From Gigi Hadid to Frank Ocean, These 100 Celebrities Actually Have Different Real Names

Plus, why these stars chose a different name.

Just like the way we may talk about our jobs or the people in our respective lives, celebrities tend to be household names for anyone that owns a phone or watches TV frequently. Though a screen separates our personal lives from those of celebrities, we may see their faces and hear about them more than our own distant relatives. That's why it's always intriguing to find out what a celebrity's real name actually is.

It's obvious to us that many famous stars act under a stage name, such as Cher or Lady Gaga. However, there are tons of celebrities that make less obvious altercations to their name. Just like authors going by pen names, celebrities pursuing their careers under a stage name is no new stint. But, what are their reasons for taking a stage name, and which celebrities are using one?

This list of 100 celebrity real names may surprise you.

100 Celebrities' Real Names

1. Reese Witherspoon (Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon)

She uses her double surname as her stage name. Reese and Witherspoon are a combination of her dad's last name and her mom's maiden name.

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2. The Weeknd (Abel Makkonen Tesfaye)

The 'Blinded By the Lights' star chose his name as a tribute to when he dropped out of school, took his mattress, left one weekend, and never came home.

3. Lana Del Rey (Elizabeth Woolridge Grant)

Before settling Lana Del Rey, the singer used many different stage names in the past. The name was inspired by actress Lana Turner and the Ford Del Rey sedan.

4. Meghan Markle (Rachel Meghan Markle)

It's no surprise that many people go by their middle name and their first name feels more like a formality. This is the case with Meghan Markle, and she's been going by her middle name since at least high school.

5. Matthew Koma (Matthew Bair)

Matthew Koma is a DJ married to Hillary Duff. He changed his last name for purposes of work.

6. Emma Stone (Emily Stone)

Before she went by Emma Stone, she tried to go by Riley Stone, but she would never respond on set. So, she changed her name to something much closer and easier to her birth-given name.

7. Rihanna (Robyn Rihanna Fenty)

The showstopping Superbowl star performer still goes by Robyn with her close family and friends.

8. Lizzo (Melissa Viviane Jefferson)

When she was a young member of a rap group, Lizzo was supposed to go by Lissa, derived from her real name. But, Jay-Z’s song “Izzo” was popular at the time, so she combined the two.

9. Lady Gaga (Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta)

Rob Fusari, Lady Gaga's producer, often compared her vocals to Freddie Mercury's and would serenade her with "Radio Ga Ga" whenever they saw each other. One day while texting, his phone accidentally autocorrected "radio" to "lady" and the rest is history.

10. Gigi Hadid (Jelena Noura Hadid)

Gigi Hadid has been using her name since early grade school when she was in class with another girl named Helena. The teacher asked her mother what an appropriate nickname would be for her, and her mother told her Gigi.

11. Miley Cyrus (Destiny Hope Cyrus)

When she was younger, her family nicknamed her "Smiley" because of her constant ear-to-ear grin. The "s" got dropped and she legally changed her name to Miley Ray Cyrus in 2009.

12. Natalie Portman (Natalie Hershlag)

Natalie Portman's stage surname is her grandmother's maiden name.

13. Portia de Rossi (Amanda Lee Rogers)

Portia de Rossi legally changed her name at the young age of 15, trying to break into Hollywood. She chose "Portia" from Shakespeare's play, "The Merchant of Venice", and  "de Rossi" because it just sounded exotic.

14. Ashton Kutcher (Christopher Ashton Kutcher)

Ashton Kutcher is another actor who dropped his first name when he entered the acting world and stuck to his middle name.

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15. Halsey (Ashley Frangipane)

In an attempt to change her life and identity, Halsey was born by rearranging letters to her first name. "At the time, I felt that Ashley didn't deserve to be famous and successful because she wasn't that special, but if I made Halsey, maybe she could be," Halsey said.

16. Whoopi Goldberg (Caryn Elaine Johnson)

Yes, she actually named herself after a whoopee cushion because she's gaseous. "Goldberg" comes from the last name of a Jewish ancestor.

17. Jamie Foxx (Eric Marlon Bishop)

As he began to get involved in stand-up, he noticed how much of a rarity female comedians were and as such, they always would have a slot. He brainstormed unisex names until coming up with Jamie Foxx.

18. P!nk (Alecia Beth Moore)

With an affinity for the color pink, she was inspired to adopt her stage name from Steve Buscemi's character, Mr. Pink, in the movie, "Reservoir Dogs".

19. Nina Dobrev (Nikolina Konstantinova Dobreva)

Nina Dobrev shortened her birth name at the start of her acting career.

