Stage name
Encyclopedia
A stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym
used by performers and entertainers such as actor
s, wrestlers, comedian
s, and musician
s.
s is called a nom de plume or pen name, while the term ring name
is used in professional wrestling. In radio
, the term "radio name" or "air name" is used. (e.g. well-known talk radio
host Rush Limbaugh
, who now uses his real name, was known under the radio name Jeff Christie in his days as a top-40 disk jockey.)
. Examples of these include Joan Fontaine
(real name Joan de Havilland), sister to Olivia de Havilland
, Luka Bloom
(real name Kevin Barry Moore), brother of Christy Moore
; and Mike McGear (brother of Paul McCartney
). Sisters Loretta, Peggy, and Brenda Webb adopted the names Loretta Lynn
, Peggy Sue
, and Crystal Gayle
, respectively. Actor Nicolas Cage
, born Nicolas Coppola, chose a new last name to avoid comparisons to his uncle, director Francis Ford Coppola
, who gave him his big break in the movie Peggy Sue Got Married
. Conversely, individuals who wish to receive benefit from their family connections may take that person's first or last name. For example, Lon Chaney Sr.’s son Creighton spent a number of years appearing in minor roles before renaming himself Lon Chaney Jr. Actress Rebecca Isabelle Laemmle rechristened herself Carla Laemmle
in reference to her uncle, Universal Studios head Carl Laemmle
. Emilio Estévez
and his sister Renee
chose not to take their father Martin Sheen
’s professional name and use their birth names; however, their brother Carlos chose to use their father's professional name, and took the name Charlie Sheen
.
(SAG) in the United States
and British Actors' Equity Association
in the United Kingdom
, stipulate that no two members may have identical working names. An actor whose name has already been taken must choose a new name. Notable examples include David Tennant
, born David McDonald, who said in an interview that he adopted the surname Tennant after reading Smash Hits
magazine. Nathan Lane
, whose birth name Joseph Lane was already in use, Stewart Granger
, whose birth name was James Stewart, and Michael Keaton
, born Michael Douglas. The latter chose the last name Keaton simply because he came across a picture of actress Diane Keaton
and "liked the sound of [her] name," so he adopted it as his own. Michael Andrew Fox became Michael J. Fox
because a Michael Fox
was already a member of the Screen Actors' Guild. Ugly Betty
actress Vanessa Williams
officially uses "Vanessa L. Williams" due to SAG guidelines, although the other actress with same first and last names (Vanessa A. Williams
) is arguably less notable. Similarly, David Walliams
changed one letter in his surname due to there being another "David Williams". Terry O'Quinn
of Lost
fame changed his surname from Quinn to O'Quinn as another registered actor already had the name Terrance Quinn. Long time writer for The Simpsons
, David X. Cohen
changed his middle initial from S to X because there was already a David S Cohen registered with the Writer's Guild of America.
A person hoping to become successful as an entertainer who has a name identical to a name already familiar to the public (in any field of endeavor) may change his/her name in order to not have his/her name evoke the other person with that name. By way of example, the actor/writer/director Albert Brooks
was named "Albert Einstein" by his parents and chose a different second name so that his name would not be a distraction that would evoke the renowned physicist of the same name
. Singer Katy Perry
, born Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson, released her self-titled album
under the name Katy Hudson, but later used her mother's maiden name Perry to avoid confusion with actress Kate Hudson
.
, born Barbara Jean Huffman). Joan Rivers
(born Joan Alexandra Molinsky) went one step further and named herself after a former agent, Tony Rivers, when he told her to change her name.
