Why did Samuel Clemens change his name to Mark Twain?
The name Mark Twain comes from riverboat jargon. A steamboat on the Mississippi had to stay away from the shallow water on the river’s sides. “twain” and “mark twain” were measurements, letting the riverboat capatin know how deep the water was on either side of the riverboat, thus helping him steer. Samual Clemens worked on a riverboat when he was young, and adopted that name as his pen name.
