There’s more to becoming a celebrity than good looks and talent. It turns out a person’s name also has a big influence on whether they make it in the entertainment world. Celebrity stage names are actually more regularly used than you might think. Not everyone is born with a movie star name that rolls off the tongue. But there are many different reasons why people decide on a stage name.  Some have a name that is just too long or rather average and doesn’t stand out. Others want to create a new identity separate from their personal life, so a stage name is a perfect way to distinguish their real personality from their created one. And some are given a stage name by those in the business who understand a catchy name can help open more doors.  Some celebrity stage names are obvious, but there are many you might mistake for a person’s normal name. We have done some research and created a list of celebrity stage names that includes actors, musicians, and other memorable famous people.  24 Celebrity Stage Names and the Stories Behind Them

  1. Lady Gaga Andrea Raffin/Shutterstock Real name: Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta It’s pretty obvious that Lady Gaga is an alias. The real person behind the chart-topping artist is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta. It’s plain to see why Gaga decided to take a stage name as her birth name is rather long. She took inspiration from the Queen song “Radio Ga Ga” for her stage persona.  In a 2013 Elle interview, Lady Gaga revealed why she prefers to use her stage name over her real name: “Stefani is – a perpetually tortured artist. That’s why I changed my name. I can’t be her in public. She would be a mess!” Basically, she likes to keep her personal life separate when possible. We don’t blame her. 
  2. Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Real name: Norma Jeane Mortenson One of the most famous stage names of all time belongs to Norma Jeane Mortenson, otherwise known as Marilyn Monroe. The blond bombshell was a hit movie star in the 50s and 60s and one of the very first sex symbols. She had a short but remarkable career with starring roles in hit movies Some Like It Hot, The Seven Year Itch, and Bus Stop before her unfortunate suicide at age 36 in 1962.  As for her name, according to Time, a 20th Century Fox studio executive thought Norma Jeane could be pronounced too many different ways, so the actress suggested Monroe as a last name, which was on her mother’s side. The studio executive then came up with Marilyn because she reminded him of 1920s Broadway star Marilyn Miller. 
  3. Olivia Wilde DFree/Shutterstock Real name: Olivia Jane Cockburn Born Olivia Jane Cockburn, you can see why Olivia Wilde thought a name change was in order. Not that there is anything wrong with Cockburn, but it’s pretty hard to sell a serious drama with “Cockburn” written on the poster. Surprisingly it was actually Wilde’s mother who suggested the name change. It was more so to protect Wilde’s family’s identity than for her career, but it certainly helped. She told the New York Observer, “At the time, I was doing The Importance of Being Earnest – I was playing Gwendolyn, and I was so in love with it. Oscar Wilde is someone who I respect for so many reasons – a revolutionary, a comedian, and a profound thinker. I had all these reasons – but what I didn’t foresee is that people would think of it as a sexy adjective.”
  4. Bruno Mars s_bukley/Shutterstock Real name: Peter Gene Hernandez Peter Hernandez doesn’t really have the same ring to it as Bruno Mars. Thankfully Hernandez went with a stage name inspired by his two nicknames, Burno and Mars. His father called him Burno after professional wrestler Bruno Sammartino, while Mars came about because girls used to say he “was out of this world.”  Another reason for Mars changing his name was that he didn’t want to be pigeonholed as a Latin artist, not that he was trying to hide his Latino heritage. As he told GQ in a 2013 interview, he just didn’t want people to expect him to be making the same type of pop music as Enrique Iglaises.  
  5. Whoopi Goldberg Ron Adar/Shutterstock Real name: Caryn Elaine Johnson, Speaking with the New York Times in 2006, Whoopi Goldberg, real name Caryn Elaine Johnson, explained why she decided to take on a stage name. “When you’re performing on stage, you never really have time to go into the bathroom and close the door. So, if you get a little gassy, you’ve got to let it go. So, people used to say to me, ‘You’re like a whoopee cushion.’ And that’s where the name came from.” An interesting way to choose a name, but it has worked out well for Goldberg. The comedian and actress was a massive movie star in the 80s and 90s and has spent the last two decades working in theater and television where she is one of the hosts of the popular panel show The View. 
  6. Jamie Foxx Cubankite/Shutterstock Real name: Eric Marlon Bishop Most people weren’t aware Jamie Foxx was a stage name until it lit up the internet in 2017. But Foxx had actually let the cat out of the bag years early when he appeared on The Late Show With David Letterman in 2014. While chatting with Letterman, Foxx explained that when he was trying to break into the stand-up comedy scene in the 80s, he struggled to get a spot to perform at the local comedy clubs as it was mainly women getting gigs. So Foxx started using more unisex names and Jamie Foxx was the one that worked best and got him booked.  The Foxx comes from the black comedian Redd Foxx, who was a big inspiration for Jamie Foxx.  
  7. Micahel Caine Andrea Raffin/Shutterstock Real name: Maurice Joseph Micklewhite Iconic British action Michael Caine went by an entirely different name when he got into the acting business. The man who scored massive hits with Get Carter, The Italian Job, and Zulu first adopted the name in 1954 after Micahel Scott (no relation to The Office) didn’t quite catch on.  He took Caine from the Humphrey Bogar movie The Caine Mutiny, and eventually legally changed his name to Michael Caine in 2016 after he started to get stopped at airports due to his passport having his birth name and not his stage name. 
  8. Alicia Keys Featureflash Photo Agency/Shutterstock Real name: Alicia Augello Cook  Singer-songwriter Alicia Keys kept her first name but wanted a more appealing last name. She wanted Wild but as she revealed in a chat with Newsweek, her mother wasn’t keen on the name. “She said, ‘It sounds like you’re a stripper.”‘ Keys decided to go with a more musical moniker, picking the word Keys. “It’s like the piano keys. And it can open so many doors,” she said. 
  9. Katy Perry Featureflash Photo Agency/Shutterstock Real name: Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson The “Teenage Dream,” “Roar,” and “Fireworks” singer didn’t want to be mistaken for another famous Hudson (actress Kate Hudson), so she decided to pick a stage name. She shortened her first name Katheryn to Katy and took her mother’s maiden name as her last name and wallah – Katy Perry was born. 
  10. Natalie Portman Denis Makarenko/Shutterstock Real name: Natalie Hershlag Natalie Portman has both Israeli and American heritage, with her father hailing from Israel and her mother the United States. Opting on the advice of her first agent Aleen Keshishian, Portman decided to go with a name that was more palatable for Western audiences. She chose her parental grandmother’s maiden name and Natalie Portman was created, with the actress making the name change just before the release of her 1994 debut feature, Léon: The Professional.
  11. Elton John Andrea Raffin/Shutterstock Real name: Reginald Kenneth Dwight Reginald Kenneth Dwight just doesn’t have the same ring to it as Elton John, so it’s no surprise the man behind hits “Tiny Dancer,” “Rocket Man,” and “Saturday Night’s Alright” went with something different. He changed his name in 1967, taking inspiration from two of the members of his previous band Bluesology. The band contained a saxophone player named Elton Dean and a lead singer who went by Long John Baldry. The rest, as they say, is history.
  12. The Weeknd Christian Bertrand/Shutterstock Real name: Abel Makkonen Tesfaye Musicians love a good name change. While not hard to tell The Weeknd isn’t a real name, the story behind Abel Makkonen Tesfaye’s name change is rather interesting. He revealed all during a surprise Reddit Ask Me Anything. “I left home when I was about 17 dropped out of high school and convinced Lamar to do the same lol,” he said, referring to a member of his crew. “We grabbed our mattresses from our parents threw it in our friend’s shitty van and left one weekend and never came back home. It was gonna be the title of HOB (House of Balloons). I hated my name at the time though so I tried it as a stage name. It sounded cool. I took out the “e” because there was already a Canadian band named the weekend (copyright issues).”

