30 Celebrities Reveal Their Real Names

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You would be surprised to know that most of the celebrities had changed their names and this includes some of the top action stars in cinema. Find out what the real names are of some of the world’s biggest pop stars.

 Nicki Minaj

Minaj was born Onika Tanya Maraj, but the rap queen announced on Twitter in May 2010: I’ve officially changed my name and will only respond….to Roman. Roman Zolanski.

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Clearing up the confusion a couple of months later, Nicki explained: “As of now, you’ll know Nicki, and you’ll know Roman – my crazy alter ego Roman Zolanski. But you’ll meet Onika before the year ends.”

Your Out Of This World

He can dance, he can sing, and he can get a crowd jumping as good old Bruno Mars. Not so fast, his birth name is harder to say.

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It’s Peter Hernandez!

It’s his dad that started calling him Bruno because he reminded him of a famous wrestler. Bruno says he chose Mars to follow because girls always say he was “out of this world.”

Rev it Up Vin Diesel

Who would have thought that handsome Vin had an alias! It’s Mark Sinclair.

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He changed his name to Vin while working as a bouncer in NYC and then Diesel after a nickname given to him by some co-workers for his high energy personality.

Emily Jean Stone

Emma Stone’s real name is Emily. She was forced to change her moniker aged 16 as there was already an Emily Stone in the acting world.

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Emma felt ideal as she could still shorten it to ‘Em.’

Here Kitty, Kitty, Kit Harington

Christopher Catesby Harington is Kit’s birth given name but has been referred to as Kit for as long as he remembers.

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Game of Thrones fans love him as John Snow. He explained that it was the nickname of Christopher in his family and they didn’t tell him his real name until he was 11. Kit suits you just fine…fine indeed.

 She’s An Original 

“I kissed a girl, and I liked it” rocker Katy Perry has a secret.

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Her real name is Kathryn Hudson so to prevent being confused with the amazing actress Kate Hudson; she changed her stage name to Katy Perry.

Lordy, Lorde

  Cher does it, Madonna does it, and Lorde does it too. Her real name is Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O’Connor, and she knew from the start she needed a shorter, catchier name.

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She always loved royalty, so she picked Lord and added an e to Lord for a feminine touch, becoming the superstar, Lorde.

Drake

Aubrey Graham isn’t the hippest of names, so no wonder the OVO rapper Drake looked to his middle name when he hit the big time.

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His nicknames are Drizzy and Champagne Papi.

 Born This Way Lady Gaga Germanotta

 Could you imagine if Lady Gaga went by her given name Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta?

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Her fame name, Lady Gaga actually came from a auto-correct on a text message from her producer. When she saw it, she loved it and replied, “That’s It!”

 It’s Fancy! Portia De Rossi

She is so gorgeous we suppose she wanted a gorgeous name to go along with her looks. You see, Portia was born with the name, Amanda Lee Rogers.

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She was only 15 when she made the name change official. Portia came from a Shakespeare play and De Rossi, was Italian, which she explained her 15-year-old self thought sounded, “fancy.”

Smiley Miley Cyrus

Miley was born Destiny Hope Cyrus, but her parents called her Smiley because she always had a grin on her face.

She legally changed her name to Miley in 2009, and an instant star was born. Sometimes she came in like a wrecking ball, but that’s for another article.

What is Lizzo’s birth name?

Lizzo, one of the hottest rising stars of 2019,  was born Melissa Viviane Jefferson on April 27, 1988. She was born in Detroit but later moved with her family to Houston, Texas.

When Lizzo was 14 years old, she and two classmates formed a rap group called the Cornrow Clique (As revealed by The Cut ).  She was just supposed to be called Lissa (taken from her name -Melissa). However, Jay-Z’s song “Izzo” was popular at the time, so she was inspired to change her name to Lizzo.

Jelena Noura Hadid

Gigi Hadid was actually born Jelena Noura Hadid. The supermodel revealed that it was her mum, Yolanda Foster, who started calling her Gigi.  She told Style. com: “My mom was called that as a kid by her mother when she was younger, but only around the house.

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In first  grade, there was a girl named Helena, and it got confusing with the teacher who had to call out our names, 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.”

