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31 Celebs Who Have Completely Changed Their Name

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In 2019 more than ever before, success is all about savvy personal branding. And for those lusting after a career in the public eye, sometimes the name your parents gave you just isn't quite on brand with superstardom.

That's why, a lot of the time, wannabe celebs will change their names to something with a little bit more zazz. And unless you're a turbo-stan who regularly monitors, fact-checks and updates one of these celebs' Wikipedia pages, chances are you probably don't know what their names were back when they were just average joe shmoes just like us.

So allow us to wrinkle your brains with this list of 31 celebs who have completely changed their names for fame.

1. Katy Perry

Or should we say Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson! Perry stole her mum's maiden name for her stage monicker so people wouldn't confuse her with actress Kate Hudson. Smrt.

 2. Meghan Markle  

Meghan is actually Markle's middle name. The Duchess Of Sussex's birth name is actually Rachel, just like her character on Suits. SHOOK!

3. Gigi Hadid

Jelena Noura Hadid changed her name to Gigi, which was a nickname her mum called her.

4. Bella Hadid

Like her sis, Bella changed her name too, shortening it down from Isabella Khair Hadid.

5. Bruno Mars 

FKA Peter Gene Hernandez, the pop superstar changed his name to Bruno Mars so he wouldn't be stereotyped as a Latin singer.

6. Olivia Wilde

AKA Olivia Jane Cockburn. The actress switched up her last name to the sexier 'Wilde' after the legendary playwright Oscar Wilde.

7. John Legend

John Roger Stephens changed his last name to "Legend", after the nickname his mates called him started to catch on outside their friendship circle.

8. Miley Cyrus

Miley was actually born Destiny Hope Cyrus (which tbh sounds more made-up than Miley!) but she changed it from her childhood nickname "Smiley", because she smiled a lot #nawwwww

9. Iggy Azalea

The Mullumbimby-born rapper was born Amethyst Amelia Kelly, but generated her stage name (whether she realises this or not) from the classic "stripper name" game that we all used to play at school, where you combine the name of your first pet with the name of the street you grew up on to arrive at your "stripper" alter ego. Yep - Iggy was the name of her dog, and Azalea is the street her family home sits on. Wild!

10. Lana Del Rey

On changing her name to the iconic Lana Del Rey, the woman formerly known as Elizabeth Woolridge Grant once explained: "I wanted a name I could shape the music towards. Lana Del Rey reminded us of the glamour of the seaside. It sounded gorgeous coming off the tip of the tongue."

11. Nicki Minaj

As the artist born Onika Tanya Maraj raps in her song 'Starships': "My name is Onika, you can call me Nicki". And that we did.

12. Emma Stone

Emma's real name is actually Emily Jean Stone! She was forced to switch it up to 'Emma' at age 16 because there was apparently already an Emily Stone going around on the acting circuit!

13. Blake Lively

The actress's legal name is actually Blake Brown. We guess her mother's maiden name"Lively" was much more... lively? Blake certainly thought so.

14. Drake

The rapper's real name is actually Aubrey Graham. Not hard to see why he decided to start going by his middle name instead!

15. Lucy Hale

The Pretty Little Liars star simplified her name from "Karen Lucille Hale" before she became famous.

16. Calvin Harris

The superstar DJ's real name is Adam Wiles

17. Rihanna

Robyn Rihanna Fenty decided just her middle name was more than enough to become a star... and dammit if she wasn't right.

18. Lea Michele

Lea Michele Sarfati dropped her last name because she used to get teased for it in school :(

19. Jennifer Aniston

Yep! For all you #TeamJen fans out there, the actress's original name was Jennifer Linn Anastassakis, which is Greek in origin. Her actor father actually changed it in the hopes of getting more work.

20. Brad Pitt

Like Jen, her ex Brad also changed his name pre-fame. The actor was actually born William Bradley Pitt.

21. Nina Dobrev

The Vampire Diaries star was born Nikolina Konstantinova Dobreva, which she likely feared would be a bit too much of a mouthful for Hollywood.

22. Jonah Hill

FKA Jonah Hill Feldstein, the actor dropped his last name but has never explained why.

23. Aaron Paul

The Breaking Bad star, originally known as Aaron Paul Sturtevant, axed his last name because casting directors just couldn't seem to pronounce it.

24. Tina Fey

AKA Elizabeth Stamatina Fey. Yep, the professional funnywoman has the same name as her 30 Rock character, Liz Lemon IRL.

25. Natalie Portman

AKA Natalie Hershlag. The A-list actress used her grandmother's maiden name to separate her public and private life after she started acting as a teen.

26. Nic Cage

AKA Nicolas Kim Coppola, the A-lister changed his name to distance himself from his iconic uncle, Godfather director Francis Ford Coppola.

27. Alicia Keys

She was actually born Alicia Augello Cook. C'mon, a piano player with the real last name "Keys"? 

28. Jamie Foxx

When he was coming up in the comedy circuit, Eric Marlon Bishop noticed that female comics were often called first to perform during open mic nights, so he chose a more gender neutral name!

29. Elton John

The British music icon's mum actually dubbed him Reginald Kenneth Dwight, which is surely the most British name of all time.

30. Joaquin Phoenix

Joaquin Rafael Bottom's parents changed the whole family's last name to Phoenix to represent a new beginning.

31. Nicole Richie

Born Nicole Camille Escovedo, the reality TV star changed her surname at the age of nine when she was formally adopted by pop icon Lionel Richie.

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