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  1. Michael Keaton Tinseltown/Shutterstock Real name: Michael John Douglas The original Batman had to change his name for practical reasons. When he went to sign up for the Screen Actors Guild, he discovered there was already a Michael Douglas registered. So he decided to change his last name to Keaton. It’s turned out to be an inspired choice, with Keaton having a grand career that’s seen him star in well-received movies such as Beetlejuice, The Founder, Cars, and Birdman, for which he won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor. 
  2. Ice Cube Jamie Lamor Thompson/Shutterstock Real name: O’Shea Jackson When it comes to having a real name and an alias, Ice Cube has both nailed. His actual name, O’Shea Jackson, is cool as fuck, while his rap name, Ice Cube, somehow works well and makes him sound extremely hard. It’s probably got to do with Cube being part of gangster rap pioneers N.W.A. and being one of the hardest rappers of the 90s.  Turns out Cube got his stage name from his brother who threatened to turn Jackson into “ice cubes” after he kept hitting on girls coming to the house to visit his brother. 
  3. Reese Witherspoon Denis Makarenko/Shutterstock Real name: Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon An article by Country Living revealed that Reese Witherspoon’s full name is actually Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon. She decided to go with Reese Witherspoon as it is much easier to pronounce and more of a modern name when compared to Laura Jeanne. She first used Reese Witherspoon for her debut movie role at 14 in coming of age drama The Man in the Moon.
  4. Brad Pitt Joe Seer/Shutterstock Real name: William Bradley Pitt To be fair, Brad Pitt could have been called Shit Pitt and he’d still be a success. Possessed with movie star good looks and fantastic acting ability, Pitt has it all. He didn’t really change much when it comes to his name, just replacing his first name William with his middle name Bradley and shortening it to Brad. The minor adjustment sure has worked, with Pitt critically hailed as one of the greatest actors of the past three decades.
  5. Nicki Minaj Andrea Raffin/Shutterstock Real name: Onika Tanya Maraj Onika Tanya Maraj isn’t really an appropriate stage name, but the one Nicki Minaj now has wasn’t of her choosing. “Somebody changed my name,” Minaj told The Guardian.  “One of the first production deals I signed, the guy wanted my name to be Minaj and I fought him tooth and nail. But he convinced me. I’ve always hated it.” Nicki Minaj isn’t the only name she is known by, with the Trinidad and Tobago-born rapper also taking on the alias’ Cookie, Rosa, Roman, Nicki Lewinski, Nicki the Ninja, and Nicki the Harajuku Barbie.  
  6. Rihanna Lev Radin/Shutterstock Real name: Robyn Rihanna Fenty Rihanna wasn’t a big change for the singer born Robyn Rihanna Fenty. The Barbadian singer and businesswoman just dropped her first and last name and went with her middle, which has worked out well for her. Although she has used Rihanna since starting her music career as a teenager, her friends and family still call her Robyn, something she revealed to Rolling Stone.  “I get kind of numb to hearing Rihanna, Rihanna, Rihanna,” she said in an interview with the magazine. “When I hear Robyn, I pay attention.”
  7. Miley Cyrus Kathy Hutchins/Shutterstock Real name: Destiny Hope Cyrus The “Malibu” and “Wrecking Ball” singer’s stage name evolved from her nickname. As a kid, Miley Cyrus was always smiling, so her family gave her the moniker “Smiley.” Over time this turned into Miley and stuck, with Cyrus eventually changing her legal name from Destiny to Miley.
  8. Kit Harrington Kathy Hutchins/Shutterstock Real name: Christopher Catesby Harington Kit Harrington always believed his first name was Kit until his parents informed him it was actually Christopher at age 11. Speaking with Glamour, Harrington revealed how he and his brother had always been called their nicknames growing up, hence why he has chosen to go with the stage name Kit.  “I think they could see that I wanted to be Kit, but Christopher was a bit of a tradition,” he explained. “My brother’s name is Jack, but his real name is John. Kit is traditionally an offshoot of Christopher, it’s just not used that often.”
  9. Cardi B lev radin/Shutterstock Real name: Belcalis Almanzar Is it any real surprise Cari B’s rap name comes from the alcoholic drink Bacardi? She discussed it all in an interview with Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show. Although born Belcalis Almanzar, Cardi soon got given the nickname Bacardi due to her sister being named Hennessy. Barcardi got shortened to Cardi B and the next thing you know the former exotic dancer is one of the biggest artists in the world. 
  10. Emma Stone Andrea Raffin/Shutterstock Real name: Emily Jean Stone Emma Stone had the same problem as Michael Keaton, there is already an Emily Stone on the SAG register. Not wanting to make a dramatic name change, Stone made the subtle change from Emily to Emma. Speaking with W Magazine, Stone recalled how she went by Riley for the first six months but kept forgetting that was her name, choosing to go with Emma instead. 
  11. Portia de Rossi s_bukley/Shutterstock

