🎭 Real Names

Celebrities' Real Names

Many stars were renamed by a studio, an agent, a producer or, in one case, magazine readers. Here are their real birth names, who changed them and why, and how the new names score on our phonetic algorithm. Choosing your own? Try the stage name checker or read how to choose a stage name.

Birth names of Hollywood actors
Stage nameReal (birth) nameScore change
Cary Grant Archibald Alec Leach 63 → 75 (+12)
Marilyn Monroe Norma Jeane Mortenson 40 → 77 (+37)
John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison 69 → 61 (-8)
Joan Crawford Lucille Fay LeSueur 68 → 69 (+1)
Tony Curtis Bernard Schwartz 68 → 72 (+4)
Kirk Douglas Issur Danielovitch 50 → 74 (+24)
Rock Hudson Roy Harold Scherer Jr. 67 → 72 (+5)
Judy Garland Frances Ethel Gumm 62 → 81 (+19)
Natalie Portman Natalie Hershlag 72 → 76 (+4)
Whoopi Goldberg Caryn Elaine Johnson 67 → 75 (+8)
Michael Caine Maurice Joseph Micklewhite 73 → 72 (-1)
Rita Hayworth Margarita Carmen Cansino 59 → 69 (+10)
Fred Astaire Frederick Austerlitz 63 → 73 (+10)
Natalie Wood Natalie Zacharenko 59 → 75 (+16)
Boris Karloff William Henry Pratt 74 → 74 (0)
Nicolas Cage Nicolas Kim Coppola 65 → 66 (+1)
Michael Keaton Michael John Douglas 76 → 75 (-1)
Jamie Foxx Eric Marlon Bishop 75 → 63 (-12)
Tom Cruise Thomas Cruise Mapother IV 71 → 62 (-9)
Emma Stone Emily Jean Stone 69 → 75 (+6)
Winona Ryder Winona Laura Horowitz 62 → 69 (+7)
Vin Diesel Mark Sinclair Vincent 71 → 72 (+1)
Martin Sheen Ramón Antonio Gerardo Estévez 69 → 74 (+5)
Charlie Sheen Carlos Irwin Estévez 70 → 72 (+2)
Woody Allen Allan Stewart Konigsberg 64 → 75 (+11)
Doris Day Doris Mary Anne Kappelhoff 65 → 87 (+22)
Audrey Hepburn Audrey Kathleen Ruston 77 → 77 (0)
Lauren Bacall Betty Joan Perske 85 → 75 (-10)
Ben Kingsley Krishna Pandit Bhanji 72 → 68 (-4)
Joaquin Phoenix Joaquín Rafael Bottom 76 → 71 (-5)
Michael J. Fox Michael Andrew Fox 69 → 69 (0)
Diane Keaton Diane Hall 66 → 79 (+13)
Albert Brooks Albert Lawrence Einstein 78 → 77 (-1)
Helen Mirren Ilyena Lydia Mironoff 62 → 69 (+7)
Jane Seymour Joyce Penelope Wilhelmina Frankenberg 62 → 70 (+8)
Hedy Lamarr Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler 76 → 68 (-8)
Ginger Rogers Virginia Katherine McMath 67 → 75 (+8)
Jean Harlow Harlean Harlow Carpenter 69 → 72 (+3)
Anne Bancroft Anna Maria Louisa Italiano 63 → 70 (+7)
Dean Martin Dino Paul Crocetti 70 → 76 (+6)
Jerry Lewis Jerome Levitch 72 → 66 (-6)
Mel Brooks Melvin James Kaminsky 65 → 63 (-2)
Gene Wilder Jerome Silberman 66 → 75 (+9)
Bob Hope Leslie Townes Hope 64 → 72 (+8)
Stan Laurel Arthur Stanley Jefferson 63 → 75 (+12)
Jackie Chan Chan Kong-sang 79 → 67 (-12)
Olivia Wilde Olivia Jane Cockburn 67 → 68 (+1)
Portia de Rossi Amanda Lee Rogers 72 → 71 (-1)
Meg Ryan Margaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra 65 → 64 (-1)
Chevy Chase Cornelius Crane Chase 72 → 81 (+9)
Cyd Charisse Tula Ellice Finklea 70 → 78 (+8)
Julianne Moore Julie Anne Smith 67 → 70 (+3)
Demi Moore Demi Gene Guynes 76 → 75 (-1)
Alan Alda Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo 63 → 85 (+22)
Sophia Loren Sofia Costanza Brigida Villani Scicolone 73 → 74 (+1)
Born
Archibald Alec Leach
63/100
+12 pts
Became
Cary Grant
75/100
Paramount wanted something "more all-American". "Cary" came from his Broadway role in Nikki; "Grant" from a studio list of surnames. Read the story →
Born
Norma Jeane Mortenson
40/100
+37 pts
Became
Marilyn Monroe
77/100
Chosen with Fox executive Ben Lyon in 1946: "Marilyn" after Broadway star Marilyn Miller, "Monroe" from her mother's maiden name. Read the story →
Born
Marion Robert Morrison
