By Wonderwall.com Editors
8:19am PDT, Apr 26, 2018
What's in a name? A lot — especially if you're famous! Some of the most well-known names were born with different monikers on their birth certificates — like Jennifer Aniston, Gigi Hadid, Lucy Hale and more. Who knew?! Get the scoop on the stars' pre-fame names right here, starting with Kylie Jenner's main man, Travis Scott! The rapper, who turns 26 on April 30, 2018, gave their daughter, Stormi his real last name — Webster — which is in line with his given name: Jacques Webster. Keep reading to learn even more of the stars' real names!
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Grammy, Tony and Oscar winner John Legend's surname is actually Stephens.
Gigi Hadid is one of the busiest models in the biz, but would she have had as much success if she went by her given name — Jelena Noura Hadid? We think so, but Gigi is a lot easier to say!
We know him best as his "Game of Thrones" character name, Jon Snow, but Kit Harington was actually born Christopher Catesby Harington.
Rapper Cardi B's real name is Belcalis Almanzar. Her stage name was inspired by a liquor brand. "You know what, my sister's name is Hennessy, so everybody used to call me Bacardi," she said on "The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon." "Then it was my Instagram name, Bacardi, Bacardi B. But for some reason, my Instagram kept getting deleted, and you know what, I think it was Bacardi that had something to do with it. So I just shortened it to Cardi B."
To come up with her stage name, Mandy Moore didn't have to stray too far. She was born Amanda Leigh Moore.
Though the world knows him as Ludacris, the rapper's real name is Christopher Brian Bridges.
Pink's mom and dad named her Alecia Beth Moore. Her colorful stage name is actually an homage to Steve Buscemi's "Reservoir Dogs" alter ego, Mr. Pink.
Musician Frank Ocean technically has three names! He goes by Frank Ocean professionally. He was born Christopher Edwin Breaux. And he legally changed his name to Christopher Francis Ocean in 2014.
Nina Dobrev is a much abbreviated version of the actress's actual name. Her parents named her Nikolina Konstantinova Dobreva when she was born in Bulgaria back in 1989.
Music star will.i.am's stage name gives us a clue to what his parents named him. The musician's birth certificate reads William James Adams.
Tyga is a pretty unique name — but it's not the rapper's real one. Kylie Jenner's ex, who's of Vietnamese and Jamaican descent, is actually Michael Ray Nguyen-Stevenson.
It might not be a surprise that rapper Iggy Azalea is just an alias — but her actual name might surprise you! She was born Amethyst Amelia Kelly — Iggy is actually the name of one of her beloved former pups.
Blac Chyna's real name actually contains a different color! The reality star's given name is Angela Renée White.
Chace is actually Chace Crawford's middle name. The hunky actor's first name is Christopher.
Lily is truly Lily James' first name, but her real name is quite a big longer than what she goes by in Hollywood. The British beauty was born Lily Chloe Ninette Thomson.
Mila Kunis certainly has a better ring to it than Milena Markovna Kunis!
Good thing Benjamin Géza Affleck-Boldt shortened his name to just Ben Affleck — there might not have been enough room on his Oscar statue to engrave his whole given name!
Meg Ryan was born with quite a lengthy name: Margaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra.
Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson changed her name to Katy Perry to avoid being confused with actress Kate Hudson.
Born to a Greek father and English mother, the late George Michael was originally named Georgios Panayiotou.
Rihanna was born Robyn Rihanna Fenty. "Bad Girl Rob Rob" just isn't the same, is it?
Ashton Kutcher goes by his middle name. His real first name is Christopher.
Nicole Camille Escovedo changed her name to Nicole Richie when she was adopted by Lionel Richie.
Starships were meant to fly — and Onika Tanya Maraj was meant to be Nicki Minaj!
Karen Lucille Hale goes by a pretty little name professionally: Lucy Hale.
Alicia Augello Cook was almost Alicia Wilde before she settled on Alicia Keys for her stage name. "It's like the piano keys. And it can open so many doors," she told Newsweek of her chosen moniker.
Try pronouncing Gene Simmons' real name: Chaim Witz. Good luck!
"There was already a Julie Smith, a Julie Anne Smith, there was everything. 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," Julie Anne Smith told The New York Times of changing her name to Julianne Moore.
Tom Cruise's real name is Thomas Cruise Mapother IV.
Jennifer Aniston adopted her soap-star father's stage name. Their real last name is Anastasakis. Good luck pronouncing that one!
Destiny Hope Cyrus shortened her family nickname, Smiley, to create her stage name: Miley Cyrus. In 2008, she legally changed her name to Miley Ray Cyrus.
Aubrey Drake Graham changed his name to Drake because — let's be honest — you can't rap about woes with a name like Aubrey.
When Jerusalem native Neta-Lee Hershlag became an actress, she Americanized her first name and adopted her grandmother's maiden name to become Natalie Portman.
Peter Gene Hernandez explained his stage name — Bruno Mars — during an interview with the Daily News: "I was called Peter at school, but at home I was never called that. I was Bruno. My dad was a fan of the wrestler Bruno Sammartino, who was heavyset. When I was a kid I was a little pudgy. I reminded him of a wrestler." As for the second half of his moniker: "That's because I'm out of this world," he says.
Olivia Jane Cockburn changed her name to Olivia Wilde as an homage to Oscar Wilde.
Wait, Calvin Harris is a stage name?! That's right! Taylor Swift's ex was born Adam Richard Wiles.
