Is it possible to be known in academia by a different name? I am currently a Canadian grad student about to publish my first paper. However, I really dislike my real legal name, to the point where very few of my real-life friends know my real first and last name. This is mostly because I come from China, and my legal name is a difficult-to-pronounce transliteration of my original Chinese name, which itself sounds very tacky and funny in Chinese. Even my parents are embarrassed at how they named me and use a totally unrelated nickname to address me even in Chinese. (to use an English analogy, I go by "Jake" when my real name is "Alexander")

Is it possible to publish consistently under a pen name that has no relation to your real name? I am not seeking to use it as a throwaway name for a single publication, but rather to simply be known as a different name. I don't even intend to hide my real name - it'll likely end up being in parentheses on my personal webpage or something. I just don't want to see a name I'm embarrassed of on every single thing I publish.
My answer to another question applies equally here:

Regardless of what your ID card says, you can publish your papers under whatever name you want. Some people use pseudonyms. Much more common is that many women continue to publish under their maiden name when they marry and change their surname.
There's no reason you can't publish papers as [Jake].