Cary Grant
(born Archibald Leach) had his name selected for him by Paramount Pictures
. He had been using the name "Cary Lockwood", but the studio decided against it, deeming it too similar to another actor working at the time. Cary and the studio eventually settled on "Cary Grant" (Grant thought the letters "C" and "G" to be lucky: they had brought previous success for both Clark Gable
and Gary Cooper
).
of the British rock band Queen
, who was born Farrokh Bulsara to Parsi parents; his name change was partly intended to conceal his heritage. Similarly, Steven Tyler
of Aerosmith
changed his name from the original Stephen Victor Tallarico "for more promotional appeal". The actor Kal Penn
changed his name from Kalpen Modi for professional purposes; after changing his name, calls back increased by 50%. Historically, Jews
in Hollywood were encouraged to anglicize their names to avoid possible discrimination. This still happens to a degree (Jason Alexander
, Jon Stewart
, Brad Garrett
, Jonah Hill
, Winona Ryder
and Natalie Portman
for instance), but the growing acceptance of ethnic performers in the performing arts has made this occurrence less frequent. Ramón Estévez changed his name to Martin Sheen
because he expected a better reception for an Irish name than a Spanish name ; his sons made divergent choices: Carlos Irwin Estévez is now Charlie Sheen
, while Emilio Estévez
left his name unchanged. German-born actor Hans Gudegast adopted the non-German stage name of Eric Braeden
. Cherilyn Sarkisian is now known to the world by the single name Cher
.
Also, legendary actor Anthony Quinn
was also advised to anglicize his name, as 'Antonio Rodolfo Quinn Oaxaca' was considered too 'ethnic' for Hollywood at the time.
(AEA) advises performers to select a name that is easy for others to pronounce, spell, and remember. Some performers while paying great attention to their skills and abilities give little thought to the difference that a well-thought-out name can make to their career. Often it is only after the realization that a poorly chosen name results in an undesired impression that a person or group decides on a different name.
Actor Michael Caine
was born Maurice Micklewhite and chose the name Michael because he preferred the sound of it to the less glamorous-sounding "Maurice". He chose the name Caine reputedly because at the precise instant he needed to decide upon his new stage name, he saw a cinema marquee for the then-current movie The Caine Mutiny
and thought that it would make a good last name in conjunction with Michael. ("Had I looked the other direction," he would later quip, "I'd be known as Michael The One Hundred and One Dalmatians
.")
, punk rock
, industrial
and hip hop
, musicians will rename themselves with names more menacing or striking than their birth names. Rock music examples include Davey Havok
, Slash
, Sting, Darby Crash
, Marilyn Manson
, Sid Vicious
, Johnny Rotten, Zakk Wylde
, Nikki Sixx
, Count Grishnackh, Necrobutcher
, Blasphemer, Nivek Ogre
, Rob Zombie
, Dimebag Darrell
, Trey Azagthoth
and Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein
as well as every member of Avenged Sevenfold
(M. Shadows
, Synyster Gates
, Zacky Vengeance
, Johnny Christ
, and the late The Reverend Tholomew Plague). Every member of the punk band The Ramones took the pseudonymous "Ramone" surname as part of their collective stage persona. Being that those genres pride themselves on a larger-than-life quality, larger-than-life names are desirable.
Pop music
examples of artists seeking to utilize catchy, marketable names include Madonna
, Lady Gaga
, Prince
, Keith Sweat
, Pink
, and Alicia Keys
, though both Madonna and Prince were given those names at birth. Lady Gaga named herself after the song "Radio Ga Ga
" by Queen
.
Actor John Wayne
's real name was Marion Morrison. He adopted the stage name because the name Marion had since his birth become a female name and he felt at odds with the masculine cowboy characters he portrayed. Similarly, Norma Jeane Baker changed her name to the far more glamorous-sounding Marilyn Monroe
.
Hip Hop artists are known to use stage names but at times do advertise or bring out their real names such as rapper Eminem
, who has used his real name, Marshall Mathers, in various public events and has used it as an alter ego
. His real name gained recognition in his multi platinum album, The Marshall Mathers LP
. (Singer-Actress Queen Latifah
did something similar when she released The Dana Owens Album
under her own given name, Dana Owens.)
vocalist and guitarist Patrick Stump
removed the "h" from his original name, Stumph. It was still pronounced "stump," but the change ensured his audience wouldn't think to pronounce it "stumf." Andy Warhol
dropped an "a" from his original name, Warhola, while couturier Yves Mathieu-Saint-Laurent dropped the first of his two surnames. Rodolfo Alfonso Raffaello Piero Filiberto Guglielmi adopted the stage name Rudolph Valentino
in part because American casting directors found his original surname difficult to pronounce. Singer George Michael
(the son of a Greek Cypriot restaurateur in North London) was born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou.
