Stage Name

Actor

100

Carlos Irwin Estévez

Charlie Sheen

Charlie Sheen is a second-generation name-changer. His father, actor Martin Sheen, was born as Ramón Antonio Gerardo Estévez and Charlie followed suit. Interestingly, Sheen’s brother Emilio Estévez kept his birth name and still found success as an actor.

200

Eric Marlon Bishop

Jamie Foxx

In 2017, the internet exploded when it found out that actor/comedian/singer Jamie Foxx was not born as Jamie Foxx. But in fact, he had shared that information in 2014 when he went on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert”—specifically, that he changed his name from Eric Bishop when he started performing as a comedian in the late ’80s because women were getting more stage time at open mic nights. When he used a unisex name like Jamie Foxx, he found himself getting called up more often, and the name stuck.

300

Mark Sinclair

Vin Diesel

Born as Mark Sinclair, the artist currently known as Vin Diesel changed his name as a teenager when he started working as a bouncer in New York nightclubs. Vin’s twin, Paul Vincent, uses their mother’s maiden name as his surname, which may also explain the “Vin” first name for Diesel.

400

Krishna Pandit Bhanji

Ben Kingsley

Born in Yorkshire to Russian-Jewish and Indian parents, Krishna Pandit Bhanji changed his name when he became a working actor with the Royal Shakespeare Company. Kingsley’s father first suggested it when he thought his son would need a more British name to succeed in the theatre. The “Kingsley” surname was inspired by his grandfather’s nickname as a spice trader: King Clove.

500

Maurice Joseph Micklewhite

Michael Caine

Legendary British actor Michael Caine first adopted his stage name in 1954 after initially trying out the name Michael Scott, which was taken—although there’s no connection to Steve Carrell’s “The Office” character. He saw a movie poster for a Humphrey Bogart film called “The Caine Mutiny,” and since Bogart was his favorite actor, he chose Caine as his new assumed surname—and he finally made the change legal in 2016.

Actress

100

Norma Jeane Mortenson

Marilyn Monroe

Mid-century bombshell Marilyn Monroe was born as Norma Jeane Mortenson, but she was changing names most of her life. Baptized as Norma Jeane Baker, she went on to be Norma Jeane Dougherty from her first marriage and then started using the name Marilyn Monroe in 1946 when her acting career began. She legally changed her name in 1956.

200

Natalie Hershlag

Natalie Portman

Born to an Israeli father and an American mother, Natalie Portman opted to take her paternal grandmother’s maiden name professionally on the advice of her first agent Aleen Keshishian. The change went into effect by the time Portman’s first movie, “Léon: The Professional,” came out in 1994.

300

Margaret Hyra - Actress

Meg Ryan

Meg Ryan has been playing the “girl next door” for most of her career, but when she was truly the girl next door, her name was Margaret Hyra. She used her maternal grandmother’s maiden name to change her stage surname to Ryan and shortened Margaret to Meg.

400

Caryn Johnson

Whoopi Goldberg

It’s not much of a secret that Whoopi Goldberg was born as neither a Whoopi nor a Goldberg. The Whoopi came from “whoopee cushion,” because the young Caryn Johnson used to put her flatulence on full display, causing people to say she sounded like a whoopee cushion. The origins of Goldberg are less clear.

500

Amanda Lee Rogers

Portia de Rossi

Actress Portia de Rossi was born in Australia as Amanda Lee Rogers. In an attempt to stand out at auditions, she took the first name of her favorite Shakespeare character and added “de Rossi” because she believed it sounded exotic. Today, she has a new official name: After marrying Ellen DeGeneres and taking her wife’s last name, de Rossi is now legally known as Portia Lee James DeGeneres.

Music Male

100

O’Shea Jackson

Ice Cube

As one of the pioneers of gangsta rap, O’Shea Jackson took a nickname just like everyone else in N.W.A., his hip-hop group that also launched the careers of Eazy-E and Dr. Dre. The name came from his older brother, who threatened to turn O’Shea into an ice cube for hitting on girls that were coming to the house to visit him.

