"Public figure" doesn't really go well with "wants to remain pseudonymous". He writes a blog as a personal hobby, he's not a celebrity or politician.

And yes, that's pretty often true about subjects of articles that do not get doxxed, because "Maria, NYC, Nurse" is enough to give you an idea about the person but far away from being enough for individual identification. And, of course, it doesn't matter for the story, just as the name doesn't matter for any profile about SSC.

He is arguably a minor celebrity because of the number of followers he has and level of influence.

Come on - if the New York Times is writing about your blog then you're obviously, anonymous or not, a "public figure", though perhaps a minor one.

Also until we know what the article is - it's actual contents - how can we know if the name is relevant or not?