Demetria Gene Guynes got her stage name — Demi Moore — from her first husband, Freddy Moore.
Eric Marlon Bishop's stage name — Jamie Foxx — is a tribute to comedian Redd Foxx. He reportedly settled on the name Jamie because it's gender neutral: According to reports, the Oscar winner wanted an ambiguous stage name because he discovered that female comedians were often called on stage to perform first at stand-up gigs.
Steven Tyler's real name is Steven Victor Tallarico.
C'mon, you didn't think Queen Latifah was her real name, did you? The rapper-actress was born Dana Elaine Owens. "Latifah is a nickname that I chose when I was about 8. It means delicate, sensitive," she once explained to Time. "I was kind of big as a kid, but I felt that name fit me. Later, when I was about to sign a record contract, I didn't want to be MC Latifah. So I decided on Queen."
Winona Laura Horowitz eventually became Winona Ryder — with the help of Charlie Sheen, apparently! "We were listening to the Doors, to 'Riders on the Storm,'" the actor claimed of his "Lucas" co-star. "[Winona's] real name is Horowitz. And I said, 'You know, I'm thinking Winona Ryder sounds cool,' and she was like, 'Yeah!'"
Elizabeth Stamatina Fey is known professionally as Tina Fey.
Walter Bruce Willis doesn't sound like an action star's moniker, does it? Good thing Bruce Willis had the foresight to shorten his moniker!
Joaquin Phoenix was born Joaquin Rafael Bottom. His parents changed the family's last name to Phoenix in 1978, symbolizing a new beginning.
No wonder Helen Mirren has a perfect Russian accent. Her father was Russian, and he gave her the name Helen Lydia Mironoff.
Enrique Martín Morales shortened his name to Ricky Martin and has been "Livin La Vida Loca" ever since.
Before she was one of the biggest names in modeling, Christie Brinkley was known as Christie Lee Hudson.
Music icon Stevie Wonder was born Stevland Hardaway Judkins. Stevie's mother would eventually change his last name to Morris, the legal last name he still uses today.
Faith Hill was born Audrey Faith Perry. She still goes by the last name of her first husband, Daniel Hill, professionally. We wonder how Tim McGraw feels about that?
Amanda Lee Rogers doesn't quite have the same ring to it as Portia de Rossi!
Caryn Elaine Johnson owes her stage name — Whoopi Goldberg — to the fact that she's "a farter" and to Whoopee Cushions. "You know, when you work in the theater sometimes, you do quick changes and you're running around and, sometimes you're just letting go," the comedy star explained during an appearance on "Watch What Happens Live." "And it became, that was the joke: Whoopi." As for Goldberg, well, according to Time magazine, "Whoopi's mother thought that a Jewish surname would get her further in Hollywood, so she replaced Johnson with Goldberg."
Born to a Spanish father, Ramon Antonio Gerard Estevez changed his name to Martin Sheen to help him get acting roles.
Carlos Irwin Estévez adopted dad Martin Sheen's stage name to become Charlie Sheen.
Eilleen Regina Edwards reportedly adopted an Ojibwa name, Shania Twain, to honor her stepfather, Jerry Twain, a member of the Ojibwa tribe.
Before he was a "Rocket Man," Elton John was Reginald Kenneth Dwight.
Michael Caine was born Maurice Micklewhite. He used Humphrey Bogart's character in "The Caine Mutiny" as inspiration for his stage name.
"I knew that I wanted a name that sounded sort of exotic and reminded me of the seaside on the Floridian coast," Elizabeth Woolridge Grant told MTV of her stage name. "Lana Del Rey sounded beautiful to me. I just wanted a name for the music so that I could start shaping the music towards something beautiful."
Jodie Foster was born Alicia Christian Foster.
Before she was known as "The Body," Elle Macpherson was known as Eleanor Nancy Gow.
Nicolas Kim Coppola changed his name to Nicolas Cage to distance himself from his family and to avoid the perception that nepotism played a part in his career success.
If you thought "Nicole Scherzinger" was a mouthful, check this out: The former Pussycat Doll was born Nicole Prescovia Elikolani Valiente.
Jon Stewart has faced plenty of heat over the years for changing his name from Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz. "Sometimes Leibowitz sounds ridiculous. Sometimes it rhymes with Leibo-t—," he once said.
When Eric Banadinović became an actor, he shortened his name to Eric Bana.
Cornelius Crane Chase is known professionally by his family nickname: Chevy Chase.
Born to Russian immigrant parents, Hollywood legend Natalie Wood was originally named Natalia Nikolaevna Zakharenko.
Diane Keaton shares a real-life last name with one of her most famous characters, Annie Hall. The actress was born Diane Hall.
Larry King was born to an Austrian father and a mother from Belarus, both of whom were Orthodox Jews. He was born Lawrence Harvey Zeigler.
Hollywood icon Rock Hudson was born Leroy Harold Scherer Jr.
Director and filmmaker Spike Lee was once known by his real name, Shelton Lee.
Before she was famous, Carmen Electra was known by her birth name, Tara Patrick.
Audrey Hepburn built an iconic career using her stage name but the actress was originally known as Audrey Edda Kathleen Hepburn-Ruston.
That's right, America's most beloved blonde bombshell, Marilyn Monroe, was born Norma Jeane Mortenson.
"Sex and the City" alum Kim Cattrall was born Clare Woodgate in Liverpool, England.
