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41 Celebrities Who I Had No Idea Changed Their First Or Last Names Before They Were Famous

By Ajani Bazile-Dutes,

1 day ago

1. Jason Sudeikis was born Daniel Jason Sudeikis.

https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4EE6I7_0u8cX0cu00 — Jason doesn't go by his first name because his father's name is also Daniel , and it would get confusing in his house when his mom would call out for Daniel.
Steven Simione / WireImage

2. Mindy Kaling was born Vera Mindy Chokalingam.

https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3Ef2Wr_0u8cX0cu00 — Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images for Warner Bros. Discovery

3. Meghan Markle was born Rachel Meghan Markle.

https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1WQNc5_0u8cX0cu00 — Getty Images

4. Ryan Phillippe was born Matthew Ryan Phillippe.

https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4T8qeJ_0u8cX0cu00 — Steve Granitz / FilmMagic / Getty Images

5. Kevin Jonas was born Paul Kevin Jonas II.

https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4L7IAP_0u8cX0cu00 — Kevin's father's name is Paul Kevin Jonas Sr.
Frank Micelotta / ABC via Getty Images

6. Tina Fey was born Elizabeth Stamatina Fey.

https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0ZiBw4_0u8cX0cu00 — Tina Fey is known by a shortened version of her middle name. She's said that only a few people know her first name is Elizabeth and still call her that, including Amy Poehler.
John Nacion / Getty Images

7. Ashton Kutcher was born Christopher Ashton Kutcher.

https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3MpV4q_0u8cX0cu00 — At the 2017 Teen Choice Awards, Ashton revealed in an acceptance speech that his first name was Chris and that he started going by his middle name when he was 19 and became an actor.
Gregg Deguire / WireImage

8. Tom Hardy was born Edward Thomas Hardy.

https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=471o9B_0u8cX0cu00 — Dave Benett / Dave Benett / WireImage / Getty Images

9. Will Ferrell was born John William Ferrell.

https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1P2kFB_0u8cX0cu00 — Amanda Edwards / Getty Images

10. Tim McGraw was born Samuel Timothy McGraw.

https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3TJiIt_0u8cX0cu00 — David Becker / Getty Images for iHeartRadio

11. Johnny Knoxville was born Philip John Clapp.

https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0JGGcY_0u8cX0cu00 — He wanted a "snappier" name, so Johnny came from his middle name, and Knoxville came from where he was born — Knoxville, Tenessee.
Jeff Kravitz / FilmMagic / Getty Images

12. Guy Fieri was born Guy Ferry.

https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0hOP0F_0u8cX0cu00 — Fieri is actually what his family's name was before they came to the US, so he changed it back in honor of them.
Michael Buckner / Variety via Getty Images

13. Kevin James was born Kevin Knipfing.

https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3hVHE2_0u8cX0cu00 — Nbc / Todd Owyoung / NBC via Getty Images

14. Gigi Hadid was born Jelena Hadid.

https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4gGJZX_0u8cX0cu00 — Gigi was a family nickname .
Dia Dipasupil / Getty Images

15. Meryl Streep was born Mary Streep. Just Mary.

https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4KqMJu_0u8cX0cu00 — Meryl was a family nickname.
Samir Hussein / WireImage / Getty Images

16. Bruno Mars was born Peter Gene Hernandez.

https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=157pn8_0u8cX0cu00 — His dad nicknamed him "Bruno" when he was two because of his resemblance to professional wrestler Bruno Sammartino.
Paras Griffin / Getty Images for BET

17. Lucy Hale was born Karen Hale.

https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4PwZ5e_0u8cX0cu00 — She got Lucy from her middle name , Lucille.
Daniele Venturelli / Getty Images for Pomellato

18. Macy Gray was born Natalie Renée McIntyre.

https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1UBL2v_0u8cX0cu00 — When she was a child she was riding her bike, fell off, and landed in front of a mailbox that said "Macy Gray." It stuck with her and then she became Macy Gray herself.
Getty Images

19. Liam Neeson was born William John Neeson.

https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2l8RM0_0u8cX0cu00 — Karwai Tang / WireImage / Getty Images

20. Will Smith was born Willard Carroll Smith.

https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4WXdGN_0u8cX0cu00 — Frazer Harrison / Getty Images

21. Alicia Keys was born Alicia Augello Cook.

https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3Fqu0T_0u8cX0cu00 — Alicia Keys said when she was younger she wanted to use a stage name and she originally thought of going by Alicia Wild. She asked for her mother's opinion, and she said, "It sounds like you're a stripper." Alicia settled on the last name Keys and explained, "It's like the piano keys. And it can open so many doors."
Jamie Mccarthy / WireImage / Getty Images

22. Olivia Wilde was born Olivia Cockburn.

https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2tlchF_0u8cX0cu00 — Olivia changed her last name to Wilde after playing Gwendolen in her high school's production of Oscar Wilde’s, *The Importance of Being Earnest* .
Stefanie Keenan / Getty Images for Michael Kors

23. Erykah Badu was born Erica Abi Wright.

https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3olBur_0u8cX0cu00 — When she was younger, she changed the spelling of her name from Erica to Erykah because she believed her original name to be a slave name. She chose Badu as her last name because it was her favorite jazz scat sound, and is also an African name for the 10th born child used for the Akan people in Ghana.
Jamie Mccarthy / Getty Images