 Meghan Markle

Yap –  Meghan isn’t the real name of Prince Harry’s new wife, it’s Rachel, just like her Suits character! Meghan, the name she uses publicly, is actually her middle name.

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Meghan was introduced to Prince Harry in July 2016 by a mutual friend, and the whirlwind relationship led to an engagement in November 2017. The couple married in a royal wedding held at Windsor Castle on May 2018.

 Natasha Obama

It turns out the baby of the Obama family is actually not named Sasha.

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The news went viral after Twitter users started sharing a thread showing her father’s Wikipedia page, where Sasha’s real name, Natasha, is stated. Sasha is, after all, just a nickname.

Camila Cabello

Camila was born in Cuba and grew up between there and Mexico until she moved to Florida at the age of 5.

Camila’s real name is Karla Camila Cabello Estrabao. She used to go by the name of Karla back when she was in school but auditioned for the X-Factor with the name Camila.

A Starring Role: Natalie Portman

Well, well, well! Natalie Portman was born as Neta-Lee Hershlag. When she was very young, her family moved to the states from Jerusalem.

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 Mariah Carey

Mariah’s Venezuelan grandfather changed his name to Carey on moving to New York as he thought that the name would help him settle better in the US.

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The singer’s first name was inspired by “They Call The Wind Maria,” which is spell without the “h” but pronounced Marian.

 Tom Cruise

 Thomas Cruise Mapother IV dropped his abusive father’s surname after his parents broke up when he was 12.

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Pink

Alecia Moore’s friends used to call her Pink because she blushed when she was embarrassed. Alecia later adopted it for her stage name.

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Fergie

Stacey Ann Ferguson decided she needed to get down with the kids and opted for an abbreviation of her surname: Fergie.

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Liv Tyler

Her mother originally named her Liv Rundgren.

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 Tyler’s mother claimed that rockstar Todd Rundgren was her biological father, but when she met Steven Tyler’s daughter, Mia – her likeness was uncanny and Liv changed her name to Liv Tyler.

On The Wild Side

This brunette beauty known for her roles in Tron and House is Olivia Cockburn.

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She chose her new name after the playwright, Oscar Wilde. We can see why she changed her stage name to Wilde. Cockburn leaves too much to the imagination!

David Bowie

Born David Robert Jones, Bowie is cited as changing his stage name in 1966 to avoid confusion with The Monkees singer Davy Jones

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He chose because he wanted a name with similar connotations of “cutting.” That led Bowie to take inspiration from Jim Bowie, the 19th-century Texan pioneer famous for the eponymous Bowie knife.

Oprah Winfrey

Oprah Winfrey’s name change is a simple tale of easier pronunciation.

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She was named ‘Orpah’ from the Book of Ruth in the Bible, but she became known as ‘Oprah’ almost immediately after her birth, as it was simply easier to spell and pronounce.

 Lana Del Rey

She had a number of stage names before settling on Lana Del Rey. Before she became a household name, Lana Del Rey was plain Lizzie Grant.

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She finally settled on Lana Del Rey during a trip to Miami with her sister “wanted a name that sounded sort of exotic and reminded me of like the seaside on the Floridian coast.”

 Tiger Woods

Eldrick Woods got his fierce forename, “Tiger,” from a Vietnamese soldier friend of his father, who had given his dad the same nickname.

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Whoopi Goldberg

She’s an award-winning actress and talk show host, and she’s also got another name.

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It’s Caryn Johnson! Whoopie changed her first name to Whoopi because that was her nickname for passing gas whenever and wherever. She chose Goldberg because it was Jewish and she thought she’d get more auditions. Now her stage name is so recognizable it can stand alone just like Cher and Madonna!

 Legendary Michael Cain

Michael Cain is one of the most recognizable names in Hollywood. His birth name is Maurice Micklewhite! It’s a good thing he changed his name, anything is better than Micklewhite!

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First, he chose Michael Scott but soon realized another actor already had that name. So when he noticed a movie poster announcing the Cain Mutiny,  “voila!” His name became Michael Cain.

Jamie Foxx

Eric Bishop is Jamie’s birth name but is too blah for the famous! He chose Jamie to “trick” comedy bookers into thinking he was a girl and Foxx after the 70’s sitcom star and comedian, Red Foxx.

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