This probably won't surprise you, but some celebrities with cool names were actually born with totally different names. (Shocking, we know!) But the way that actors and singers find their "new" names that match their personas is often an interesting one. It's also totally fascinating to imagine an alternative world where, say, Michael Caine was known by his birth name, Maurice Joseph Micklewhite(!). If you're curious and want to go down the rabbit hole, keep scrolling to learn 32 surprising real names of famous celebrities.
Lana Del Rey
"Lizzy Grant" (Elizabeth Woolridge Grant) started making music while she was still in college, but she rebranded with a debut album whose name drew from Lana Turner and the Ford Del Rey sedan. And just like that, Lana Del Rey was "born" and began making waves, musically.
Eminem
A lot of people already know Eminem's real name (Marshall Mathers), since he's literally released albums with his original name in the title. Contrary to what some people think, his name is not connotative of the M&Ms candy but is instead his initials spelled out phonetically.
Vin Diesel
I guess I shouldn't have been surprised that Vin Diesel wasn't Vin Diesel's real name. But I am surprised that his real name is Mark Vincent and that he got the name because he was working as a bouncer as a teen and the nickname is a shortened version of his last name plus "diesel" for his general enthusiasm.
Whoopi Goldberg
Caryn Johnson became Whoopi Goldberg essentially out of thin air—pun intended, since she was apparently a little gassy early in her standup career and almost chose the stage name Whoopi Cushion. Clearer heads prevailed, and her mom suggested her last name be a family name.
Bea Arthur
Did you know that Bernice Frankel worked in the Marine Corps Women's Reserve during World War II and met her husband, fellow Marine Robert Alan Aurthur there? The marriage didn't last longer than a few years, but the last name did, becoming an integral part of her stage name.
Doja Cat
Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini really loves cats and marijuana! In an email to Dazed magazine in 2018, she noted, "I was heavily addicted to weed and weed culture, so when I began rapping I thought of the word ‘doja’ and how it sounds like a girl’s name."
Ricky Martin
Enrique Morales began touring with Puerto Rican boy band Menudo as a literal teen. Accounts differ, but according to Interview magazine, the band changed his name. According to Entertainment Weekly reporting on a 1995 article, he changed it after his father wasn't supportive of his career.
Katy Perry
Katy Hudson (birth name Katheryn Hudson) was performing in Nashville, TN, as a gospel musician, before rebranding into the Katy Perry we know today. Fun fact—to avoid confusion with Kate Hudson, Katy took her mom's name and went forth as the pop star we know.
Natalie Portman
Jerusalem-born Neta-Lee Hershlag went with the Americanized version of her first name as a kid (Natalie). She was a star from a very young age and decided to protect her privacy by adopting her grandmother's maiden name (Portman) as her stage name.
Chappell Roan
Much as I'd like to believe Chappell Roan arrived fully formed to the music scene as herself, Kayleigh Rose Amstutz explained her stage name's origins in 2022. “My grandfather’s name was Dennis K. Chappell, so I took Chappell in his honor...Before he passed away in 2016 due to brain cancer, I told him that I was going to be Chappell for him. Roan came from his favorite song, which was called 'The Strawberry Roan,' an old Western song [by Marty Robbins] about a pinkish-red horse."
Bruno Mars
Peter Hernandez got the nickname "Bruno" at a young age due to his apparent resemblance to wrestler Bruno Sammartino. He took on the last name when he started officially in show business and was derived from a response he'd give when people told him he was "out of this world."
Michael Keaton
Fun, funny fact: Michael Keaton was born Michael Douglas. You can probably guess, but yes, he had to change his name because there was already another famous actor named Michael Douglas. His last name comes from Buster Keaton, whom Michael admired.
Lady Gaga
Accounts actually differ about who exactly gave Lady Gaga her now-iconic moniker (herself or producer at the time), but it comes from the Queen song "Radio Ga Ga." It's true that Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta doesn't have quite the same catchiness to it.
Snoop Dogg
Calvin Broadus Jr. was named after his stepfather Calvin Broadus Sr. We all perhaps remember the days when he was going as the longer version of his stage name (Snoop Doggy Dogg) as well as brief forays into new names (Snoop Lion and Snoopzilla, to name a couple).
Megan Thee Stallion
Megan Jovon Ruth Pete has an amazing reason for including stallion as her stage name, and it comes from a strong dose of self-awareness. She's quite tall (5'10") and in response to people (mainly guys) calling her a "stallion," she took the name and ran with its positive attributes.
