36 Celebrities Who Have Different Real Names
From Rihanna to Brad Pitt, these are the stars whose birth names are not what you thought they were
By Summer Lin
From Rihanna to Brad Pitt, these stars' birth names are not at all what you thought they were. It's not only the real names that are surprising (hi, Neta-Lee Hershlag)—the reasons for going by different monikers are often fascinating, too. We're looking at you, Bruno Mars.
Here, 36 stars and their real names
Olivia Wilde
Real name: Olivia Cockburn
Wilde hails from a family of writers and journalists, so it's no wonder she modelled her last name on novelist Oscar Wilde. She told The Observer, "At the time, I was doing The Importance of Being Earnest—I was playing Gwendolen, and 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. I had all these reasons. But what I didn't foresee is that people would think of it as a sexy adjective. So now it's got a pornographic quality I never considered."
Reese Witherspoon
Real name: Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon
Bruno Mars
Real name: Peter Gene Hernandez
The "That's What I Like" singer was nicknamed Bruno for the cutest reason: because he was a chubby baby. He explained to Rap Up, "Bruno is after Bruno Sammartino, who was this big, fat wrestler. I was this chunky little baby, so my dad used to call me that as a nickname. Mars came up because a lot of girls say I'm out of this world!"
Gigi Hadid
Real name: Jelena Hadid
Gigi is a nickname that the model's mother gave her when Jelena became "too confusing."
Katy Perry
Real name: Katheryn Hudson
Perry adopted her mother's last name to avoid being confused with actress Kate Hudson.
Natalie Portman
Real name: Neta-Lee Hershlag
Portman is the actress's grandmother's maiden name.
Demi Moore
Real name: Demi Gene Guynes (some sources claim her first name was Demetria at birth, but Demi denies it)
Joaquin Phoenix
Real name: Joaquín Rafael Bottom
Phoenix's parents ditched the last name Bottom in 1979 and reinvented themselves as the Phoenix family.
Kit Harington
Real name: Christopher Catesby Harington
Harington didn't know his real name was Christopher until he was 11 years old. "I think they could see that I wanted to be Kit, but Christopher was a bit of a tradition," he explained to Glamour. "My brother's name is Jack, but his real name is John. Kit is traditionally an offshoot of Christopher, it's just not used that often. My middle name is Catesby."
Julianne Moore
Real name: Julie Anne Smith
Moore's given name was too popular in actors' unions, so she created a mash-up of her other family members' names. In an interview with The New York Times, she said, "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.''
Meghan Markle
Real name: Rachel Meghan Markle
Emma Stone
Real name: Emily Jean Stone
"My real name is Emily. But it was taken at SAG," the actress told W Magazine. "I was 16.... So to ask a 16-year-old to pick a new name is really an interesting process, because I was like, 'I'm going to be Riley.'And so my name was Riley Stone for about six months." But the new name didn't go so well—Stone didn't respond to it when she was on set. "So then I changed it to Emma, because you know, it's closer to Emily, but most people call me 'M,' that know me well."
Jamie Foxx
Real name: Eric Marlon Bishop
Foxx explained the sneaky reason for his name change on Late Show with David Letterman. When he was getting started on the stand-up circuit, he noticed that female comedians were so rare that they would always score a slot. "So I went to the list and wrote down unisex names. Stacy Green, Tracy Brown…Jamie Foxx! And I'm the first guy called. He goes, 'Jamie Foxx, is she here?' I said, 'No, brother, that's me.' And then I go onstage and I get a standing ovation."
Calvin Harris
Real name: Adam Richard Wiles
The Scottish musician wanted to change people's perceptions of him, so he started with his name. "My first single was more of a soul track, and I thought Calvin Harris sounded a bit more racially ambiguous," he said in an interview with ShortList. "I thought people might not know if I was Black or not. After that, I was stuck with it."
Brad Pitt
Real name: William Bradley Pitt
Lorde
Real name: Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor
The New Zealand songstress was always drawn to the name "Lord" but thought the spelling was too masculine. "Ever since I was a little kid, I have been really into royals and aristocracy, so to make 'Lord' more feminine, I just put an e on the end! Some people think it's religious, but it's not," she told Interview.
Rihanna
Real name: Robyn Rihanna Fenty
She still goes by Robyn with friends and family. "When I hear 'Robyn,' I pay attention," she told Rolling Stone.
Lucy Hale
Real name: Karen Lucille Hale
Lady Gaga
Real name: Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta
The story behind Lady Gaga's stage name began with an autocorrected text message. In 2006, she met music producer Rob Fusari, who compared her vocals to Queen's Freddie Mercury. He would sing "Radio Ga Ga" whenever she entered the studio, and one day they were texting and his phone autocorrected it to Lady Gaga. She reportedly texted back, "That's it."
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