Real name: Amanda Lee Rogers Aussie actress Portia de Rossi went for a rather dramatic name change which she explained in an interview with the Advocate. “When I was 15, I changed it legally. In retrospect, I think it was largely due to my struggle about being gay. Everything just didn’t fit, and I was trying to find things I could identify myself with, and it started with my name,” she said. “I picked Portia because I was a Shakespeare fan [Portia is the character in The Merchant of Venice who famously declaims, “The quality of mercy is not strain’d / It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven.”]. De Rossi because I was Australian and I thought that an exotic Italian name would somehow suit me more than Amanda Rogers. When you live in Australia, Europe is so far away and so fascinating, so stylish and cultured and sophisticated.” 24. Awkwafina DFree/Shutterstock Real name: Nora Lum What started as a joke became the stage name rapper, writer, and actress Awkwafina is now known by. She detailed how the name came about and why she is stuck with it during an in-depth chat with Galore in 2017.  “I just really thought it was funny when people try to subtilize products like Neutrogena. Because I just imagine someone sitting there, thinking about all these weird names, especially the water names. But anyways, I just came up with it when I was 16 and thought it was really funny. And then, I eventually adopted it.” “My rap name was just Aquafina, but then I think when we were putting out the video, the guy that made the video…he was like, ‘Well, we should change the spelling so you don’t get sued,’” she recalled. “So, he spelled it so extra. He spelled it in the most extra way ever. So, I was like, ‘I feel like people aren’t going to understand this,’ and he was like, ‘Yeah, but I feel like it would be unique, so then people [will] look it up.’ But then, no one knows how to spell it. So, you know, it came back to bite me in the ass.”

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There’s more to becoming a celebrity than good looks and talent. It turns out a person’s name also has a big influence on whether they make it in the entertainment world. Celebrity stage names are actually more regularly used than you might think. Not everyone is born with a movie star name that rolls off the tongue. But there are many different reasons why people decide on a stage name.  Some have a name that is just too long or rather average and doesn’t stand out. Others want to create a new identity separate from their personal life, so a stage name is a perfect way to distinguish their real personality from their created one. And some are given a stage name by those in the business who understand a catchy name can help open more doors.  Some celebrity stage names are obvious, but there are many you might mistake for a person’s normal name. We have done some research and created a list of celebrity stage names that includes actors, musicians, and other memorable famous people.  24 Celebrity Stage Names and the Stories Behind Them

