Top 10 Celebrities You Thought Were Using Their Real Name
#10: Bruno Mars
Let’s all put our pinky rings up to the moon for Peter Gene Hernandez. Which is how Bruno Mars was known for the first 17 years of his life. “Bruno” was a nickname his father gave him because he was a chubby little baby who looked like the famous wrestler Bruno Sammartino. After graduating high school, a 17-year-old Bruno moved to L.A. to chase his music dreams. Bruno wanted to make funk, rock, and R&B music, but with the last name Hernandez, he felt he was going to get pigeonholed into the assumption that he was a Latin music man. So, he chose the name “Mars,” joking that the ladies were going to call him, “out of this world.”
#9: Miley Cyrus
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The “Wrecking Ball” singer was born Destiny Hope Cyrus. We don’t know why she felt she needed a stage name, but when she started her run on Hannah Montana she took the name Miley. Which is a shortened version of her childhood nickname, “Smiley.” And a couple of years later, she officially changed her name to Miley Ray Cyrus. The “Ray” isn’t for her “Achy Breaky Heart'' dad, but in honor of her grandfather and Democratic politician Ronald Ray Cyrus. And while she will still be known as Miley Cyrus, she has officially changed her name again. This time taking her husband's name, and is now legally, Miley Ray Hemsworth.
#8: Calvin Harris
When Harris released new tracks under the alias Love Regenerator, you might have thought that it was the first time he had changed his name. But in fact, Love Regenerator is the second stage name for the man born, Adam Richard Wiles. When he was just a young kid in Scotland. Before he was the most famous DJ in the world. Adam took on the stage name Calvin Harris. He chose the name because he thought it sounded “racially ambiguous” and people might not know if he was Black or white. The Love Regenerator name came about because he started feeling a little negativity around his longtime stage name. We will have to wait and see how long this new one lasts.
#7: Gigi Hadid
Many people have nicknames when they’re kids, but most of us probably wouldn’t want that nickname to be what people called us for the rest of our lives. Well, most of us aren’t Gigi Hadid. Hadid’s real name is Jelena Noura Hadid. A beautiful name for sure. But when Gigi was in grade school, there was another girl named Helena and it became confusing when their names were called out in class. So, the teacher asked Hadid’s mom if there was a nickname that she could use for little Jelena. Well, when Hadid’s mother was a kid, her mother would call her “Gigi” and it was a nickname she passed down to her daughter as well. And it stuck.
#6: Jamie Foxx
He is a man of many talents, and as it turns out, many names as well. He has found success in comedy, drama, and even in the music industry. And he’s done it all under the name Jamie Foxx. Although he was born Eric Marlon Bishop. Before, “In Living Color,” before “Ray,” before “Gold Digger,” Jamie did stand-up comedy. He got his start as Eric Bishop at an open mic night on a dare from a girlfriend. However, he soon noticed that female comedians were usually called on first to perform. So, he made the decision to change his name to the more ambiguous Jamie. And he chose the last name Foxx to honor comedian Redd Foxx.
#5: Nicki Minaj
This one might not be that big a surprise given that many rappers adopt stage names. However, while some are obvious like Jay-Z or Eminem, others are more subtle, and could very well be thought to be the artist’s given name. As is the case with the “Queen of Rap.” Minaj was born Onika Tanya Maraj. When she was first getting started in the music biz, she adopted the stage name Nicki Maraj. But in 2007, she signed a 180-day contract with Dirty Money Entertainment, and the label’s CEO, Fendi changed it to Minaj. As she has said, “Fendi flipped it when he met me because I had such a nasty flow!”
#4: Natalie Portman
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You know that Natalie can rap and act, but what you may not know is that while she was filming the “Star Wars” prequels, she was also graduating from Harvard with a bachelor's degree in psychology. Also, her name at birth was Neta-Lee Hershlag. Portman got her start in the business at a very young age. She was 12 years old when she was cast in the role of Mathilda in the 1994 film, “Léon: The Professional.” It was then, in order to protect her privacy, that Natalie chose Portman as her stage name - which was her grandmother’s maiden name on her father’s side.
#3: Kit Harington
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He was born Christopher Catesby Harington. But if you had asked him his name when he was 10 years old, he would have told you it was Kit Harington. Harington was named after English playwright and poet, Christopher Marlowe, who was maybe better known as Kit Marlowe. So, growing up, the future Jon Snow was also called Kit. So much so, that he didn’t actually know his full name until he was 11. But as it turns out, he prefers the name Kit. So, he kept it up for his career in Hollywood.
#2: Whoopi Goldberg
While you probably assumed that her real name wasn’t Whoopi, you probably never imagined that it actually came from “whoopee cushion.” But it did. According to Whoopi, when you perform comedy on stage and you get gassy, you don’t have time to run to the bathroom. So she would just have to let ‘em rip. People told her that she was like a whoopee cushion. And the name stuck. Her given name is Caryn Elaine Johnson. So, where did Goldberg come from? Well, again according to Whoopi, she had always felt that being Jewish, and the name Goldberg, were part of her family heritage. However, results from DNA tests for a 2006 PBS special showed that Goldberg has no German or Jewish ancestry. Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions. Cary Grant When Archie Leach Got to Hollywood, Execs Felt He Needed a Stronger Leading Man Name Charlie Sheen Carlos Estévez Changed His Name When He Started Acting, His Brother Emilio Estévez Didn’t Camila Cabello Born Karla Camila Cabello Estrabao, She Didn’t Have to Look Far for Her Stage Name Lana Del Rey Lana Has Had Many Stage Names, but Her Birth Name Was Elizabeth Woolridge Grant Katy Perry There Was Already a Famous Kate Hudson, So Katheryn Hudson Took the Name Katy Perry
#1: Vin Diesel
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Could there be a better stage name for an actor who has found worldwide stardom in a series of films set around fast cars? Well, Diesel obviously couldn’t have predicted the “Fast and the Furious” films back in the 1980s when he decided to change his name. At the time he was a buff, 17-year-old Mark Sinclair who was starting to work as a bouncer at New York clubs to earn some money. While there’s nothing wrong with the name Mark Sinclair, we will admit that a bouncer named Vin Diesel does sound a lot more badass. When Vin Diesel tells you you aren’t on the list, you don’t argue with him.
