20 Celebrities Whose Real Names You Never Knew

Name is one of the most meaningful terms in the world. Parents put a lot of hopes, wills, expectations, or luck into their children’s names. Every language worldwide has these elements in common when parents give their child a name. It plays a key role in identifying and connecting people. For example, when someone remembers your name after first meeting you, she or he had already linked you with the name and also respected you a lot. Certainly, it makes a positive and long-lasting impression on you. And will you love them? Indeed, you will.
For famous people, their names have a bit more meaningful. Because these names actually engage a celebrity’s career. Like, when someone mentions Blake Lively, we know this is an American actress who stepped into the spotlight during her junior year of high school when she landed a major role in the 2005 blockbuster "chick flick" The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Furthermore, some artists, such as singers and rappers, usually have their stage names to make them unique in the public eyes.
It’s no doubt that celebrity names are popular worldwide because of their fame. But there are some real names that even the most loyal fans don’t know. Let’s take a look at 20 celebrities whose famous names aren’t what you think.

#1 Billie Eilish’s full name is Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O’Connell

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Pirate? Yes, Pirate. Though she goes by her first two names professionally, Eilish explained the meaning and family connections to her name in a 2017 BBC interview.
"[Eilish] is my middle name," she said. "So I'm Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O'Connell. Pretty weird, right? Pirate was going to be my middle name, but then my uncle had a problem with it because pirates are bad. Then Baird is my mother's name." O’Connell is her father’s last name. According to Insider, the Pirate part of her name comes from her brother, who was just four years old when Billie was born.

#2 Rihanna’s full name is Robyn Rihanna Fenty

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While she uses her middle name Rihanna when it comes to her music, the singer, designer, and entrepreneur's last name has become a household name - thanks to her fashion label Fenty and cosmetic brand Fenty Beauty. But, if you know the new mom, you call her Robyn., “When people call me Robyn, my head just flies around because I feel like that person knows me. But Rihanna, that tends to be people's own [creation]. Robyn is who I am. Rihanna — that's an idea of who I am.”

#3 Reese Witherspoon’s name was Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon

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While Billie Eilish uses her first two names professionally, actress and producer Reese Witherspoon did the opposite - AKA dropped her first two and went by two. last - at least since the 1990s.
Born as Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon, the Legal Blonde icon uses her mother's maiden name (Reese) as her occupation name and her father's last name (Witherspoon) as her last name.

#4 Dove Cameron was born Chloe Celeste Hoffman

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Former Disney star Dove Cameron's unusual name was known as a sweet nickname for her father, but it's now her legal name (although she does respond to both Dove and Chloe). "He called me Dove more than he ever called me Chloe," Cameron told StyleWatch, according to PEOPLE. "He passed away when I was 15, and I decided to change it legally. So it's on my passport – everything legal is Dove."

#5 Miley Cyrus used to be named Destiny Hope Cyrus

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Singer Miley Cyrus was born with the name Destiny Hope because her parents knew she was born to be great. According to Life & Style, Cyrus explained this on The Voice. "My name was Destiny Hope when I was born because my dad said it was my destiny to bring hope to the world," Cyrus said. But young Destiny quickly earned the nickname "Smiley," which was transformed into "Miley." The star made the legal makeover, changing her name to Miley Ray Cyrus in 2008.

#6 Natalie Portman’s birth name was Natalie Herschlag

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The Thor: Love and Thunder star has long been known to the public as Natalie Portman, but her last name was originally Herschlag. As explained in The Independent in 2006, the Oscar-winning actress adopted her paternal grandmother's maiden name, Portman, as a stage name for her family's privacy.

#7 Olivia Wilde changed her last name from Cockburn as an ode to Oscar Wilde

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While many of us already know that she is dating Harry Styles, a little-known fact about actress, activist, and director Olivia Wilde is that her birth name is Olivia Jane Cockburn.
Why Wilde? As she told The New York Observer in 2007, Olivia decided to opt for a pen name when she moved from behind the camera to in front — and “Wilde” is an ode to the writer Oscar Wilde. “At the time, I was doing The Importance of Being Earnest,” Wilde told The New York Observer. “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.”

#8 Emma Stone’s name is actually Emily

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As Marie Claire UK reports, Olivia Colman shouting "Emily" during her Oscars 2019 acceptance speech wasn't a mistake - she was referring to actress Emma Stone's real name. Born Emily Jean Stone, the Oscar-winning actress hasn't been far from her real name with her stage name. But since both Emma and Emily are super famous names and sound so similar, why is there a subtle swap? Looks like the similarity is the point. The actress changed her professional name as a teenager because someone named Emily Stone was registered with the Screen Actors Guild. She tried the name "Riley Stone" a bit but found it difficult to answer that name. So, as she told Jimmy Fallon, the actress decided to go with Emma – who shares the same nickname (“Em”) and also a tribute to Baby Spice, Emma Bunton.

#9 Lady Gaga’s name is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta

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While we've known her as Lady Gaga since she entered the music and pop culture scene in 2008, the singer/ songwriter/ actress was born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta. Why Gaga? According to Good Housekeeping, there appear to be several different accounts as to the origin of the name, but in a 2010 interview with Flybe, the singer said that her stage name was inspired by the song " Radio Ga Ga" by the Queen and adopted her. Music producer, Robert Fusari. “When we were ready to start performing, I decided that I would play under my real name for a long time. I wanted a new way to reinvent myself. So I said, what about Lady GaGa, because Gaga is a lunatic and Lady has such undertones,” Lady Gaga said in the Flybe interview.