  1. Lady Gaga Andrea Raffin/Shutterstock Real name: Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta It’s pretty obvious that Lady Gaga is an alias. The real person behind the chart-topping artist is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta. It’s plain to see why Gaga decided to take a stage name as her birth name is rather long. She took inspiration from the Queen song “Radio Ga Ga” for her stage persona.  In a 2013 Elle interview, Lady Gaga revealed why she prefers to use her stage name over her real name: “Stefani is – a perpetually tortured artist. That’s why I changed my name. I can’t be her in public. She would be a mess!” Basically, she likes to keep her personal life separate when possible. We don’t blame her. 
  2. Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Real name: Norma Jeane Mortenson One of the most famous stage names of all time belongs to Norma Jeane Mortenson, otherwise known as Marilyn Monroe. The blond bombshell was a hit movie star in the 50s and 60s and one of the very first sex symbols. She had a short but remarkable career with starring roles in hit movies Some Like It Hot, The Seven Year Itch, and Bus Stop before her unfortunate suicide at age 36 in 1962.  As for her name, according to Time, a 20th Century Fox studio executive thought Norma Jeane could be pronounced too many different ways, so the actress suggested Monroe as a last name, which was on her mother’s side. The studio executive then came up with Marilyn because she reminded him of 1920s Broadway star Marilyn Miller. 
  3. Olivia Wilde DFree/Shutterstock Real name: Olivia Jane Cockburn Born Olivia Jane Cockburn, you can see why Olivia Wilde thought a name change was in order. Not that there is anything wrong with Cockburn, but it’s pretty hard to sell a serious drama with “Cockburn” written on the poster. Surprisingly it was actually Wilde’s mother who suggested the name change. It was more so to protect Wilde’s family’s identity than for her career, but it certainly helped. She told the New York Observer, “At the time, I was doing The Importance of Being Earnest – I was playing Gwendolyn, and I was so in love with it. Oscar Wilde is someone who I respect for so many reasons – a revolutionary, a comedian, and a profound thinker. I had all these reasons – but what I didn’t foresee is that people would think of it as a sexy adjective.”
  4. Bruno Mars s_bukley/Shutterstock Real name: Peter Gene Hernandez Peter Hernandez doesn’t really have the same ring to it as Bruno Mars. Thankfully Hernandez went with a stage name inspired by his two nicknames, Burno and Mars. His father called him Burno after professional wrestler Bruno Sammartino, while Mars came about because girls used to say he “was out of this world.”  Another reason for Mars changing his name was that he didn’t want to be pigeonholed as a Latin artist, not that he was trying to hide his Latino heritage. As he told GQ in a 2013 interview, he just didn’t want people to expect him to be making the same type of pop music as Enrique Iglaises.  
  5. Whoopi Goldberg Ron Adar/Shutterstock Real name: Caryn Elaine Johnson, Speaking with the New York Times in 2006, Whoopi Goldberg, real name Caryn Elaine Johnson, explained why she decided to take on a stage name. “When you’re performing on stage, you never really have time to go into the bathroom and close the door. So, if you get a little gassy, you’ve got to let it go. So, people used to say to me, ‘You’re like a whoopee cushion.’ And that’s where the name came from.” An interesting way to choose a name, but it has worked out well for Goldberg. The comedian and actress was a massive movie star in the 80s and 90s and has spent the last two decades working in theater and television where she is one of the hosts of the popular panel show The View. 
  6. Jamie Foxx Cubankite/Shutterstock Real name: Eric Marlon Bishop Most people weren’t aware Jamie Foxx was a stage name until it lit up the internet in 2017. But Foxx had actually let the cat out of the bag years early when he appeared on The Late Show With David Letterman in 2014. While chatting with Letterman, Foxx explained that when he was trying to break into the stand-up comedy scene in the 80s, he struggled to get a spot to perform at the local comedy clubs as it was mainly women getting gigs. So Foxx started using more unisex names and Jamie Foxx was the one that worked best and got him booked.  The Foxx comes from the black comedian Redd Foxx, who was a big inspiration for Jamie Foxx.  
  7. Micahel Caine Andrea Raffin/Shutterstock Real name: Maurice Joseph Micklewhite Iconic British action Michael Caine went by an entirely different name when he got into the acting business. The man who scored massive hits with Get Carter, The Italian Job, and Zulu first adopted the name in 1954 after Micahel Scott (no relation to The Office) didn’t quite catch on.  He took Caine from the Humphrey Bogar movie The Caine Mutiny, and eventually legally changed his name to Michael Caine in 2016 after he started to get stopped at airports due to his passport having his birth name and not his stage name. 
  8. Alicia Keys Featureflash Photo Agency/Shutterstock Real name: Alicia Augello Cook  Singer-songwriter Alicia Keys kept her first name but wanted a more appealing last name. She wanted Wild but as she revealed in a chat with Newsweek, her mother wasn’t keen on the name. “She said, ‘It sounds like you’re a stripper.”‘ Keys decided to go with a more musical moniker, picking the word Keys. “It’s like the piano keys. And it can open so many doors,” she said. 
  9. Katy Perry Featureflash Photo Agency/Shutterstock Real name: Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson The “Teenage Dream,” “Roar,” and “Fireworks” singer didn’t want to be mistaken for another famous Hudson (actress Kate Hudson), so she decided to pick a stage name. She shortened her first name Katheryn to Katy and took her mother’s maiden name as her last name and wallah – Katy Perry was born. 
  10. Natalie Portman Denis Makarenko/Shutterstock Real name: Natalie Hershlag Natalie Portman has both Israeli and American heritage, with her father hailing from Israel and her mother the United States. Opting on the advice of her first agent Aleen Keshishian, Portman decided to go with a name that was more palatable for Western audiences. She chose her parental grandmother’s maiden name and Natalie Portman was created, with the actress making the name change just before the release of her 1994 debut feature, Léon: The Professional.
  11. Elton John Andrea Raffin/Shutterstock Real name: Reginald Kenneth Dwight Reginald Kenneth Dwight just doesn’t have the same ring to it as Elton John, so it’s no surprise the man behind hits “Tiny Dancer,” “Rocket Man,” and “Saturday Night’s Alright” went with something different. He changed his name in 1967, taking inspiration from two of the members of his previous band Bluesology. The band contained a saxophone player named Elton Dean and a lead singer who went by Long John Baldry. The rest, as they say, is history.
  12. The Weeknd Christian Bertrand/Shutterstock Real name: Abel Makkonen Tesfaye Musicians love a good name change. While not hard to tell The Weeknd isn’t a real name, the story behind Abel Makkonen Tesfaye’s name change is rather interesting. He revealed all during a surprise Reddit Ask Me Anything. “I left home when I was about 17 dropped out of high school and convinced Lamar to do the same lol,” he said, referring to a member of his crew. “We grabbed our mattresses from our parents threw it in our friend’s shitty van and left one weekend and never came back home. It was gonna be the title of HOB (House of Balloons). I hated my name at the time though so I tried it as a stage name. It sounded cool. I took out the “e” because there was already a Canadian band named the weekend (copyright issues).”

