The Most Surprising Celebrity Stage Names
Many celebrities use their real names when they become famous, but some opt for stage names. This is usually on their agent's or publicist's advice, to make their name more memorable or appeal to a wider audience. Let's see if you knew that these celebs swapped names when they became famous.
Marilyn Monroe
Actress and model Marilyn Monroe was a pivotal figure in America's Hollywood landscape. However, Monroe was born Norma Jean Mortensen, and was encouraged to change her name early on in her career. She became "Marilyn Monroe" in 1946. Her real name was immortalized in Elton John's "Candle In The Wind", with the line "Goodbye Norma Jeane, though I never knew you at all—you had the grace to hold yourself, while those around you crawled".
Frank Powolny, Wikimedia Commons
Alicia Keys
Born Alicia Augello-Cook, Alicia Keys changed her name early on in her career for one that better suited the stage. Her original choice was "Alicia Wild", but she changed it to "Alicia Keys" after her mom said that "Wild" made her sound like an exotic dancer.
Meghan Markle
The Duchess of Sussex, better-known as Meghan Markle, was actually born Rachel Meghan Markle. That name came in handy when she played Rachel Zane in the law drama Suits (2011), although she had already changed her name.
Office of the Governor-General, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Irina Shayk
Russian fashion model and actress Irina Shayk had changed her name from Irina Shayklislamov. She has dated soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo and American actor Bradley Cooper, and acted in the Greek drama Hercules (2014).
Brad Pitt
Brad Pitt mightn't have been so memorable had he been called William Pitt, or Bill Pitt, perhaps. The former is his real name—William Bradley Pitt. In his personal life, he reportedly introduces himself to women as "William", but maintains "Brad Pitt" as his professional pseudonym.
Gigi Hadid
World-famous supermodel Gigi Hadid's real name is Jelena Noura Hadid. Her stage name came from a close family nickname she'd been called around the house as a child. Her real name, Jelena, is pronounced "Yelena".
Lady Gaga
While unsurprisingly, Lady Gaga is not her real name, Gaga adopted her stage name after being inspired by Queen's "Radio Ga Ga" hit from 1984. Lady Gaga was born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta.
Rhianna
Like Brad Pitt, Rhianna uses her middle name as a stage name. Her real name is Robyn Rhianna Fenty. Apparently, her friends and family still call her Robyn, especially if they want to get her attention. "I'm kind of numb to hearing Rhianna, so when I hear "Robyn", I pay attention," said the star.
Miley Cyrus
Despite having been a star since she was a teenager, Miley Cyrus was quick to change her name from Destiny Hope Cyrus to Miley, after her parents always nicknamed her "Smiley". Her name change officially occurred in 2008, becoming Miley Ray Cyrus, after her grandfather.
Raphael Pour-Hashemi, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Cardi B
Everyone knows her as Cardi B, but did you know that her birth name is Belcalis Almanzar? She took the stage name "Cardi B" from her old nickname, Bacardi, after the rum.
Chrisallmeid, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Reese Witherspoon
The actress most famous for Legally Blonde (2001) and Wild (2014) was born Laura-Jeanne Reese Witherspoon. "Reese" is her mother's maiden name, which she adopted early in her career.
Emma Stone
The actress made famous by Easy A (2010) and Superbad (2007) legally changed her name from Emily Jean Stone to Emma Stone after her TV debuts on Medium (2005) and Malcolm In The Middle (2000). Although she originally wanted to be called "Emily Stone", one already existed in Hollywood, so she settled on "Emma Stone".
Natalie Portman
Portman was originally born in Jerusalem in 1981 and was given a traditional Hebrew name: Neta Lee Herschlag. But, when her parents emigrated to the United States three years later, they changed her surname from "Herschlag" to "Portman"—her grandmother's maiden name. Neta Lee became "Natalie".
Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Kit Harington
You may have guessed this one already, but Jon Snow, or Kit Harington isn't named "Kit". It's a common nickname given to people named Christopher. Kit Harrington is actually Christopher Catesby Harington. Similarly, the star's brother's name is Jack, but his real name is John.
