It is exactly as you say: when my family and I came to the country where we now live, we considered my birthname, Noam Plumesky, to be a bit too foreign. We decided to franglicise it to Nomde Plume.
However, I usually prefer not to publicise my real name; as something of a minor celebrity in my town (I clean the mayor's horse stables for him once a week), I fear that my literature could be misconstrued as a scathing criticism of the régime, landing me in some figuratively hot water.
Well, fancy! When I'm in trouble, I get placed in literal hot water. The whole town enjoys me-so oup.