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  1. Michael Keaton Tinseltown/Shutterstock Real name: Michael John Douglas The original Batman had to change his name for practical reasons. When he went to sign up for the Screen Actors Guild, he discovered there was already a Michael Douglas registered. So he decided to change his last name to Keaton. It’s turned out to be an inspired choice, with Keaton having a grand career that’s seen him star in well-received movies such as Beetlejuice, The Founder, Cars, and Birdman, for which he won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor. 
  2. Ice Cube Jamie Lamor Thompson/Shutterstock Real name: O’Shea Jackson When it comes to having a real name and an alias, Ice Cube has both nailed. His actual name, O’Shea Jackson, is cool as fuck, while his rap name, Ice Cube, somehow works well and makes him sound extremely hard. It’s probably got to do with Cube being part of gangster rap pioneers N.W.A. and being one of the hardest rappers of the 90s.  Turns out Cube got his stage name from his brother who threatened to turn Jackson into “ice cubes” after he kept hitting on girls coming to the house to visit his brother. 
  3. Reese Witherspoon Denis Makarenko/Shutterstock Real name: Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon An article by Country Living revealed that Reese Witherspoon’s full name is actually Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon. She decided to go with Reese Witherspoon as it is much easier to pronounce and more of a modern name when compared to Laura Jeanne. She first used Reese Witherspoon for her debut movie role at 14 in coming of age drama The Man in the Moon.
  4. Brad Pitt Joe Seer/Shutterstock Real name: William Bradley Pitt To be fair, Brad Pitt could have been called Shit Pitt and he’d still be a success. Possessed with movie star good looks and fantastic acting ability, Pitt has it all. He didn’t really change much when it comes to his name, just replacing his first name William with his middle name Bradley and shortening it to Brad. The minor adjustment sure has worked, with Pitt critically hailed as one of the greatest actors of the past three decades.
  5. Nicki Minaj Andrea Raffin/Shutterstock Real name: Onika Tanya Maraj Onika Tanya Maraj isn’t really an appropriate stage name, but the one Nicki Minaj now has wasn’t of her choosing. “Somebody changed my name,” Minaj told The Guardian.  “One of the first production deals I signed, the guy wanted my name to be Minaj and I fought him tooth and nail. But he convinced me. I’ve always hated it.” Nicki Minaj isn’t the only name she is known by, with the Trinidad and Tobago-born rapper also taking on the alias’ Cookie, Rosa, Roman, Nicki Lewinski, Nicki the Ninja, and Nicki the Harajuku Barbie.  
  6. Rihanna Lev Radin/Shutterstock Real name: Robyn Rihanna Fenty Rihanna wasn’t a big change for the singer born Robyn Rihanna Fenty. The Barbadian singer and businesswoman just dropped her first and last name and went with her middle, which has worked out well for her. Although she has used Rihanna since starting her music career as a teenager, her friends and family still call her Robyn, something she revealed to Rolling Stone.  “I get kind of numb to hearing Rihanna, Rihanna, Rihanna,” she said in an interview with the magazine. “When I hear Robyn, I pay attention.”
  7. Miley Cyrus Kathy Hutchins/Shutterstock Real name: Destiny Hope Cyrus The “Malibu” and “Wrecking Ball” singer’s stage name evolved from her nickname. As a kid, Miley Cyrus was always smiling, so her family gave her the moniker “Smiley.” Over time this turned into Miley and stuck, with Cyrus eventually changing her legal name from Destiny to Miley.
  8. Kit Harrington Kathy Hutchins/Shutterstock Real name: Christopher Catesby Harington Kit Harrington always believed his first name was Kit until his parents informed him it was actually Christopher at age 11. Speaking with Glamour, Harrington revealed how he and his brother had always been called their nicknames growing up, hence why he has chosen to go with the stage name Kit.  “I think they could see that I wanted to be Kit, but Christopher was a bit of a tradition,” he explained. “My brother’s name is Jack, but his real name is John. Kit is traditionally an offshoot of Christopher, it’s just not used that often.”
  9. Cardi B lev radin/Shutterstock Real name: Belcalis Almanzar Is it any real surprise Cari B’s rap name comes from the alcoholic drink Bacardi? She discussed it all in an interview with Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show. Although born Belcalis Almanzar, Cardi soon got given the nickname Bacardi due to her sister being named Hennessy. Barcardi got shortened to Cardi B and the next thing you know the former exotic dancer is one of the biggest artists in the world. 
  10. Emma Stone Andrea Raffin/Shutterstock Real name: Emily Jean Stone Emma Stone had the same problem as Michael Keaton, there is already an Emily Stone on the SAG register. Not wanting to make a dramatic name change, Stone made the subtle change from Emily to Emma. Speaking with W Magazine, Stone recalled how she went by Riley for the first six months but kept forgetting that was her name, choosing to go with Emma instead. 
  11. Portia de Rossi s_bukley/Shutterstock