69/100
-8 pts
Became
John Wayne
61/100
Raoul Walsh first suggested "Anthony Wayne". Fox chief Winfield Sheehan said it sounded too Italian, so it became "John Wayne" — decided while Wayne wasn't in the room. Read the story →
Born
Lucille Fay LeSueur
68/100
+1 pts
Became
Joan Crawford
69/100
MGM let magazine readers rename her. The winning entry, "Joan Arden", already belonged to another actress, so the runner-up "Crawford" stuck. She said it sounded like "crawfish". Read the story →
Born
Bernard Schwartz
68/100
+4 pts
Became
Tony Curtis
72/100
Universal first billed him as "Anthony Curtis": the first name from the novel Anthony Adverse, the surname from Kurtz, a name in his mother's family. He was "Tony" by 1951. Read the story →
Born
Issur Danielovitch
50/100
+24 pts
Became
Kirk Douglas
74/100
Born Issur Danielovitch, raised as Izzy Demsky, he chose "Kirk Douglas" himself before joining the Navy in WWII. No studio was involved. Read the story →
Born
Roy Harold Scherer Jr.
67/100
+5 pts
Became
Rock Hudson
72/100
Born Roy Scherer, renamed Roy Fitzgerald by his stepfather, then Rock Hudson by agent Henry Willson: the Rock of Gibraltar plus the Hudson River. Read the story →
Born
Frances Ethel Gumm
62/100
+19 pts
Became
Judy Garland
81/100
Audiences laughed at "The Gumm Sisters", so in 1934 they became the Garland Sisters. At least four stories explain where "Garland" came from; "Judy" came from a Hoagy Carmichael song. Read the story →
Born
Natalie Hershlag
72/100
+4 pts
Became
Natalie Portman
76/100
She took her grandmother's maiden name, Portman, when she was cast in Léon: The Professional at 13. The often-repeated "Neta-Lee" birth name is one she has said she doesn't recognise. Read the story →
Born
Caryn Elaine Johnson
67/100
+8 pts
Became
Whoopi Goldberg
75/100
"Whoopi" came from being compared to a whoopee cushion on stage. "Goldberg" is disputed: she calls it part of her family heritage, but genealogists found no Goldberg ancestors. Read the story →
Born
Maurice Joseph Micklewhite
73/100
-1 pts
Became
Michael Caine
72/100
He was already "Michael Scott" when his agent said the name was taken. Looking around a London phone box, he saw The Caine Mutiny on a cinema sign. Read the story →
Born
Margarita Carmen Cansino
59/100
+10 pts
Became
Rita Hayworth
69/100
First billed as Rita Cansino. Columbia's Harry Cohn thought it sounded too Spanish, so she took her mother's maiden name as part of a full studio makeover. Read the story →
Born
Frederick Austerlitz
63/100
+10 pts
Became
Fred Astaire
73/100
His mother renamed the family dance act because "Austerlitz" sounded like the battle. Family legend credits an uncle named L'Astaire. Read the story →
Born
Natalie Zacharenko
59/100
+16 pts
Became
Natalie Wood
75/100
Born Zacharenko, her family became Gurdin, then RKO executives made her "Wood": easier for English-speaking audiences and a tribute to director Sam Wood. Read the story →
Born
William Henry Pratt
74/100
0 pts
Became
Boris Karloff
74/100
He chose "Boris" because it sounded foreign and exotic, and said "Karloff" was a family name. He never changed it legally. Read the story →
Born
Nicolas Kim Coppola
65/100
+1 pts
Became
Nicolas Cage
66/100
Francis Ford Coppola's nephew dropped the family name after castmates kept quoting his uncle's films. "Cage" came from Marvel's Luke Cage and composer John Cage. Read the story →
Born
Michael John Douglas
76/100
-1 pts
Became
Michael Keaton
75/100
Screen Actors Guild rules ruled out "Michael Douglas". He says the new name had nothing to do with Diane or Buster Keaton: he found it in a phone book. Read the story →
