34. Austin Powers, a comic character who was born and grew up in London who later attended the British Intelligence Academy.
35. Black Widow, a fictional character in 'Marvel Comics', she was a Russian spy.
36. Casanova Quinn, is a thief who got tricked into being a double agent.
37. Dick Grayson, is a 'DC Comics' fictional character who left his superhero life to become a spy.
38. Holden Carver, a comic fictional character, deployed as an undercover agent in a vicious organization.
39. Jessica Drew, a female version of Spiderman, who works as a spy.
40. John Stone, a fictional super spy who uses modern gadgets and manipulates people psychologically.
41. John Lynch, a fictional comic character who goes by the code name Topkick.
42. Mystique, is a shape-shifter mutant and double agent who works as spy by transforming herself into other beings.
43. Moon Knight, a character with superhuman powers who has worked as a CIA agent.
44. Nemesis, a 'DC Comics' character who works as a vigilante and is also known as a master of disguise.
45. Nick Fury, a popular 'Marvel' character who worked as Cold War spy.
46. Secret Agent X-9, an agent without any name who also works for a nameless agency. It is among the good code names for people or characters.
47. Spymaster, as his name signifies, he is a master of espionage with advanced weapons.
48. The Foreigner, as a master of disguise he is assigned to many assassinations.
49. The Skrulls, a race of extraterrestrial creatures, they infiltrated and conquered the earth in 'Secret Invasions'.
50. White Spy and Black Spy, these names are from the 'Spy vs Spy' comic strip.
Spy Names From Books
Many popular books are based on espionage and their protagonists spies' names are listed here.
51. Alden Pyle, in 'The Quiet American' by Graham Green.
52. Alec Leamas, in 'The Spy Who Came In From The Cold' by John le Carré.
53.Adolf Verloc, in 'The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale' by Joseph Conrad.
54. Charles Carruthers and Arthur Davies, in 'Riddle Of The Sands: A Record Of Secret Service' by Erskine Childers.
55. George Smiley, in 'Call For The Dead' by John le Carré.
56. Jason Bourne, in 'The Bourne Identity' by Robert Ludlum.
57. James Wormold, in 'Our Man In Havana' by Graham Greene.
58. James Bond, in 'Casino Royale' by Ian Fleming.
59. Kate Henderson, in 'Secret Service' by Tom Bradley.
60. Kimball O’Hara, in 'Kim' by Rudyard Kipling.
61. Luke Carlton, in 'Crisis' by Frank Gardner.
62. Nat, in 'Agent Running In The Field' by John le Carré. This would be one of the best code names for kids.
63. Richard Hannay, in 'The Thirty-Nine Steps' by John Buchan.
64. Rider of the Blue, in 'I Am Pilgrim' by Terry Hayes.
65. Unnamed, in 'The IPCRESS File' by Len Deighton.
Secret Agents In Movies
Here are some names for a spy from movies about secret agents. There are some cool British spy movie names and Russian spy names for secret agents that you can choose from in this list.
66. Alicia Huberman, in 'Notorious'.
67. Buster Keaton, in 'The General'.
68. Charlize Theron, played the secret spy in 'Atomic Blonde'.
69. Derek Flint, in 'Our Man Flint'.
70. Ethan Hunt, in 'Mission Impossible' series.
71. Evelyn Salt, the secret spy in 'Salt'. A cool agent name.
72. Gene Hackman, played a spy in 'The Conversation'.
73. Jack Ryan, the secret spy in 'The Hunt For Red October'.
74. James B Donovan, in 'Bridge Of Spies'. Among the best spy code names.
75. Joe Turner, the secret spy in 'Three Days Of The Condor'.
76. Maya, in 'Zero Dark Thirty'. A cool agent name.
77. Roger Thornhill, in 'North by Northwest'.
78. Sonja Baranikowa, in 'Spione'.
79. Tom Farrell, in 'No Way Out'.
80. Tony Mendez, who is a secret agent in 'Argo'.
Kidadl has lots of great names articles to inspire you. If you liked our suggestions for spy names then why not take a look at these psychic names, or for something different take a look at these mythical horse names.
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Bachelor of Arts specializing in French with Film Studies, Bachelor of Arts (Year Abroad) specializing in Literature, History, Language, Media, and Art
Georgia StoneBachelor of Arts specializing in French with Film Studies, Bachelor of Arts (Year Abroad) specializing in Literature, History, Language, Media, and Art
Georgia is an experienced Content Manager with a degree in French and Film Studies from King's College London and Bachelors degree from Université Paris-Sorbonne. Her passion for exploring the world and experiencing different cultures was sparked during her childhood in Switzerland and her year abroad in Paris. In her spare time, Georgia enjoys using London's excellent travel connections to explore further afield.
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