20. Topher Grace (Christopher John Grace)

"Who names their kid 'Topher'?" people seem to ask everywhere. Well, his parents didn't name him that. He'd introduce himself by saying, "Hi, my name's Christopher," and they'd say, 'Nice to meet you, Chris.'" To which he'd reply "...'Topher'."

21. Elton John (Reginald Kenneth Dwight)

His stage name was inspired by two members of a band, Bluesology, and the need to let go of hard experiences from his past. Adopting his stage name provided him with a "new lease on life".

22. Olivia Wilde (Olivia Cockburn)

She took her stage surname from novelist Oscar Wilde after feeling moved by his work.

23. Meg Ryan (Margaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra)

Meg Ryan decided to shorten her first name and use her grandmother's maiden name as her new last name when she was breaking into acting.

24. Tina Fey (Elizabeth Stamatina Fey)

Tina Fey got her stage name by shortening her middle name, "Stamatina".

25. Adele (Adele Laurie Blue Adkins)

Adele is her birth first name, but it's the only name she goes by. Very rarely do you hear Adele's middle or last name following.

26. Winona Ryder (Winona Laura Horowitz)

When asked how she wanted to be credited for her first acting role, she chose the last name "Ryder" because a Mitch Ryder song was playing in the background

27. Vin Diesel (Mark Sinclair)

While working as a bouncer in a New York City nightclub, he adopted the name to appear tougher.

28. Camila Cabello (Karla Camila Cabello Estrabao)

Camila Cabello condensed her birth name into just her middle name when she began her singing career.

29. Spike Lee (Shelton Jackson Lee)

Spike was a nickname given to him by his mother as a baby because she noticed early on how tough he was.

30. Alicia Keys (Alicia Augello Cook)

She kept her birth name, and her stage surname is inspired by piano keys.

31. Mandy Moore (Amanda Leigh Moore)

Mandy Moore keeps it simple and goes by the shortened nickname version of her birth name.

32. Katy Perry (Katheryn Hudson)

When she began her singing career, she adopted her mother's maiden name to avoid getting confused with Kate Hudson.

33. Bella Hadid (Isabella Khair Hadid)

Bella Hadid also goes by the shortened nickname version of her given birth name.

34. Magic Johnson (Earvin Johnson Jr.)

A sports writer gave Johnson the nickname "Magic" after watching a spectacular performance during his time as a high school basketball player.

35. Demi Moore (Demetria Gene Guynes)

Demi Moore shortened her birth name, "Demetria", which was inspired by a shampoo ad. She was formerly married to singer Freddy Moore, and kept his last name after their divorce.

36. Charlie Sheen (Carlos Irwin Estevez)

When he was getting started as an actor, people had trouble pronouncing his name. To make things a little easier, he changed his name to Charlie Sheen.

37. Elle King (Tanner Elle Schneider)

Wanting to create a lane separate from her father, Rob Schneider, Elle King changed her name.

38. Dove Cameron (Chloe Celeste Hosterman)

As an ode to her late father who referred to her by the nickname "Dove", she legally changed her name after his death.

39. Lea Michele (Lea Michele Sarfati)

Lea Michele dropped her last name, "Sarfati", when beginning her acting career. Her last name used to get made fun of when she was younger, so she dropped it all together after her first audition.

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40. Cher (Cherilyn Sarkisian)

Cher simply shortened her first name and dropped her last name for the purposes of her career.

41. Diane Keaton (Diane Hall)

Keaton is her mother's maiden name.

42. Liam Gallagher (William John Paul Gallagher)

Liam Gallagher comes from an Irish family that shortened his birth name at a young age. "Liam" is a common Irish shortening of "William".

43. Brad Pitt (William Bradley Pitt)

Many are shocked to find out that Brad Pitt's name is a shortened version of his birth name. He dropped the first name and shortened his middle name, which he so famously goes by.

44. Alexis Bladel (Kimberly Alexis Bledel)

The "Gossip Girl" star has never revealed the reason she goes by her middle name, but she adopted this early on in her career.

45. John Legend (John Roger Stephens)

A fellow artist and friend, J. Ivy, would refer to John as "The Legend" and it ended up sticking.

46. Olivia Colman (Sarah Caroline Colman)

Since there was already an actress by the name of Sarah Colman, she started going by Olivia. One of her college friends was named Olivia and she always loved it, so she adopted it herself.

47. Jack Black (Thomas Jacob Black)

Jack Black dropped his first name and goes by the common shortened version of his middle name, Jacob.

48. Joaquin Phoenix (Joaquín Rafael Bottom)

Joaquin's entire family rebranded themselves as the Phoenixes back in 1979. Their given surname is "Bottom".

49. Carmen Electra (Tara Leigh Patrick)

Carmen Electra signed with Prince's label in the early 90s, and the musical legend told her at the time to change her name.