Born
Eric Marlon Bishop
75/100
-12 pts
Became
Jamie Foxx
63/100
Female comedians tended to get called up first at open mics, so he signed up under a name that could be either. "Foxx" was a tribute to Redd Foxx. Read the story →
Born
Thomas Cruise Mapother IV
71/100
-9 pts
Became
Tom Cruise
62/100
Not really a stage name. "Cruise" is his real middle name, the same as his father's, Thomas Cruise Mapother III. He simply dropped "Mapother". Read the story →
Born
Emily Jean Stone
69/100
+6 pts
Became
Emma Stone
75/100
"Emily Stone" was already registered with SAG. She tried "Riley Stone", couldn't get used to it, and settled on Emma, after Spice Girl Emma Bunton. Read the story →
Born
Winona Laura Horowitz
62/100
+7 pts
Became
Winona Ryder
69/100
Asked how she wanted to be credited in Lucas (1986), she said "Ryder", because her father's Mitch Ryder album was playing in the background. Read the story →
Born
Mark Sinclair Vincent
71/100
+1 pts
Became
Vin Diesel
72/100
He wanted a tougher-sounding name while working the door at New York's Tunnel nightclub. "Vin" from Vincent; "Diesel" was his friends' name for his energy. Read the story →
Born
Ramón Antonio Gerardo Estévez
69/100
+5 pts
Became
Martin Sheen
74/100
Tired of being turned away once people heard "Estévez", he combined CBS casting director Robert Dale Martin and Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen. He never changed it legally. Read the story →
Born
Carlos Irwin Estévez
70/100
+2 pts
Became
Charlie Sheen
72/100
He followed his father's stage surname, Sheen, and used Charlie, an English form of Carlos. His brother Emilio kept the family name, Estevez. Read the story →
Born
Allan Stewart Konigsberg
64/100
+11 pts
Became
Woody Allen
75/100
He became "Woody" as a teenager, around the time he started writing jokes and selling them to Broadway writers. No studio involved. Read the story →
Born
Doris Mary Anne Kappelhoff
65/100
+22 pts
Became
Doris Day
87/100
Bandleader Barney Rapp thought Kappelhoff was too long for a marquee, and liked how she sang "Day After Day". She became Doris Day in 1939. Read the story →
Born
Audrey Kathleen Ruston
77/100
0 pts
Became
Audrey Hepburn
77/100
Not a studio invention. Her father added "Hepburn" to the family name, mistakenly believing they descended from the Earl of Bothwell. In the war she hid as "Edda van Heemstra". Read the story →
Born
Betty Joan Perske
85/100
-10 pts
Became
Lauren Bacall
75/100
Director Howard Hawks changed Betty to Lauren. The surname is her mother's Romanian maiden name, Bacal, with an extra L. Read the story →
Born
Krishna Pandit Bhanji
72/100
-4 pts
Became
Ben Kingsley
68/100
He feared a foreign-sounding name would hold his career back, and says it did: the same company that couldn't "place" Krishna Bhanji hired Ben Kingsley. Read the story →
Born
Joaquín Rafael Bottom
76/100
-5 pts
Became
Joaquin Phoenix
71/100
The whole family became Phoenix after leaving the Children of God, after the mythical bird reborn from its ashes. As a child actor he went by "Leaf". Read the story →
Born
Michael Andrew Fox
69/100
0 pts
Became
Michael J. Fox
69/100
SAG already had a Michael Fox. "Michael A. Fox" sounded "uncomfortably Canadian", so he added a J in honour of actor Michael J. Pollard. The J stands for nothing. Read the story →
Born
Diane Hall
66/100
+13 pts
Became
Diane Keaton
79/100
Actors' Equity already had a Diane Hall, so she switched to her mother's maiden name and kept her first name. Read the story →
Born
Albert Lawrence Einstein
78/100
-1 pts
Became
Albert Brooks
77/100
Born Albert Einstein, he changed it by 19 and joked that "the real Albert Einstein changed his name to sound more intelligent." Read the story →
Born
Ilyena Lydia Mironoff
62/100
+7 pts
Became
Helen Mirren
69/100
Not a stage name: her Russian-born father anglicised the whole family's name, becoming Basil Mirren and changing Mironoff to Mirren by deed poll in 1951. Read the story →
Born
Joyce Penelope Wilhelmina Frankenberg
62/100
+8 pts
Became
Jane Seymour
70/100
She borrowed the name of Henry VIII's third wife, Queen Jane Seymour, because it "seemed more saleable" than Joyce Frankenberg. Read the story →
Born
Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler
76/100
-8 pts
Became
Hedy Lamarr
68/100
Louis B. Mayer wanted distance from her notorious film Ecstasy. His wife suggested "Lamarr" after silent-era beauty Barbara La Marr. Read the story →
Born
Virginia Katherine McMath
67/100
+8 pts
Became
Ginger Rogers
75/100
No studio needed: "Ginger" was a young cousin's attempt at "Virginia", and "Rogers" came from her stepfather when she was nine. Read the story →
Born
Harlean Harlow Carpenter
69/100
+3 pts
Became
Jean Harlow
72/100
She signed in at Central Casting under her mother's name, Jean Harlow, and by her 1928 Hal Roach contract it was her professional name. Read the story →
Born
Anna Maria Louisa Italiano
63/100
+7 pts
Became
Anne Bancroft
70/100
Already acting on TV as "Anne Marno", she had to change again for Fox chief Darryl Zanuck. She chose Bancroft because it "sounded dignified". Read the story →
Born
Dino Paul Crocetti
70/100
+6 pts
Became
Dean Martin
76/100
He boxed as "Kid Crochet" and sang as "Dino Martini", after an opera tenor, before Cleveland bandleader Sammy Watkins suggested Dean Martin. Read the story →
Born
Jerome Levitch
72/100
-6 pts
Became
Jerry Lewis
66/100
Even his birth name is disputed: he said Joseph, his birth certificate says Jerome. "Lewis" was his father's vaudeville name, and he used "Jerry" to avoid confusion with Joe E. Lewis and Joe Louis. Read the story →
Born
Melvin James Kaminsky
65/100
-2 pts
Became
Mel Brooks
63/100
As a teenage drummer he kept getting confused with trumpeter Max Kaminsky. His mother's maiden name, Brookman, didn't fit on his drum, so: Brooks. Read the story →
Born
Jerome Silberman
66/100
+9 pts
Became
Gene Wilder
75/100
He didn't think "Jerry Silberman in Macbeth" sounded right. "Gene" came from the Thomas Wolfe character Eugene Gant, "Wilder" from Thornton Wilder. Read the story →
Born
Leslie Townes Hope
64/100
+8 pts
Became
Bob Hope
72/100
Leslie became Lester, then boxed as "Packy East", and in 1929 he picked "Bob", either after racing driver Bob Burman or for its friendly "Hiya, fellas!" sound. Read the story →
Born
Arthur Stanley Jefferson
63/100
+12 pts
Became
Stan Laurel
75/100
His stage partner Mae Dahlberg said "Stan Jefferson" was unlucky because it has 13 letters. Laurel disputed that and said "Laurel" just sounded good. Read the story →
Born
Chan Kong-sang
79/100
-12 pts
Became
Jackie Chan
67/100
On a building site in Canberra in 1971, a builder named Jack took him under his wing, so he became "Little Jack", then "Jacky", then "Jackie". Read the story →
Born
Olivia Jane Cockburn
67/100
+1 pts
Became
Olivia Wilde
68/100
A family of writers who used pen names inspired her to take one in high school, borrowed from Oscar Wilde. She later made it legal. Read the story →
Born
Amanda Lee Rogers
72/100
-1 pts
Became
Portia de Rossi
71/100
At 15 she wanted to sound more mature: Portia from The Merchant of Venice, plus an Italian surname. Legally she's now Portia DeGeneres. Read the story →
Born
Margaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra
65/100
-1 pts
Became
Meg Ryan
64/100
Meg is short for Margaret. When she joined the Screen Actors Guild she registered under Ryan, her maternal grandmother's maiden name. Read the story →
Born
Cornelius Crane Chase
72/100
+9 pts
Became
Chevy Chase
81/100
His surname really is Chase. His grandmother, a Clan Douglas descendant, nicknamed him "Chevy" after the old English ballad The Ballad of Chevy Chase. Read the story →
Born
Tula Ellice Finklea
70/100
+8 pts
Became
Cyd Charisse
78/100
Her brother couldn't say "Sis", so she became "Sid", which MGM producer Arthur Freed respelled "Cyd". Charisse came from her first husband. Read the story →
Born
Julie Anne Smith
67/100
+3 pts
Became
Julianne Moore
70/100
The actors' union already had a Julie Smith and a Julie Anne Smith. She fused "Julie" and "Anne" and added her father's middle name, Moore. Read the story →
Born
Demi Gene Guynes
76/100
-1 pts
Became
Demi Moore
75/100
She was born Demi Gene Guynes. "Moore" is the surname of her first husband, singer Freddy Moore, and she kept it as her screen name after they divorced. Read the story →
Born
Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo
63/100
+22 pts
Became
Alan Alda
85/100
His father, born Alfonso D'Abruzzo, built the stage name "Alda" from the first two letters of his first and last names. Alan inherited it. Read the story →
Born
Sofia Costanza Brigida Villani Scicolone
73/100
+1 pts
Became
Sophia Loren
74/100
First credited as Sofia Lazzaro, she was renamed Sophia Loren in the early 1950s. The surname was a twist on the Swedish actress Märta Torén. Read the story →
Birth names of musicians
Stage nameReal (birth) nameScore change
Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta 58 → 79 (+21)
Bruno Mars Peter Gene Hernandez 69 → 75 (+6)
Lana Del Rey Elizabeth Woolridge Grant 57 → 75 (+18)
Elton John Reginald Kenneth Dwight 65 → 74 (+9)
Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson 69 → 71 (+2)
Freddie Mercury Farrokh Bulsara 64 → 71 (+7)
Born
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta
58/100
+21 pts
Became
Lady Gaga
79/100
Producer Rob Fusari says he texted her "Radio Ga Ga" and autocorrect changed it to "Lady Gaga". The New York Post reported that the name came out of a marketing meeting instead. Read the story →
Born
Peter Gene Hernandez
69/100
+6 pts
Became
Bruno Mars
75/100
His father nicknamed him Bruno at age two, after wrestler Bruno Sammartino. He added "Mars" to avoid being marketed as "the next Enrique Iglesias". Read the story →
Born
Elizabeth Woolridge Grant
57/100
+18 pts
Became
Lana Del Rey
75/100
She performed as Lizzy Grant, May Jailer and Sparkle Jump Rope Queen before settling on Lana Del Rey in 2010, a name she said evoked the Florida seaside. Read the story →
Born
Reginald Kenneth Dwight
65/100
+9 pts
Became
Elton John
74/100
He took "Elton" from Bluesology saxophonist Elton Dean and "John" from singer Long John Baldry. The middle name Hercules came from a horse in Steptoe and Son. Read the story →
Born
Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson
69/100
+2 pts
Became
Katy Perry
71/100
Her 2001 gospel album came out as "Katy Hudson". To avoid confusion with actress Kate Hudson, she switched to her mother's maiden name, Perry. Read the story →
Born
Farrokh Bulsara
64/100
+7 pts
Became
Freddie Mercury
71/100
He called himself Freddie from boarding school. Around the time Queen formed, he legally changed Bulsara to Mercury, the name in his song "My Fairy King". Read the story →

Would your name survive a studio rename?

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