Fascinating Stories Behind Celebrity Stage Names

It may seem like an easy thing to transform yourself into a celebrity but a lot more goes into the persona of an actor, a musician, or an athlete. While the majority of celebrities keep their birth name and use it to work magic and hone their craft, others perhaps sense that their given names may not just live up to the image or brand that they see for themselves, choosing to develop a persona that is as much a part of them as their talent.

Would Lady Gaga be the incredible powerhouse that she is today if she shed her persona and entered the realm of celebrity as Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta? Or would Bruno Mars’ name evoke images of “24K Magic” if he went by his given name of Peter Gene Hernandez? It’s possible but we’ll never really know.

To be a celebrity is to be a living, breathing brand. It requires constant vigilance over image and success to stay on a path that a star has projected for themselves. One of the biggest aspects of a brand is its name. But it’s not just a random selection that led these celebrities to their popular monikers. Many stars have strange stories using formative moments to create celebrity stage names.

Many stage names that you know and love come from simple combinations of street names or childhood pets, while others have very strange origin stories. Some of the most famous celebrity stage names come from inside jokes. There’s even a couple that may have originated in the paranormal.

24/7 Tempo consulted a range of entertainment publications including People Magazine, Harper’s Bazaar, and the Los Angeles Times to compile a list of interesting tales behind celebrity stage names. Celebrities were then chosen from a range of mediums that had the most interesting backstories to their stage names. After that, we confirmed the details of the backstories using a myriad of sources including Time Magazine. (For celebrities who achieved mainstream success early, discover actors who won an Oscar in their first film role.)

Pee-Wee Herman

Before he became world-famous and bumped into Large Marge in “Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure,” he went by the simple moniker of Paul Reubens. This wasn’t his given name either – he started life as Paul Rubenfeld. He eventually chose the name for what he intended to be a character, which ironically became his claim to fame, by combining two symbols from childhood – “Pee-Wee” comes from a brand of harmonica he once owned.

Herman was a classmate of Rueben’s who he remembers being particularly high-strung. After that, his stage name fell into place. As he told Vanity Fair, “I like that it didn’t sound like a made-up name, that it was just kind of cruddy.”

Sid Vicious

The English bassist for the punk rock band Sex Pistols, Sid Vicious was another celebrity who changed his name more than once. Before he became the Sid Vicious we all know, he was John Simon Ritchie. He then changed his name to John Beverley.

But his famous stage name would come from bandmate Johnny Rotten’s pet hamster, Sid. While playing with the hamster, it bit him, which led him to exclaim, “Your Sid is vicious!” Rotten thought the remark was so funny, he started calling John Sid Vicious, and the rest is history.

Brie Larson

Famed actress Brie Larson is well known for her roles in the indie film “Room,” for which she won an Oscar, and her roles in “The United States of Tara,” “Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World,” and “The Marvels.” Her given name is Brianne Sidonie Desaulniers, but she decided to rearrange it a bit for her film career.

She shortened Brianne to Brie and chose Larson for her last name as it was the name of her favorite American Girl Doll growing up, Kirsten Larson. (For other famous contemporary actors, discover the top movie stars of the 2010s.)

Michael Keaton

Born Michael John Douglas when he arrived in Hollywood and made enough of a showing to sign with the Screen Actors Guild, he found his name was already taken by the famed actor Michael Douglas. While many people think Keaton is a nod to Buster Keaton, he claims he sort of stumbled upon the name while looking through the letters of the alphabet.

Alice Cooper

Legendary shock-rocker Alice Cooper was born Vincent Furnier, and legend has it that he got his name from a summoning session with an Ouija board. The spirits told him that Alice Cooper was his name in a past life. It took years, however, for Cooper himself to dispel the rumor.

Cooper said that the name came up out of nowhere. According to him, “There was something about it. I conjured up an image of a little girl with a lollipop in one hand and a butcher knife in the other. Lizzie Borden. Alice Cooper. They had a similar ring.”

Albert Brooks

From the moment he was born, Albert Brooks was overshadowed by a legendary scientist with the same namesake. Born as Albert Einstein, he dreamt of making it big in Hollywood, so Einstein initially went by just his first and middle name, Albert Lawrence. After deciding it sounded too much like a Vegas lounge singer, he changed it once more.

