In Persian, Turkic, Hindustani and Punjabi, the word takhallus (from Arabic تخلّص, lit. 'to get liberated or to become secure'; Persian: تخلّص, romanized: takhallos; Azerbaijani: təxəllüs; Uzbek: taxallus; Urdu: تخلّص, Hindi: तख़ल्लुस) means a pen name. Pen names were widely adopted by Persian, Turkic, Urdu and Punjabi poets.

The takhallus is often included in the maqta', the last couplet (bayt) of a ghazal.

While ghazal originated in Arabia evolving from qasida, some of the common features of contemporary ghazal, such as including the takhallus in the maqta', the concept of matla', etc., did not exist in Arabic ghazal. It was Persian ghazal which added these features.

List of takhalluses of some Persian poets:

List of takhalluses of some Urdu poets: