Real Celeb Names You Probably Don't Know
Olivia Wilde
Real name: Olivia Cockburn
Wilde hails from a family of writers and journalists, so it's no wonder she modeled her last name on novelist Oscar Wilde. She told The Observer, "At the time, I was doing The Importance of Being Earnest—I was playing Gwendolen, 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."
Reese Witherspoon
Real name: Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon
The actress chose to go by Reese for her first film appearance in The Man in the Moon when she was 14 years old for a sweet reason: It's her mother's maiden name.
Bruno Mars
Real name: Peter Gene Hernandez
The "That's What I Like" singer was nicknamed Bruno for the cutest reason: he was a chubby baby. He explained to Rap Up, "Bruno is after Bruno Sammartino, who was this big, fat wrestler. I was this chunky little baby, so my dad used to call me that as a nickname. Mars came up because a lot of girls say I'm out of this world!"
Gigi Hadid
Real name: Jelena Hadid
"In first or second grade, there was a girl named Helena and it got confusing with the teacher who had to call out our names," the model told Vogue. "And so the teacher asked my mom, 'If I needed to call Jelena a nickname, what would it be?' And my mom was like, 'I call her Gigi sometimes,' and the name stuck."
Katy Perry
Real name: Katheryn Hudson
The "I Kissed a Girl" singer adopted her mother's last name to avoid being confused with actress Kate Hudson.
Natalie Portman
Real name: Neta-Lee Hershlag
Portman is the actress's grandmother's maiden name.
Demi Moore
Real name: Demetria Gene Guynes
According to a 2007 profile on the star by The Guardian, her mother chose the name Demetria after seeing it in a shampoo ad. Her last name, Guynes, is after the man believed to be her father, Danny Guynes. Later in life, she discovered her real dad was actually a man named Charles Harman. As for Moore? She married a singer named Freddy Moore in 1980 and kept his name after the divorce.
Joaquin Phoenix
Real name: Joaquín Rafael Bottom
Phoenix's parents ditched the last name Bottom in 1979 and reinvented themselves as the Phoenix family.
Kit Harington
Real name: Christopher Catesby Harington
Harington didn't know his real name was Christopher until he was 11 years old. "I think they could see that I wanted to be Kit, but Christopher was a bit of a tradition," he explained to Glamour. "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. My middle name is Catesby."
Julianne Moore
Real name: Julie Anne Smith
Moore's given name was too popular in actors' unions, so she created a mash-up of her other family members's names. In an interview with The New York Times, she said, "My father's middle name is Moore; my mother's name is Anne. So I just slammed the Anne onto the Julie. That way I could use both of their names and not hurt anyone's feelings. But it's horrible to change your name. I'd been Julie Smith my whole life, and I didn't want to change it."
Meghan Markle
Real name: Rachel Meghan Markle
Old yearbook photos show her as Meghan, proving she has been going by her middle name for quite some time now.
Prince Harry
Real name: Henry Charles Albert David
Like his wife, the Duke of Sussex also goes by another name. "My name is Henry as well," the royal told a young WellChild Award winner in 2022. "But everyone calls me Harry. I have no idea why."
Emma Stone
Real name: Emily Jean Stone
"My real name is Emily. But it was taken at SAG," the actress told W Magazine. "I was 16.... So to ask a 16-year-old to pick a new name is really an interesting process, because I was like, 'I'm going to be Riley.' And so my name was Riley Stone for about six months." But the new name didn't go so well—Stone didn't respond to it when she was on set. "So then I changed it to Emma, because you know, it's closer to Emily, but most people call me 'M,' that know me well."
Jamie Foxx
Real name: Eric Marlon Bishop
Foxx explained the sneaky reason for his name change on Late Show with David Letterman. When he was getting started on the stand-up circuit, he noticed that female comedians were so rare that they would always score a slot. "So I went to the list and wrote down unisex names. Stacy Green, Tracy Brown…Jamie Foxx! And I'm the first guy called. He goes, 'Jamie Foxx, is she here?' I said, 'No, brother, that's me.' And then I go onstage and I get a standing ovation."
Calvin Harris
Real name: Adam Richard Wiles
"My first single was more of a soul track, and I thought Calvin Harris sounded a bit more racially ambiguous," he said in a 2009 interview with ShortList, according to Digital Spy.
Brad Pitt
Real name: William Bradley Pitt
The actor might go by his middle name in Hollywood, but it seems he flirts by using his real name. "'Hi, I’m William,'" he reportedly told a woman during a 2018 coffee run, according to Page Six. "She replied, 'Oh, you look like a Bradley.' And he responded, 'Well, that's my middle name,' and smiled and winked at her."
Lorde
Real name: Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor
The New Zealand songstress was always drawn to the name "Lord" but thought the spelling was too masculine. "Ever since I was a little kid, I have been really into royals and aristocracy, so to make 'Lord' more feminine, I just put an e on the end! Some people think it's religious, but it's not," she told Interview.
Rihanna
Real name: Robyn Rihanna Fenty
She still goes by Robyn with friends and family. "When I hear 'Robyn,' I pay attention," she told Rolling Stone in 2011, according to Elite Daily.
Lucy Hale
Real name: Karen Lucille Hale
"Karen is my alter ego," the actress joked to Jimmy Fallon in 2016.
Lady Gaga
Real name: Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta
The story behind Lady Gaga's stage name began with an autocorrected text message. In 2006, she met music producer Rob Fusari, who compared her vocals to Queen's Freddie Mercury. He would sing "Radio Ga Ga" whenever she entered the studio, and one day they were texting and his phone autocorrected it to Lady Gaga. She reportedly texted back, "That's it."
Miley Cyrus
Real name: Destiny Hope Cyrus
When Cyrus was a baby, her family called her "Smiley" because she always had a grin on her face. She legally changed her name to Miley Ray Cyrus in 2009.
Nicki Minaj
Real name: Onika Tanya Maraj
Minaj didn't actually like the name change at all. "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," she told The Guardian.
Frank Ocean
Real name: Christopher Edwin Breaux
In 2014, Ocean legally changed his name to Christopher Francis Ocean. He said in a 2011 Complex interview, "It just felt cool. None of us are our names. If you don't like your name, then change your name."
John Legend
Real name: John Roger Stephens
A spoken word artist named J. Ivy gave the singer his name. "We were all in the studio together. He just started calling me 'The Legend' because he thought I sounded like one of our old-school soul legends," he told Jimmy Fallon.
Ashton Kutcher
Real name: Christopher Ashton Kutcher
"In Hollywood, there's a lot of insider secrets to keeping your career going and I feel like a fraud, my name in fact is not even Ashton," he revealed at the 2013 Kids' Choice Awards. "Ashton is my middle name. My first name's Chris and it always has been. It got changed when I was about 19 and became an actor."
Chace Crawford
Real name: Christopher Chace Crawford
The Gossip Girl star is yet another actor who goes by his middle name.
Winona Ryder
Real name: Winona Laura Horowitz
When asked how she'd like to be credited in her first role, she took inspiration from her father's favorite musician, Mitch Ryder.
Mila Kunis
Real name: Milena Markovna Kunis
The actress shortened her name when she first began acting.
Mindy Kaling
Real name: Vera Mindy Chokalingam
"I shortened my name because emcees for these comedy shows would have trouble pronouncing it, and then, they'd make a joke about my last name," she told NHPR in 2020.
Alicia Keys
Real name: Alicia Augello Cook
"It's like the piano keys. And it can open so many doors," she told Newsweek in 2015, according to Fox News.
Tina Fey
Real name: Elizabeth Stamatina Fey
Fey and her 30 Rock alter ego are both named Liz!
Drake
Real name: Aubrey Drake Graham
The rapper's father chose his middle name, which he used to launch his music career. "His reasoning behind it, I am not sure. My dad is a character so it could be anything. I just really loved the name and I embraced it my whole life," he told Hip Hop Canada in 2006.
Mandy Moore
Real name: Amanda Leigh Moore
In 2009, the star released an album titled Amanda Leigh, after her real name. "My friend Mike Viola [of the Candy Butchers], who I wrote the whole record with, called me Amanda Leigh when we were in the studio all the time. Like 'Amanda Leigh, come on, we've got to get to work!' And I don't know, it just sort of became synonymous with making the record to me," she told CNN.
Nina Dobrev
Real name: Nikolina Konstantinova Dobreva
The actress, who was born in Bulgaria, shortened her name at the very start of her career.
Topher Grace
Real name: Christopher John Grace
"I'd say, 'Hi, my name's Christopher,' and they'd say, 'Nice to meet you, Chris,' he explained on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. "And I'd say ...'Topher'."
Ludacris
Real name: Christopher Brian Bridges
The actor-slash-rapper's stage name is a creative play on the word ludicrous!
Lana Del Rey
Real name: Elizabeth Grant
The singer first tried to make it as Lizzie Grant, but when her career didn't take off, she renamed herself and tried again. The second time around, it worked.
Dove Cameron
Real name: Chloe Celeste Hoffman
The singer's late father served as the inspiration behind her name. "He called me Dove more than he ever called me Chloe," she told StyleWatch, according to PEOPLE. "He passed away when I was 15, and I decided to legally change it. So it's on my passport—everything legal is Dove."
Jason Sudeikis
Real name: Daniel Jason Sudeikis
The comedian was named after his father, which ended up being more confusing than his parents had anticipated. "My mom decided to call me Jason so that we knew which one she was yelling at," he joked on TODAY.
Lea Michele
Real name: Lea Michele Sarfati
"Sarfati. That's my real last name. I don't use it a lot because I got Lea So-fatty, Lea So-farty at school. When I was little and I went on my first audition, they were like, 'And may we have your name?' And I was like, 'Lea Michele.' And I've been Lea Michele ever since,"" she told Jay Leno in 2011.
Whoopi Goldberg
Real name: Caryn Elaine Johnson
"When you're performing on stage, you never really have time to go into the bathroom and close the door," she explained to The New York Times in 2006. "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."
Cardi B
Real name: Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar
While Cardi B is clearly the rapper's stage name, it was actually inspired by her nickname in real life. "My name is Belcalis," she shared on Twitter in 2016. "Growing up people called me Bacardi cause my sister name is Hennessy...FYI."
Meg Ryan
Real name: Margaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra
The actress chose to honor her grandmother by using her maiden name.
Alexis Bledel
Real name: Kimberly Alexis Bledel
Though she hasn't shared the reasoning behind the change, the actress started going by her middle name early on in her career.
Portia de Rossi
Real name: Amanda Lee Rogers
The actress chose her name after feeling inspired by Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice. After marrying Ellen DeGeneres in 2008, she changed her last name to DeGeneres as well.
Lizzo
Real name: Melissa Jefferson
Growing up with the nickname Lissa, she changed it to Lizzo after hearing Jay-Z's "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)."
Elton John
Real name: Reginald Dwight
"I used to be in a band, and I wanted to become a singer in my own right, and I wanted to choose a name. And the saxophone player in the band was called Elton, so I chose that name," the star told Rowan Atkinson in 1991. A 2005 obituary by The Guardian later revealed he chose John as his last name to honor singer Long John Baldry.
Elle King
Real name: Tanner Elle Schneider
To create a career separate from her famous father, Rob Schneider, the singer chose to go by her middle name. "I wanted to be myself," she told ABC News.
Faith Hill
Real name: Audrey Faith Perry
After the singer divorced from her first husband Daniel Hill in 1994, she held onto his last name. It was a time when her career was really starting to take off, and she felt as though fans already knew her as Faith Hill.
Carmen Electra
Real name: Tara Leigh Patrick
After signing with Prince's label Paisley Park back in the early '90s, the "Purple Rain" legend told her to change her name. She went with his suggestion and has stuck with it ever since.
From Meghan Markle and Gigi Hadid to Brad Pitt and Bruno Mars, learn the real names of your favorite celebrities.