#10 Katy Perry’s name is Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson

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Sometimes, celebrities choose a stage name because the public has associated their real name with another celebrity. This seems to be the case with the pop star we know as Katy Perry - real name Katy Hudson, very close to actress Kate Hudson. As The List explains, after releasing a Christian rock album under the name Katy Hudson in 2001, the singer performed under the name Katheryn Perry (her mother's maiden name was Perry) before settling on Katy Perry in the early 2000s.

#11 Awkwafina’s name is actually Nora Lum

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Awkwafina is not the only name of the actress and rapper. As stated on Cosmopolitan, the Crazy Rich Asians star's name is actually Nora Lum - but even before she got her stage name Awkwafina, it was "Aquafina".
“When I was 16, it was just Aquafina — like my rap name was just Aquafina,” the actress told Galore, explaining that she eventually changed her stage name to Awkwafina after a video producer suggested it. Use a different spelling to avoid getting sued.

#12 Blake Lively’s birth name was Blake Ellender Brown

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Blake Lively's last name was Brown at birth, but - as explained in Nicki Swift - she now shares the same last name as her mother, father, and siblings. Blake's father, actor Ernie Lively, also changed his name from Brown to Lively, the same last name as Blake's mother, Elaine Lively.

#13 Alicia Keys was born as Alicia Augello Cook

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Singer, songwriter, and skin care brand creator Keys Soulcare chose a stage name that speaks to her musical talents - swapping her last name (a combination of her mother's and father's last names) for Keys.
She explained to Newsweek about her name’s origins. “It's a funny story. I got so desperate I went through the dictionary for something that catches my eye.” After briefly deliberating on “Wild,” the singer decided on “Keys,” saying, “… I like Keys.

#14 Lorde is named Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O’Connor

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Grammy Award-winning New Zealand singer Lorde has a regal stage name, but that's not her real name.
The singer explained the origin of her nickname in 2013. "My name is Ella, I'm the one at school, hanging out with friends," she told Interview Magazine. "But when I'm up on stage, Lorde is a character. My friends find that difficult to digest, separating me from the theatrical character they see on stage; but they're getting used to it."
How did the singer deal with Lorde? "When I was trying to come up with a stage name, I thought ‘Lord' was super rad, but masculine,” she explained. “Ever since I was a little kid, I have been really into royals and aristocracy," she said, adding that "...to make Lord more feminine, I just put an ‘e' on the end! Some people think it's religious, but it's not."

#15 Mindy Kaling was born Vera Mindy Chokalingam

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From Never Have I Ever to The Mindy Project to The Office, Mindy Kaling is a multi-talented writer, actress, and producer - but Mindy isn't her first name.
Kaling never actually went by her first name, Vera. Since her birth, people have called her by her middle name, which was inspired by the 1970s American sitcom, Mork & Mindy. Her professional surname, "Kaling", is a shortened version of Chokalingam.

#16 Brie Larson used to be called Brianne Sidonie Desaulniers

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Oscar-winning actress Brie Larson is known for her roles in Room and Captain Marvel, but what about Brianne Desaulniers?
The origin of Larson's stage name is quite interesting: as Today reported, the actress chose the stage name when she was 9 years old because people often mispronounce "Desaulniers". The name was inspired by an American Girl doll named Kirsten Larson, so that "Kirsten could be in our family."

#17 Halsey’s name was Ashley Nicolette Frangipane

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American singer Halsey (whose pronouns are she/they) grew up with the name Ashley but changed her name as a teenager when they were recording their first album, Badlands, as a way to start a new way (if you rearrange the letters in Ashley, you can spell Halsey).
Halsey told Cosmopolitan US: "I think I had the foresight to know that just being me wasn't enough. I had to become a completely different person." At the time, I felt Ashley didn't deserve to be famous and successful because she wasn't that special, but if I did Halsey, maybe she could be."
As Halsey put it, changing their name “allows me to create a new character that is not bound by the expectations I have for myself or the limits others place on me because of my upbringing.” me or my socioeconomic status.”
"I created a person, and she could do everything. There's no such thing as Ashley becoming king, but I've given myself a new name and taken her to mystical, supernatural heights. "

#18 Shania Twain was born Eilleen Regina Edwards

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Ontario-born country star Shania Twain is a Canadian icon, but the name “Shania Twain” didn’t become her moniker until the 1990s. As the Outsider reported in 2021, she explained the origin of her name on Home Now Radio.
“A lot of celebrities are born with a different name than they end up with as a stage name, and I’m one of those people,” Twain said. “It’s a long story. In short, I was born Eilleen Regina Edwards, and then I was adopted and I became Eilleen Regina Twain. Then I became a professional singer and I needed a stage name that sounded a little less like my grandmother’s name because I’m named after my grandmother, both my grandmothers, Eilleen and Regina.”
Why Shania? “I think, in my mind, I was just not wanting to be called my grandmother’s name onstage, so I decided to change it to Shania Twain,” she told. “I met somebody with the name Shania, thought it was beautiful, and Shania Twain was born.”

#19 Lana Del Rey’s name is Elizabeth Woolridge Grant

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Since her career hit a huge hit in 2011 with the release of her first single, "Video Games," Lana Del Rey has garnered a lot of attention - but "Lana Del Rey" isn't. is her first (or second, or third) name. According to Vogue, the singer - born Elizabeth Woolridge Grant - was nicknamed Lizzy Grant, then many stage names such as Sparkle Jump Rope Queen and May Jailer. Where did the name "Lana Del Rey" originally come from? As Vogue notes, the singer aspires to a name that "sounds eerie and reminds me of seascapes on the Floridian coast."

#20 Nina Dobrev’s name is Nikolina Kamenova Dobreva

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Born in Bulgaria, Canadian actress Nina Dobrev is best known for her lead role in The Vampire Diaries. But Nina Dobrev wasn't always her first name - when Dobrev began her acting career, she shortened both her last name and her first name.