Brooks was conceived from an old family name, and Albert Brooks was born. Funnily enough, his older brother Bob Einstein stuck with the name upon entering the business and still found success as the comedy character “Super Dave Osborne.”

Sugar Ray Robinson

Born Walker Smith Jr., soon-to-be legendary boxer Sugar Ray Robinson chose his stage name by at first “borrowing” the Amateur Athletic Union boxing card of his friend Ray Robinson. The sugar came from his manager, who declared Robinson’s fighting style to be “as sweet as sugar.” Thus, Sugar Ray Robinson was born.

Jackie Chan

Chan Kong-sang was working on a construction site in Australia, but his co-workers had trouble pronouncing his birth name. A co-worker named Jack started calling him “Little Jack.” Pretty soon after, this was shortened to Jackie. From there, Jackie Chan would take his nickname across the world and become a legendary film star and martial artist.

Snoop Dogg

Rapper, actor, and businessman Snoop Dogg was born Cordozar Calvin Broadus Jr., and he had a fondness for the “Peanuts” cartoon strip. His family felt he shared a resemblance with the character of Snoopy. Upon entering the rap world, Broadus went by Snoop Dogg. One can only assume the Dogg followed the Snoop.

Whoopi Goldberg

Comedian, actor, and television show host Whoopi Goldberg was born Caryn Johnson. Upon entering the comedy world, Johnson developed a reputation for her flatulence. Due to her tendency to pass gas in front of friends and colleagues, they likened her to a whoopie cushion.

After that, her mother gave her the idea to use the last name Goldberg, thinking a Jewish surname would help her get farther in Hollywood. She took the embarrassing nickname and owned it, transforming it into a name known by millions.

Post Malone

Rather than rely on friends or circumstances to give him a unique stage name, rapper, singer, and pop music extraordinaire Post Malone turned to the internet. At the tender age of 14 years old, after making a mixtape, the then-named Austin Richard Post needed a good rap name. He plugged his name into an online rap name generator, which spat out “Post Malone.” He stuck with it and has sold millions of records in the process.

MC Hammer

Rapper MC Hammer was born Stanley Kirk Burrell and got his stage name from a unique childhood job with the Oakland Athletics baseball team. After the team’s owner Chuck Finley saw him dancing in the stadium parking lot, he hired Burrell as the team’s batboy. While on the job, Finley and other players began calling him Hammer, thanks to his resemblance to the great hitter “Hammerin’” Hank Aaron.

Burrell retained his childhood nickname and went by MC Hammer when he entered the music industry.

Sting

Born Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner, The Police frontman, Sting got his start in music by playing weekend jazz shows after school with groups like the Phoenix Jazzmen and Last Exit. Due to his habit of performing in a striped black and yellow jumper, his then-bandleader told him he looked like a bee or wasp.

His fellow bandmates took to calling him Sting, and the name stuck for good. Even now, Sting is so used to his stage name that he hardly recognizes his birth name. According to him, “I was never called Gordon. You could shout ‘Gordon’ in the street and I would just move out of your way.“

Iggy Azalea

Rapper, singer, and pop sensation Iggy Azalea was born Amethyst Amelia Kelly, which is a unique name in and of itself. Kelly took her name in honor of her childhood dog Iggy. After the dog fought a snake and lived to tell the tale, the singer wore a locket in his honor around her neck bearing his name.

After so many people assumed her name was Iggy due to the locket, she rolled with it. Her grandfather, however, warned her against a singular stage name. To combat this, she used the street she grew up on for her surname. Thus, Iggy Azalea was born.

Vin Diesel

Legendary actor Vin Diesel was born Mark Sinclair but got his stage name from his years working as a nightclub bouncer at Tunnel in New York City. He wanted to appear tougher for the job, so Sinclair shortened his mother’s married last name from Vincent to Vin. Around the same time, club employees had begun calling him Diesel due to his energetic nature. After that, he combined the two to make Vin Diesel.  (For celebrities of the more notorious variety, discover 22 of Hollywood’s most reviled personalities.)