Lana Del Rey
The pop star was known as "Lizzy" or Elizabeth Woolridge Grant before she became "Lana Del Rey". Her stage name is inspired by her love of Spanish and spending so much time speaking Spanish with her friends as a young woman. It also comes from the actress Lana Turner, a big influence on Lizzy's career, and the Ford Del Rey car.
Olivia Wilde
One of the unusual ones on our list that kept her first name, but changed her last, Olivia Wilde was born Olivia Cockburn. She changed her last name when she was a teenager after appearing in Oscar Wilde's The Importance Of Being Honest in high school.
Matthew Frost, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Drake
The Canadian actor and musician was known as "Aubrey Graham" during his time on Degrassi (2001), as his birth name was Aubrey Drake Graham. But, when the actor became a musician and rapper in 2006, he dropped his first and last names, opting for "Drake" as his stage name.
musicisentropy, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Portia De Rossi
The Australian-American actress Portia De Rossi changed her name legally at the age of 15—though not to secure fame and fortune. She did it to fit in. De Rossi was born Amanda Lee Rogers and told Advocate: "When I was 15 I changed it legally. I think it was largely due to my struggle about being gay. I chose Portia because I was a Shakespeare fan and De Rossi because I was Australian and thought an exotic Italian name would suit me more".
Pulicciano, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Ashton Kutcher
Another name you might not have guessed: Ashton Kutcher took his middle name as his first when he became famous after appearing as Michael Kelso on That 70's Show (1998). His real name is Christopher Ashton Kutcher—what have all these actors got against Christophers?
Erykah Badu
The "Queen Of Neo Soul," as she became known in the 1990s, wasn't always Erykah Badu. She was born Erica Abi Wright, but changed her name when she was young to "Erykah", as she believed the original spelling to be a "slave name" and "Kah" symbolized the inner-self. "Badu" is the name given to the 10th-born child of the Akan people in Ghana.
LivePict.com, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Halsey
Another rather obvious stage name is "Halsey", although many fans think it's an anagram of the singer's first name: Ashley. Born Ashley Frangipane, the singer has clarified that the name came from the street a friend of hers lived on: Halsey Street.
Featureflash Photo Agency, Shutterstock
Spike Lee
Apparently, Spike Lee was a tough baby. His mother nicknamed Shelton Lee "Spike" because of this and the name stuck. Thanks, Mom!
Georges Biard, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Courtney Love
Unfortunately, Courtney's last name is not "Love". She used her stage name, "Courtney Love," for years, throughout her time married to Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain. But her real name is Courtney Michelle Harrison, or as the singer now prefers it, Courtney Michelle.
Manfred Werner/Tsui, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Whoopi Goldberg
By far one of the funniest stories of stage-name bestowment comes from Whoopi Goldberg. Born Caryn Johnson, apparently, Whoopi had a penchant for passing wind when she started out, so she took the name "Whoopi" after the practical joke device, "whoopee cushion".
Joaquin Pheonix
Joaquin Phoenix was born Joaquin Rafael Bottom. Yes, that's right. "Bottom". He was born to two religious parents who were involved with a religious cult: The Children of God. When his parents left the organization (along with their two children), they changed his last name to "Phoenix".
OSCAR GONZALEZ FUENTES, Shutterstock
Demi Moore
Demi Moore might have remained Deme Gene Guynes if she'd not met and married rock musician Freddy Moore when she was just 17. The American actress decided to keep his surname as her stage name, despite divorcing when Moore was only 21.
Bruno Mars
Again, no great shock that Bruno Mars' real name is not, in fact, "Bruno Mars". Alas, the singer's real name is Peter Gene Hernandez, although he apparently looked like the wrestler Bruno Sammartino as a child, and thus gained the nickname "Bruno". It stuck, but "Hernandez" didn't—he renamed himself "Bruno Mars" quickly after becoming famous.
Nicki Minaj
Nicki Minaj may be the new "Queen Of Rap", but her name was changed from Onika Tanya Maraj during one of her very first production contracts. She wasn't even consulted. Apparently, Nicki hates the name and prefers to be Onika when she's with family and friends.
MTV International, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Calvin Harris
Taylor Swift called Calvin Harris "Adam" at the iHeart Music Awards and everyone wondered why. Well, when Harris was producing his first tracks, they were more soul-centric and Adam Richard Wiles wanted a stage name that was a bit more racially ambiguous, so went with "Calvin Harris".