Real name: Amanda Lee Rogers Aussie actress Portia de Rossi went for a rather dramatic name change which she explained in an interview with the Advocate. “When I was 15, I changed it legally. In retrospect, I think it was largely due to my struggle about being gay. Everything just didn’t fit, and I was trying to find things I could identify myself with, and it started with my name,” she said. “I picked Portia because I was a Shakespeare fan [Portia is the character in The Merchant of Venice who famously declaims, “The quality of mercy is not strain’d / It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven.”]. De Rossi because I was Australian and I thought that an exotic Italian name would somehow suit me more than Amanda Rogers. When you live in Australia, Europe is so far away and so fascinating, so stylish and cultured and sophisticated.” 24. Awkwafina DFree/Shutterstock Real name: Nora Lum What started as a joke became the stage name rapper, writer, and actress Awkwafina is now known by. She detailed how the name came about and why she is stuck with it during an in-depth chat with Galore in 2017.  “I just really thought it was funny when people try to subtilize products like Neutrogena. Because I just imagine someone sitting there, thinking about all these weird names, especially the water names. But anyways, I just came up with it when I was 16 and thought it was really funny. And then, I eventually adopted it.” “My rap name was just Aquafina, but then I think when we were putting out the video, the guy that made the video…he was like, ‘Well, we should change the spelling so you don’t get sued,’” she recalled. “So, he spelled it so extra. He spelled it in the most extra way ever. So, I was like, ‘I feel like people aren’t going to understand this,’ and he was like, ‘Yeah, but I feel like it would be unique, so then people [will] look it up.’ But then, no one knows how to spell it. So, you know, it came back to bite me in the ass.”

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There’s more to becoming a celebrity than good looks and talent. It turns out a person’s name also has a big influence on whether they make it in the entertainment world. Celebrity stage names are actually more regularly used than you might think. Not everyone is born with a movie star name that rolls off the tongue. But there are many different reasons why people decide on a stage name. 

Some have a name that is just too long or rather average and doesn’t stand out. Others want to create a new identity separate from their personal life, so a stage name is a perfect way to distinguish their real personality from their created one. And some are given a stage name by those in the business who understand a catchy name can help open more doors. 

Some celebrity stage names are obvious, but there are many you might mistake for a person’s normal name. We have done some research and created a list of celebrity stage names that includes actors, musicians, and other memorable famous people. 

24 Celebrity Stage Names and the Stories Behind Them

1. Lady Gaga

Andrea Raffin/Shutterstock

Real name: Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta

It’s pretty obvious that Lady Gaga is an alias. The real person behind the chart-topping artist is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta. It’s plain to see why Gaga decided to take a stage name as her birth name is rather long. She took inspiration from the Queen song “Radio Ga Ga” for her stage persona. 

In a 2013 Elle interview, Lady Gaga revealed why she prefers to use her stage name over her real name: “Stefani is – a perpetually tortured artist. That’s why I changed my name. I can’t be her in public. She would be a mess!” Basically, she likes to keep her personal life separate when possible. We don’t blame her. 

2. Marilyn Monroe

Marilyn Monroe, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Real name: Norma Jeane Mortenson

One of the most famous stage names of all time belongs to Norma Jeane Mortenson, otherwise known as Marilyn Monroe. The blond bombshell was a hit movie star in the 50s and 60s and one of the very first sex symbols. She had a short but remarkable career with starring roles in hit movies Some Like It Hot, The Seven Year Itch, and Bus Stop before her unfortunate suicide at age 36 in 1962. 

As for her name, according to Time, a 20th Century Fox studio executive thought Norma Jeane could be pronounced too many different ways, so the actress suggested Monroe as a last name, which was on her mother’s side. The studio executive then came up with Marilyn because she reminded him of 1920s Broadway star Marilyn Miller. 

3. Olivia Wilde

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Real name: Olivia Jane Cockburn

Born Olivia Jane Cockburn, you can see why Olivia Wilde thought a name change was in order. Not that there is anything wrong with Cockburn, but it’s pretty hard to sell a serious drama with “Cockburn” written on the poster. Surprisingly it was actually Wilde’s mother who suggested the name change. It was more so to protect Wilde’s family’s identity than for her career, but it certainly helped.

She told the New York Observer, “At the time, I was doing The Importance of Being Earnest – I was playing Gwendolyn, and I was so in love with it. Oscar Wilde is someone who I respect for so many reasons – a revolutionary, a comedian, and a profound thinker. I had all these reasons – but what I didn’t foresee is that people would think of it as a sexy adjective.”

4. Bruno Mars

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Real name: Peter Gene Hernandez

Peter Hernandez doesn’t really have the same ring to it as Bruno Mars. Thankfully Hernandez went with a stage name inspired by his two nicknames, Burno and Mars. His father called him Burno after professional wrestler Bruno Sammartino, while Mars came about because girls used to say he “was out of this world.” 

Another reason for Mars changing his name was that he didn’t want to be pigeonholed as a Latin artist, not that he was trying to hide his Latino heritage. As he told GQ in a 2013 interview, he just didn’t want people to expect him to be making the same type of pop music as Enrique Iglaises.  

5. Whoopi Goldberg

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Real name: Caryn Elaine Johnson,

Speaking with the New York Times in 2006, Whoopi Goldberg, real name Caryn Elaine Johnson, explained why she decided to take on a stage name. “When you’re performing on stage, you never really have time to go into the bathroom and close the door. So, if you get a little gassy, you’ve got to let it go. So, people used to say to me, ‘You’re like a whoopee cushion.’ And that’s where the name came from.”

An interesting way to choose a name, but it has worked out well for Goldberg. The comedian and actress was a massive movie star in the 80s and 90s and has spent the last two decades working in theater and television where she is one of the hosts of the popular panel show The View. 

6. Jamie Foxx

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Real name: Eric Marlon Bishop

Most people weren’t aware Jamie Foxx was a stage name until it lit up the internet in 2017. But Foxx had actually let the cat out of the bag years early when he appeared on The Late Show With David Letterman in 2014.