50. Iggy Azalea (Amethyst Amelia Kelly)

Iggy Azalea's stage name is inspired by a late dog she loved very much, whom she named after Iggy Pop. Azalea is the street name that her mother and family live on.

51. Bruno Mars (Peter Gene Hernandez)

Bruno Mars admits that he was a chubby baby. Accordingly, his father nicknamed him after the wrestler, Bruno Sammartino. He claims that the stage surname, "Mars", came up because girls say he's out of this world.

52. Blac Chyna (Angela Renee White)

She used the moniker, "Blac Chyna", as one of her identities at a strip club she had previously worked at.

53. Faith Hill (Audrey Faith Perry)

Using her middle name as her first name, the singer kept her ex-husband's last name after their divorce, as it was at a point when her career was taking off.

54. Fergie (Stacy Ann Ferguson)

She, her father, and her grandfather all grew up with the nickname "Fergie" –a shortened version of their last name, "Ferguson".

55. Lorde (Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor)

The singer has always been into royals and aristocracy, as well as always having an affinity for the name, "Lord". After contemplating how she could make "Lord" sound more feminine, she added an "e" to the end and made it her stage name.

56. Lily James (Lily Chloe Ninette Thomson)

The young actress changed her last name as an ode to honor her late father, James Thomson.

57. Winnie Harlow (Chantelle Brown-Young)

Winnie Harlow's stage name is inspired by her favorite character from childhood, Winnie the Pooh.

58. Michael Keaton (Michael John Douglas)

Though his birth name is, in fact, Michael, he changed his last name to Keaton to avoid getting confused with fellow actor, Michael Douglas.

59. Pedro Pascal (José Pedro Balmaceda Pascal)

Pedro shortened his name and held onto his late mother's maiden name, Pascal, as an honorable tribute to her.

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60. Chace Crawford (Christopher Chace Crawford)

Chace Crawford dropped his first name and stuck with his uniquely-spelled middle name.

61. Nicolas Cage (Nicolas Kim Coppola)

Francis Ford Coppola is the name of Nicolas Cage's uncle. Francis was Coppola was also a famous motion-picture director, and Nicolas Cage changed his last name to differentiate himself from his uncle.

62. Julianne Moore (Julie Anne Smith)

The reason many actors and actresses adopt a stage name is that somebody else is already registered under that name in the Screen Actor's Guild. This is the case with Julianne Moore, as well. She combined her mother's and father's names.

63. Kit Harrington (Christopher Catesby Harington)

Fun fact: Kit Harrington's family has always called him by his nickname – so much so that the actress didn't know "Christopher" was his real name until he was 11.

64. Mila Kunis (Milena Markovna Kunis)

Mila Kunis and her family moved to the United States from Ukraine at a very young age. When she began booking acting gigs, her family allowed her to shorten her birth name.

65. Jason Sudeikis (Daniel Jason Sudeikis)

Jason Sudeikis shares a name with his father, and his mother has always called him "Jason" to distinguish between the two.

66. Calvin Harris (Adam Richard Wiles)

After releasing his first single, which sounded more like a soul track, he took on the stage name Calvin Harris to sound more "racially ambiguous".

67. Mindy Kaling (Vera Mindy Chokalingam)

When she began her acting career, "The Office" star dropped her first name and shortened her last name.

68. Lucy Hale (Karen Lucille Hale)

Lucille was her grandmother's name, and she goes by the shortened version of her middle name.

69. Prince Harry (Henry Charles Albert David)

Even he admits that he's not sure why he goes by Harry.

Rapper Real Names

70. Doja Cat (Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini)

When Doja Cat began her career, she was a heavy marijuana smoker, and "Doja" was a strain that she liked. She made "Cat" her surname because she just loves cats.

71. Wiz Khalifa (Cameron Jibril Thomaz)

The rapper renamed himself "Wisdom", to which he shortened to "Wiz". His uncle added Khalifa, which means "successor" in Arabic.

72. Frank Ocean (Christopher Edwin Breaux)

The sultry singer's stage name was motivated by Frank Sinatra and a film he starred in, "Ocean's 11".

73. Ludacris (Christopher Brian Bridges)

Ludacris has said that his stage name is a play on the word, "ludicrous".

74. Bia (Bianca Landrau)

Bia's stage name comes from a condensed version and the first part of her birth name, "Bianca".

75. Cardi B (Belcalis Almanzar)

Cardi B adopted her stage name from the famous rum brand, Bacardi. People nicknamed her "Bacardi" when she was younger because her sister's name is "Hennesy".

76. Drake (Aubrey Drake Graham)

Many know that Drake's real name is Aubrey Drake Graham from his acting days. When he started rapping, he dropped his first and last name.

