Pros and cons of being an anonymous indie hacker

It's personal preference at the end of the day. For me it's important to make friends along the way, for others not so much.

The founder of Carrd is anonymous - https://www.indiehackers.com/podcast/087-aj-of-carrd

I think the hardest thing is to build trust, but you can build trust in a brand, like AJ has.

I have the same opinion as you do. I don't like the idea of building a public persona around my real name and I also rather build a brand around a "stage" name. If artists, actors and musicians can do it, why shouldn't indie hackers?

I think you can create a brand around a username as much as a name. You might have a little bit harder time with some people, but like you said, as long as someone is consistent in providing value/quality, then not having a real name associated with it isn't a big deal.

You need to build brand also around your name and it cannot be done when you're anonymous. You can sell you house, sell your business but you stays the same.
I prefer this way.