While chatting with Letterman, Foxx explained that when he was trying to break into the stand-up comedy scene in the 80s, he struggled to get a spot to perform at the local comedy clubs as it was mainly women getting gigs. So Foxx started using more unisex names and Jamie Foxx was the one that worked best and got him booked. 

The Foxx comes from the black comedian Redd Foxx, who was a big inspiration for Jamie Foxx.  

7. Micahel Caine

Real name: Maurice Joseph Micklewhite

Iconic British action Michael Caine went by an entirely different name when he got into the acting business. The man who scored massive hits with Get Carter, The Italian Job, and Zulu first adopted the name in 1954 after Micahel Scott (no relation to The Office) didn’t quite catch on. 

He took Caine from the Humphrey Bogar movie The Caine Mutiny, and eventually legally changed his name to Michael Caine in 2016 after he started to get stopped at airports due to his passport having his birth name and not his stage name. 

8. Alicia Keys

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Real name: Alicia Augello Cook 

Singer-songwriter Alicia Keys kept her first name but wanted a more appealing last name. She wanted Wild but as she revealed in a chat with Newsweek, her mother wasn’t keen on the name. “She said, ‘It sounds like you’re a stripper.”‘ Keys decided to go with a more musical moniker, picking the word Keys. “It’s like the piano keys. And it can open so many doors,” she said. 

9. Katy Perry

Real name: Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson

The “Teenage Dream,” “Roar,” and “Fireworks” singer didn’t want to be mistaken for another famous Hudson (actress Kate Hudson), so she decided to pick a stage name. She shortened her first name Katheryn to Katy and took her mother’s maiden name as her last name and wallah – Katy Perry was born. 

10. Natalie Portman

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Real name: Natalie Hershlag

Natalie Portman has both Israeli and American heritage, with her father hailing from Israel and her mother the United States. Opting on the advice of her first agent Aleen Keshishian, Portman decided to go with a name that was more palatable for Western audiences.

She chose her parental grandmother’s maiden name and Natalie Portman was created, with the actress making the name change just before the release of her 1994 debut feature, Léon: The Professional.

11. Elton John

Real name: Reginald Kenneth Dwight

Reginald Kenneth Dwight just doesn’t have the same ring to it as Elton John, so it’s no surprise the man behind hits “Tiny Dancer,” “Rocket Man,” and “Saturday Night’s Alright” went with something different.

He changed his name in 1967, taking inspiration from two of the members of his previous band Bluesology. The band contained a saxophone player named Elton Dean and a lead singer who went by Long John Baldry. The rest, as they say, is history.

12. The Weeknd

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Real name: Abel Makkonen Tesfaye

Musicians love a good name change. While not hard to tell The Weeknd isn’t a real name, the story behind Abel Makkonen Tesfaye’s name change is rather interesting. He revealed all during a surprise Reddit Ask Me Anything.

“I left home when I was about 17 dropped out of high school and convinced Lamar to do the same lol,” he said, referring to a member of his crew. “We grabbed our mattresses from our parents threw it in our friend’s shitty van and left one weekend and never came back home. It was gonna be the title of HOB (House of Balloons). I hated my name at the time though so I tried it as a stage name. It sounded cool. I took out the “e” because there was already a Canadian band named the weekend (copyright issues).”

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13. Michael Keaton

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Real name: Michael John Douglas

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The original Batman had to change his name for practical reasons. When he went to sign up for the Screen Actors Guild, he discovered there was already a Michael Douglas registered. So he decided to change his last name to Keaton.

It’s turned out to be an inspired choice, with Keaton having a grand career that’s seen him star in well-received movies such as Beetlejuice, The Founder, Cars, and Birdman, for which he won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor. 

14. Ice Cube

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Real name: O’Shea Jackson

When it comes to having a real name and an alias, Ice Cube has both nailed. His actual name, O’Shea Jackson, is cool as fuck, while his rap name, Ice Cube, somehow works well and makes him sound extremely hard. It’s probably got to do with Cube being part of gangster rap pioneers N.W.A. and being one of the hardest rappers of the 90s. 

Turns out Cube got his stage name from his brother who threatened to turn Jackson into “ice cubes” after he kept hitting on girls coming to the house to visit his brother. 

15. Reese Witherspoon

Real name: Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon

An article by Country Living revealed that Reese Witherspoon’s full name is actually Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon. She decided to go with Reese Witherspoon as it is much easier to pronounce and more of a modern name when compared to Laura Jeanne. She first used Reese Witherspoon for her debut movie role at 14 in coming of age drama The Man in the Moon.

16. Brad Pitt

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Real name: William Bradley Pitt

To be fair, Brad Pitt could have been called Shit Pitt and he’d still be a success. Possessed with movie star good looks and fantastic acting ability, Pitt has it all. He didn’t really change much when it comes to his name, just replacing his first name William with his middle name Bradley and shortening it to Brad.

The minor adjustment sure has worked, with Pitt critically hailed as one of the greatest actors of the past three decades.

17. Nicki Minaj

Real name: Onika Tanya Maraj

Onika Tanya Maraj isn’t really an appropriate stage name, but the one Nicki Minaj now has wasn’t of her choosing. “Somebody changed my name,” Minaj told The Guardian.  “One of the first production deals I signed, the guy wanted my name to be Minaj and I fought him tooth and nail. But he convinced me. I’ve always hated it.”

Nicki Minaj isn’t the only name she is known by, with the Trinidad and Tobago-born rapper also taking on the alias’ Cookie, Rosa, Roman, Nicki Lewinski, Nicki the Ninja, and Nicki the Harajuku Barbie.  