200

Shawn Carter

Jay-Z

Jay-Z is neither a Jay nor a Z. He was born Shawn Carter in New York, but took on the name Jay-Z as a tribute to his mentor Jaz-O and the Z subway line to Brooklyn.

300

Stevland Hardaway Judkins

Stevie Wonder

When the young R&B prodigy was just starting out at age 11, Motown records impresario Berry Gordy christened him as Little Stevie Wonder. He’s since dropped the “Little,” but Stevie Wonder has never returned to being Stevland Judkins.

400

Chaim Witz

Gene Simmons

Israeli-American rocker Gene Simmons of Kiss actually went through two name changes on his way to fame. When he was born in Haifa, he was named Chaim Witz; after emigrating to the U.S., he went by Gene Klein because it was easier to pronounce. After moving into the rock scene, he changed his moniker again to become Gene Simmons.

500

Richard Starkey

Ringo Starr

The only member of the Beatles to change his name was Ringo Starr, who changed it while playing in his first professional band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. Storm suggested the name based on Ringo’s penchant for wearing rings, but his wife still calls him Ritchie.

Music Female

100

Audrey Faith Perry

Faith Hill

The artist born Audrey Perry adopted her middle name for the stage, appropriate for a country music star who occasionally sings about her own faith. Hill’s last name came from her first marriage, and the singer held onto even it after the marriage ended. Now she’s married to Tim McGraw, who was born as Samuel Smith.

200

Katheryn Hudson

Katy Perry

What’s a girl to do when another star has your name? Change it. That was the case with Katy Perry who didn’t want to be associated with actress Kate Hudson, who had already made a name for herself when Katy first started her pop career. Instead of Hudson, Perry chose her mother’s maiden name—and the rest is history.

300

Alicia Augello Cook

Alicia Keys

When Alicia Keys was first looking for a stage name, she almost settled on “Alicia Wild,” but her mother told her it sounded like the name of a stripper. Instead, she chose Keys because, she says: “It’s like the piano keys. And it can open so many doors.”

400

Eilleen Regina Edwards

Shania Twain

Born as Eilleen Edwards, the future country star took the name Twain early in life, as it was the last name of her stepfather after her mother remarried post-divorce. The Shania part came when the Canadian singer moved to Nashville and industry executives suggested Shania would grab more fans than Eilleen would.

500

Dana Elaine Owens

Queen Latifah

Queen Latifah was only 8 years old when she got rid of the name Dana Owens. Her mother was completely supportive of her desire to be called Latifah because it was trendy at the time for people in their neighborhood to use names with Arabic roots. Latifah added “Queen,” because she liked how strong it sounded.

Surprise

100

Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta - Music Female

Lady Gaga

She was born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, but adopted the name Lady Gaga as a play on the Queen song “Radio Ga-Ga.” In a 2013 Elle interview, 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!”

200

Peter Gene Hernandez - Music Male

Bruno Mars

Growing up in Hawaii, little Peter Hernandez acquired the nickname Bruno from his father, who was inspired by popular wrestler Bruno Sammartino. He claims the Mars part is because girls used to say he was “out of this world,” but the pop star is also on record saying he changed his name from Hernandez because he didn’t want to be pigeonholed as a Latin artist—although he’s very clear that he didn’t change it to hide his cultural roots.

300

Ilyena Lydia Mironoff - Actress Female

Helen Mirren

Born to a family descended from Russian nobility, but cast out to England during the Russian Revolution, Helen Mirren didn’t actually change her name to fit in on the stage. Her father did it for her, anglicizing the names of his entire family in order to mesh better in English society—and attempting to avoid anti-Semitism since he felt the name could be construed as Jewish.

400

Reginald Kenneth Dwight - Music Male

Elton John

The singer of “Rocket Man” and “Benny and The Jets” started his life as Reginald Kenneth Dwight. In 1967, he changed his name to Elton John—a combination of the names of the saxophone player and lead singer of his band at the time, Bluesology.

500

Onika Tanya Maraj - Music Female

Nicki Minaj

Oddly enough, Onika Maraj doesn’t love being called Nicki Minaj. The name was forced onto her by an early producer and it stuck. Minaj is no stranger to alternate identities: She often played different characters at home—using names like “Cookie”—to escape domestic drama.