Omitting a comma before "aka" and then using a serial comma in the end of a series [closed]

Question

When we use also known as as aka, we don't precede it with a comma.

John Smith aka Big Nose was a famous <...>

But what about the case where aka is followed by items in a series?

• Given name aka first name, forename, or christian name is a <...> (notice the serial comma)
• Given name aka first name, forename or christian name is a <...>

Omitting a comma before aka and at the same time using a serial comma (which I love; we don't have it in Russian) at the end of a series looks somewhat imbalanced in my opinion.

Is there a good solution for this case? What does respectable style guides say about it?

Answer 1

In your first example, "aka Big Nose" is a parenthetical insertion: the sentence functions perfectly well without that additional information. As such, it would normally be set off from its surroundings, usually by commas.

John Smith, aka Big Nose, was a famous...

Such a short "aside" may work perfectly well without commas, but you can't generalise from the particular.

When you get to longer insertions/explanations, it's absolutely necessary to set them apart from the meat of the sentence. Forcing a "no comma" rule makes no sense. You can use any of the customary punctuation marks — commas, parentheses, brackets or dashes — but since your "embedded list" uses commas they are probably to be avoided outside that list.

Once you have set your list off as an insertion, the serial comma is purely a matter of choice.

Given name — aka first name, forename, or Christian name — is a...
Given name (aka first name, forename or Christian name) is a...