18. Rihanna

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Real name: Robyn Rihanna Fenty

Rihanna wasn’t a big change for the singer born Robyn Rihanna Fenty. The Barbadian singer and businesswoman just dropped her first and last name and went with her middle, which has worked out well for her.

Although she has used Rihanna since starting her music career as a teenager, her friends and family still call her Robyn, something she revealed to Rolling Stone.  “I get kind of numb to hearing Rihanna, Rihanna, Rihanna,” she said in an interview with the magazine. “When I hear Robyn, I pay attention.”

19. Miley Cyrus

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Real name: Destiny Hope Cyrus

The “Malibu” and “Wrecking Ball” singer’s stage name evolved from her nickname. As a kid, Miley Cyrus was always smiling, so her family gave her the moniker “Smiley.” Over time this turned into Miley and stuck, with Cyrus eventually changing her legal name from Destiny to Miley.

20. Kit Harrington

Real name: Christopher Catesby Harington

Kit Harrington always believed his first name was Kit until his parents informed him it was actually Christopher at age 11. Speaking with Glamour, Harrington revealed how he and his brother had always been called their nicknames growing up, hence why he has chosen to go with the stage name Kit. 

“I think they could see that I wanted to be Kit, but Christopher was a bit of a tradition,” he explained. “My brother’s name is Jack, but his real name is John. Kit is traditionally an offshoot of Christopher, it’s just not used that often.”

21. Cardi B

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Real name: Belcalis Almanzar

Is it any real surprise Cari B’s rap name comes from the alcoholic drink Bacardi? She discussed it all in an interview with Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show.

Although born Belcalis Almanzar, Cardi soon got given the nickname Bacardi due to her sister being named Hennessy. Barcardi got shortened to Cardi B and the next thing you know the former exotic dancer is one of the biggest artists in the world. 

22. Emma Stone

Real name: Emily Jean Stone

Emma Stone had the same problem as Michael Keaton, there is already an Emily Stone on the SAG register. Not wanting to make a dramatic name change, Stone made the subtle change from Emily to Emma. Speaking with W Magazine, Stone recalled how she went by Riley for the first six months but kept forgetting that was her name, choosing to go with Emma instead. 

23. Portia de Rossi

Real name: Amanda Lee Rogers Aussie actress Portia de Rossi went for a rather dramatic name change which she explained in an interview with the Advocate. “When I was 15, I changed it legally. In retrospect, I think it was largely due to my struggle about being gay. Everything just didn’t fit, and I was trying to find things I could identify myself with, and it started with my name,” she said. “I picked Portia because I was a Shakespeare fan [Portia is the character in The Merchant of Venice who famously declaims, “The quality of mercy is not strain’d / It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven.”]. De Rossi because I was Australian and I thought that an exotic Italian name would somehow suit me more than Amanda Rogers. When you live in Australia, Europe is so far away and so fascinating, so stylish and cultured and sophisticated.” 24. Awkwafina DFree/Shutterstock Real name: Nora Lum What started as a joke became the stage name rapper, writer, and actress Awkwafina is now known by. She detailed how the name came about and why she is stuck with it during an in-depth chat with Galore in 2017.  “I just really thought it was funny when people try to subtilize products like Neutrogena. Because I just imagine someone sitting there, thinking about all these weird names, especially the water names. But anyways, I just came up with it when I was 16 and thought it was really funny. And then, I eventually adopted it.” “My rap name was just Aquafina, but then I think when we were putting out the video, the guy that made the video…he was like, ‘Well, we should change the spelling so you don’t get sued,’” she recalled. “So, he spelled it so extra. He spelled it in the most extra way ever. So, I was like, ‘I feel like people aren’t going to understand this,’ and he was like, ‘Yeah, but I feel like it would be unique, so then people [will] look it up.’ But then, no one knows how to spell it. So, you know, it came back to bite me in the ass.”

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Real name: Amanda Lee Rogers

Aussie actress Portia de Rossi went for a rather dramatic name change which she explained in an interview with the Advocate. “When I was 15, I changed it legally. In retrospect, I think it was largely due to my struggle about being gay. Everything just didn’t fit, and I was trying to find things I could identify myself with, and it started with my name,” she said.

“I picked Portia because I was a Shakespeare fan [Portia is the character in The Merchant of Venice who famously declaims, “The quality of mercy is not strain’d / It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven.”]. De Rossi because I was Australian and I thought that an exotic Italian name would somehow suit me more than Amanda Rogers. When you live in Australia, Europe is so far away and so fascinating, so stylish and cultured and sophisticated.”

24. Awkwafina

Real name: Nora Lum

What started as a joke became the stage name rapper, writer, and actress Awkwafina is now known by. She detailed how the name came about and why she is stuck with it during an in-depth chat with Galore in 2017. 

“I just really thought it was funny when people try to subtilize products like Neutrogena. Because I just imagine someone sitting there, thinking about all these weird names, especially the water names. But anyways, I just came up with it when I was 16 and thought it was really funny. And then, I eventually adopted it.”

“My rap name was just Aquafina, but then I think when we were putting out the video, the guy that made the video…he was like, ‘Well, we should change the spelling so you don’t get sued,’” she recalled. “So, he spelled it so extra. He spelled it in the most extra way ever. So, I was like, ‘I feel like people aren’t going to understand this,’ and he was like, ‘Yeah, but I feel like it would be unique, so then people [will] look it up.’ But then, no one knows how to spell it. So, you know, it came back to bite me in the ass.”

See more about - 16 Gorgeous Old Hollywood Actresses

See more about - 16 Gorgeous Old Hollywood Actresses