77. Eminem (Marshall Mathers III)

In an attempt to shorten his birth name, the famous rapper originally went by M&M and later on changed it to Eminem.

78. Offset (Kiari Cephus)

The Migos member has not revealed how or why he goes by his stage name.

79. Quavo (Qavious Marshall)

Quavo is another Migos member and has the closest stage name to his real name. He's frequently referred to as "Huncho", a reference to his position as the leader.

80. Nicki Minaj (Onika Maraj)

"Nicki" comes from a derivation of her real name, "Onika". Nicki Minaj has said that a producer convinced her early in her career to change her stage surname to "Minaj" and that she's always disliked it.

81. Post Malone (Austin Post)

Obviously, Post Malone bumped his last name to make it his first. He's admitted that "Malone" came from an online rap name generator.

82. Lil Wayne (Dwayne Carter Jr.)

Lil Wayne was named after his father, Dwayne Carter, who he has not had a relationship with. To avoid association with his father, he ditched the "D".

83. Future (Nayvadius Wilburn)

Future recalls many people telling him how bright his future was when he was younger, so he adopted this reminder for his stage name.

84. Saweetie (Diamonté Quiava Valentin Harper)

Her grandmother, whom she was close with, always called her "Saweetie". She later adopted the nickname as her stage name.

85. Megan Thee Stallion (Megan Jovon Ruth Pete)

When Megan Thee Stallion was younger, people described her as a "stallion" due to her tall height and thicker figure. It started as her Instagram handle and quickly became her stage name that so many know her by.

86. Snoop Dogg (Calvin Broadus Jr.)

As a kid, the rapper was nicknamed" Snoopy" by his mom and kept with the Charlie Brown theme by adding "Doggy Dogg" at the end.

87. Childish Gambino (Donald Glover)

Due to Childish Gambino's double life as an actor and rapper, many know him by his first name, Donald Glover. He developed his rapper name by using an online Wu-Tang Clan name generator.

88. 50 Cent (Curtis Jackson III)

Kelvin '50 Cent' Martin was the name of a stick-up man who was said to rob anyone for anything. This is where 50 Cent got his name, as he felt he saw himself in the same manner.

89. B.o.B. (Bobby Ray Simmons Junior)

You're likely familiar with the Outkast song, "B.O.B. (Bombs over Baghdad)", which is what B.o.B.'s stage name is most similar to. There's been speculation of being ties to it, but he's kept his reasoning a mystery.

90. Jay-Z (Shawn Corey Carter)

Referred to as "Jazzy" back in his early rap days, he later changed his stage name to Jay-Z to salute his mentor rapper and producer, Jaz-O. Ultimately, it's a combination of the two.

91. Kid Cudi (Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi)

While coming up with his stage name, he knew he wanted to include his birth name in some way. At first, he tried to go by Kid Mesc, but people kept mispronouncing it. Eventually, the back half of his last name became the focus.

92. Juicy J (Jordan Michael Houston)

While trying to brainstorm his stage name, he locked eyes with a Juicy Fruit gum wrapper and thus, Juicy J was born.

93. Waka Flocka Flame (Juaquin James Malphurs)

Remember Fozzie from "The Muppets"? When he was a kid, his cousin nicknamed him after Fozzie's catchphrase, which was him repeatedly saying "Waka". His former friend, Gucci Mane, added "Flame" to the end of his stage name.

94. Gucci Mane (Radric Delantic Davis)

No, this rapper's stage name has got nothing to do with the name brand. Gucci Mane's grandmother originally gave his father the name, and he took it and ran with it.

95. 2 Chainz (Tauheed Epps)

Of course, he always wears two chains around his neck. But, the stage name really is representative of second chances.

96. DaBaby (Jonathan Lyndale Kirk)

Originally known by the stage name "Baby Jesus", DaBaby changed his name several years back to avoid it being a politically-charged distraction.

97. A$AP Rocky (Rakim Mayers)

A$AP Rocky is part of the A$AP mob in which the acronym stands for "Always Strive And Prosper". Rocky is the nickname his mother gave him growing up.

98. Fetty Wap (Willie Maxwell II)

'Fetty' is slang for money and "Wap" is from his favorite rapper Gucci Mane's nickname, "Guwop".

99. Lil Nas X (Montero Lamar Hill)

It's not rare that many rappers start their stage names with "Lil". The latter part of his stage name came from a Twitter fan account that he ran, dedicated to Nicki Minaj.

100. M.I.A. (Mathangi Arulpragasam)

When she was younger, her cousin of the same age, went missing and at the time of his disappearance, she was living in Acton. Her stage name derives from her cousin missing in action, and the play on words of where she was living at the time.

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