24. Joaquin Phoenix was born Joaquin Rafael Bottom.

https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1zFXkO_0u8cX0cu00 — After his parents left the religious group, Children of God sect, they changed their family's surnames from Bottom to Phoenix.
Borja B. Hojas / WireImage / Getty Images

25. Demi Moore was born Demi Gene Guynes.

https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3E54gH_0u8cX0cu00 — When she was 18, Demi married musician Freddy Moore and took his last name. After they divorced four years later, she decided to keep his last name.
Stephane Cardinale - Corbis / Corbis via Getty Images

26. Julianne Moore was born Julie Anne Smith.

https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=17Gbyi_0u8cX0cu00 — When Julianne tried to join SAG with her real name she was told that there was already a Julie Smith in SAG so she would need to use another name. Her dad's name was Peter Moore Smith and her mom's name was Anne Smith, so she came up with a name that included both of theirs.
Samir Hussein / WireImage / Getty Images

27. John Legend was born John Roger Stephens.

https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3ZGT4C_0u8cX0cu00 — The stage name John Legend started out as a nickname that his friends would always call him. He said, "Legend' is something that I never would have chosen for myself originally. It grew to the point where more people in my circle would know me by that name than by my real name."
Marc Piasecki / Getty Images

28. Blake Lively was born Blake Ellender Brown.

https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2xnBt4_0u8cX0cu00 — Blake took her mom's surname Lively when she decided to be an actress.
Mike Coppola / Getty Images for Tiffany & Co.

29. Aaron Paul was born Aaron Paul Stutevant.

https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0afadj_0u8cX0cu00 — Aaron dropped his real last name because it was too difficult for people to pronounce. Now he just uses his middle name as his last.
Gilbert Flores / Variety via Getty Images

30. Nicolas Cage was born Nicolas Kim Coppola.

https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2af9Qi_0u8cX0cu00 — Nicolas is the nephew of director Francis Ford Coppola. He made appearances in some of his uncle's films and apparently changed his name to avoid the accusation of nepotism. His stage name is partly inspired by the Marvel comic book character Luke Cage.
Leon Bennett / Getty Images for NEON

31. Tim Allen was born Timothy Allen Dick.

https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=00xXyX_0u8cX0cu00 — In the '80s, Tim got a job on a local talk show, *Good Afternoon Detroit* , however he was told to think of another name because they refused to have "Tim Dick" written on the screen when he was on camera.
Elyse Jankowski / Getty Images

32. Katy Perry was born Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson.

https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=05Pqd1_0u8cX0cu00 — Katy changed her name because she didn't want to be confused with Kate Hudson. She made her stage name by switching her last name for her mother's maiden name.
Neil Mockford / GC Images / Getty Images

33. Jonah Hill was born Jonah Hill Feldstein.

https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1FLqe4_0u8cX0cu00 — His sister is actor Beanie Feldstein and she uses their family's last name.
Taylor Hill / FilmMagic

34. Natalie Portman was born Natalie Hershlag.

https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=480oy9_0u8cX0cu00 — Natalie Portman was born in Israel and had a traditional Hebrew name. Her family changed the Hershlag surname to Portman, when they emigrated to the United States in 1984.
Matt Winkelmeyer / Getty Images

35. Chelsea Kane was born Chelsea Kane Staub.

https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3jmdAi_0u8cX0cu00 — Chelsea said she started using her middle name as her stage last name because it is easier to pronounce.
John Wolfsohn / Getty Images

36. Courtney Love was born Courtney Michelle Harrison.

https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3MhWzR_0u8cX0cu00 — In 2010, Courtney stopped using her stage name. She explained the change saying, “We love her [Courtney Love] when she goes onstage, but I don’t need her in the rest of my life. The name Courtney Love is a way to oppress me.” She now prefers to now go by her given name, Courtney Michelle Harrison.
Dave Benett / Dave Benett / Getty Images

37. Julie Bowen was Julie Bowen Luetkemeyer.

https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2IkP2u_0u8cX0cu00 — Stefanie Keenan / Getty Images for Baby2Baby

38. Theo James was born Theodore Peter James Kinnaird Taptiklis.

https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=290Gub_0u8cX0cu00 — After attending the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in England, he decided to change his last name to be an actor. He felt the surname Taptiklis was unidentifiable and hard to pronounce. He also liked the idea of not having everything about him out in the world. He chose his second middle name as his stage last name due to "a very pertinent personal connection to a family member."
Rodin Eckenroth / WireImage / Getty Images

39. Michael Keaton was born Michael Douglas.

https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4EwGG2_0u8cX0cu00 — Michael changed his last name at the beginning of his acting career to avoid being confused with the other big actor named Michael Douglas.
Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images for CinemaCon

40. Stevie Wonder was born Steveland Judkins.

https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=42pBx2_0u8cX0cu00 — When he was 4, Stevie's parents got divorced and his mom legally changed his surname from Judkins to Morris. When he was around 11 years old, a record producer gave him the stage name Little Stevie Wonder. They chose Wonder as the name because it was reference to how young and incredibly talented he was.
Lila Seeley / FilmMagic / Getty Images

41. Winona Ryder was born Winona Laura Horowitz.

https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2nao7G_0u8cX0cu00 — Winona was cast in the 1986 movie *Lucas* . When she was asked how she wanted her name to appear in the credits, she allegedly chose Ryder as her stage last name because her a Mitch Ryder album was playing in the background.
Astrid Stawiarz / Getty Images for Netflix

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