Frank Ocean
The singer famous for" Novacane" has never really liked his birth name of Christopher Edwin Breaux. So, in 2010, he changed it to Christopher Francis Ocean via an LLC registering website, LegalZoom (it's legitimate).
Pemberton Music Festival, Flickr
Helen Mirren
Helen Mirren was always "Helen Mirren", right? Sounds plausible enough. Actually, she was born Ilyena Lydia Mironoff. But her father changed her last name from "Mironoff" to "Mirren" in the 50s. The family is ancestrally Russian and part of an exiled family of Russian nobility, ousted from Russia after the 1917 Russian Revolution.
Harald Krichel, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Jamie Foxx
When Eric Marlon Bishop was trying out for stand-up comedy, he knew he needed a different name. He told David Letterman that he went with "Jamie Foxx" to be more unisex and therefore get more stage time. I guess that paid off.
Julianne Moore
No relation to Demi Moore or her ex-husband, Julianne Moore's stage name derived from both of her parents: Peter Moore Smith and Anne Smith. Told she needed to change her name for Hollywood, because her given name Julie Anne Smith was already taken by another actress, Moore amalgamated both of her parent's names.
John Legend
John Legend's name was a nickname given to him by friends early on in his music career that just stuck. "'Legend' is never a name I would have chosen for myself," he explained. His birth name is John Roger Stephens.
PopTech, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Katy Perry
In the midst of an adolescent identity crisis, Kathryn Elizabeth Hudson created the name "Katy Perry" as an act of self-protection and reinvention during the difficult phase of her life. "I didn't want to be Kathryn Hudson, I hated it," she explained to The Guardian.
Lorde
The singer was born Ella Marija Lani Yellich-O'Connor, but didn't feel as though her birth name had any grandeur or gravitas behind it. She wanted something that was going to be memorable, so went with the one-named alias, "Lorde".
Raph_PH, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Mandy Moore
Born Amanda Leigh Moore, Mandy Moore stated "I never really owned my name" in an interview with CNN, equating the name with her parents being mad at her. Who can blame her? We all shudder when we hear our full names out loud, I'm sure.
Daniel Benavides, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Mindy Kaling
The actress wasn't born Mindy Kaling. Her name, derived from Hinduism (as both her parents are Indian) is Vera Mindy Chokalingam. "Vera" is the name of a Hindu goddess, and her parents often called her "Mindy" as a child. So, she shortened "Chokalingam" to "Kaling" when she was trying to make a name for herself.
Montclair Film, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Tina Fey
The iconic Tina Fey wasn't always so. The 30 Rock (2006) star was born Elizabeth Stamantina Fey, but shortened her birth name to come up with her stage name. Although, she did give a nod to her birth name with "Li Lemon" in 30 Rock.
Featureflash Photo Agency, Shutterstock
G-Eazy
The record producer and rapper G-Eazy has had the same stage name since he was a teenager. He reportedly came up with it on a whim, renaming himself from Gerald Earl Gillum to G-Eazy as he was beginning his career.
P!nk
Another rather obvious stage name belongs to Alecia Beth Moore (what is it with all the Moores?). She took the name from Steve Buscemi's "Mr Pink" in Reservoir Dogs (1992). Apparently, she ran (quite literally) into Steve, exclaiming "Steve! I'm Mr Pink! Because of you, I'm going to have an album!" He apparently ran away.
Freddie Mercury
The maestro himself was not named "Freddie Mercury" at birth. Despite his mercurial talents that would later become evident, Freddie Mercury was named Farrokh Bulsara, when he was born to Zoroastrian parents in Zanzibar in 1964.
Rainn Wilson's Unusual Name Change
You might think that being born Rainn Percival Dietrich Wilson might warrant a name change if you're going to be a superstar of The Office (2005). Well, it didn't and Rainn kept his name throughout his career—except in 2022, when, to raise awareness for climate change (around the time of COP29), he hilariously and unofficially changed his name to Rainnfall Heat Wave Extreme Winter Wilson.
_(cropped).jpg){kind=link}
_(cropped).jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}