Demi Moore
Demi Guynes (the last name belonging to her stepfather) married musician Freddy Moore before she was even 20. The marriage was short-lived but the stage name (Demi Moore) was the name she used before the two were even married and long after as her career took off.
Miley Cyrus
Destiny Hope Cyrus has gone through a couple name changes in her career. Her childhood nickname "Smiley" became the "Miley" we know. She's now Miley Ray Cyrus, as homage to her father, Billy Ray Cyrus, and it's the name she legally took at age 15 in 2008.
Mindy Kaling
Vera Mindy Chokalingam never really went by her first name; her parents were inspired to give her the Americanized middle name after the hit show Mork & Mindy when the two decided to move to the U.S., and she shortened her name to Mindy Kaling when she became a professional.
John Legend
I suppose I should have guessed that John Legend's last name wasn't something he was born with, and yet I definitely didn't. John Roger Stephens decided to go big with a legendary (pun intended) last name in the hopes that he would live up to the name.
Lorde
Certainly it makes sense that Lorde wasn't born mononymous, but she actually has a lot of names: Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O’Connor! Of Lorde, she explained, "It was a good spontaneous choice, I think. I'm quite proud of my 16-year-old self for not messing that one up because if I'd given myself a cool, weird, hip name that I hated now that would be super annoying."
Jamie Foxx
Eric Bishop is a very distinguished name, but certainly not what I expect from the extremely charismatic Foxx. He actually started out as a comedian and chose a gender-neutral first name because female comics were often called to the stage sooner. The last name is after comedian Redd Foxx.
Shania Twain
Eileen Edwards took the last name of her new stepfather, Jerry Twain, an Ojibwe Native American, when she was young and he married her mother (she had a rough childhood and cites Jerry as her father). She chose the name Shania for her stage name and notes that there's no particular meaning to it.
Ben Kingsley
Ben Kingsley is an extremely British name, and that's by design: Krishna Bhanji sought to Anglicize his name. Benji was a nickname of his father's, and King Cloves was a name given to his spice trader grandfather, so the name does have personal meaning.
Lizzo
Melissa Viviane Jefferson's nickname used to be Lissa—then, when she heard "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" by Jay-Z, she changed it to the name we all know. If you're unfamiliar, she studied flute and started rapping at a young age; she also formed a musical group called Cornrow Clique (iconic).
Meg Ryan
Margaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra (wow) was registering for the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) after college when she decided her now-famous screen name—and after already having had acting experience in commercials. Ryan derives from her grandmother's maiden name.
Lil Nas X
A number of stage names originate from social media, and such is the case with Lil Nas X. Born Montero Hill (and making reference back to his original name later in his career), "Lil Nas" originated as a parody of other "Lil" rappers. The "X" was added when the name stuck and he became a more established artist.
Elton John
Reginald Dwight certainly doesn't have the same ring as Elton John (a stage name adopted as a mashup of fellow band member Elton Dean and blues singer Long John Baldry), and yet, that is how the singer started life. He changed it once he started working as a major lyricist.
Helen Mirren
Ilyena Mironov Anglicized both her first and last names (her original name derives from her Russian ancestry). Her father changed their last name, and she changed her first name. Much like Ben Kingsley's Anglicized name, Helen Mirren is...quite British!
Cardi B
Wait for it: Cardi B's given name is the extremely cool Belcalis Almanzar. She explained that her sister was nicknamed Hennessy and she was nicknamed Bacardi—but all her attempts to have a social media account with that name were deleted (no surprise) so it became Cardi B.
Emma Stone
It caused quite a stir when, in 2024, Emma Stone revealed that Emily Stone, her real name, was already claimed by another SAG actress—and thus she needed to rebrand, as it were, early in her career. "Then I freaked out a couple of years ago. For some reason, I was like, 'I can't do it anymore. Just call me Emily.'"
Rihanna
Rihanna's real last name (Fenty) is something she's used professionally—specifically her beauty and lingerie lines, among others—but her real first name (Robyn) was already being used mononymously by the Swedish singer. Rihanna is actually her middle name!
Michael Caine
Maurice Joseph Micklewhite is both 1) extremely British and 2) quite posh-sounding. I kind of love it? But I understand that Michael Caine is far easier to say. Caine was actually named after his dad; when he started acting in London, his first stage name (Michael Scott) was taken by another actor, so he pulled a new last name from The Caine Mutiny.