Some surnames may carry unfortunate connotations in English. Hal Linden
, born Harold Lipshitz, adopted his stage name for fear that the embedded obscenity in his original surname could cost him work. Ralph Lauren
's brother (who was his guardian) changed their family name from Lifshitz for a similar reason: fear of mockery.
almost always use stage names, whereas "classical" composers and performers virtually never do. Some Algerian raï musicians use the prefix Cheb
(for men) or Chaba (Chebba) for women. Both Arabic words mean "young" (e.g. as in Cheb Khaled, or "Young Khaled"). Some performers take a series of different stage names. The British pop singer successful in the 1970s as Alvin Stardust
previously went by the stage name of Shane Fenton in the 1960s. He had been born Bernard William Jewry. Some performers will use different names in different settings. Charles Thompson, singer/songwriter for the alternative band the Pixies, was known in that band as Black Francis. He was called Frank Black
as a solo performer, and again called Black Francis in a reunited Pixies.
Many performers refer to their stage name as their "professional name". In some cases performers subsequently adopt their stage name as their legal name. For instance, the former Robert Allen Zimmerman's legal name has been Robert Dylan (Bob Dylan
) since he changed it in New York City
Supreme Court
in August 1962. Elton John
was born Reginald Dwight but changed his name by deed poll
, making Elton John his real name. When he was knighted, he became Sir Elton John rather than Sir Reginald Dwight. Elvis Costello
(born Declan MacManus), who had adopted his professional name as a legal name, changed it back to his birth name in 1986. In a similar way, actress and singer Miley Cyrus
was born Destiny Hope Cyrus, but found "Miley" more comfortable, making it her legal name.
Due to recording contracts which do not permit them to openly record for competing companies, musicians may appear on other performers' recordings using other names.
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
used by performers and entertainers such as actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
s, wrestlers, comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
s, and musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
s.
Motivation to use a stage name
A performer will often take a stage name because his/her real name is considered unattractive, dull, unintentionally amusing or difficult to pronounce or spell, or because it has been used by another notable individual or because it projects an undesired image. Sometimes a performer adopts a name that is unusual or outlandish to attract attention. Other performers use a stage name in order to retain anonymity. The equivalent concept among writerWriter
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
s is called a nom de plume or pen name, while the term ring name
Ring name
A ring name is a stage name used by a professional wrestler, martial artist, or boxer. While some ring names may have a fictitious first name and surname, others may simply be a nickname, such as The Undertaker.-Wrestling:...
is used in professional wrestling. In radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
, the term "radio name" or "air name" is used. (e.g. well-known talk radio
Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
host Rush Limbaugh
Rush Limbaugh
Rush Hudson Limbaugh III is an American radio talk show host, conservative political commentator, and an opinion leader in American conservatism. He hosts The Rush Limbaugh Show which is aired throughout the U.S. on Premiere Radio Networks and is the highest-rated talk-radio program in the United...
, who now uses his real name, was known under the radio name Jeff Christie in his days as a top-40 disk jockey.)
Family connection
Some individuals who are related to a celebrity take a different last name so that they are not perceived to have received undue advantage from their family connectionNepotism
Nepotism is favoritism granted to relatives regardless of merit. The word nepotism is from the Latin word nepos, nepotis , from which modern Romanian nepot and Italian nipote, "nephew" or "grandchild" are also descended....
. Examples of these include Joan Fontaine
Joan Fontaine
Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland , known professionally as Joan Fontaine, is a British American actress. She and her elder sister Olivia de Havilland are two of the last surviving leading ladies from Hollywood of the 1930s....
(real name Joan de Havilland), sister to Olivia de Havilland
Olivia de Havilland
Olivia Mary de Havilland is a British American film and stage actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1946 and 1949. She is the elder sister of actress Joan Fontaine. The sisters are among the last surviving leading ladies from Hollywood of the 1930s.-Early life:Olivia de Havilland...
, Luka Bloom
Luka Bloom
Luka Bloom is an Irish folk-rock singer-songwriter. He is the younger brother of Irish folk singer Christy Moore.-Early life:...
(real name Kevin Barry Moore), brother of Christy Moore
Christy Moore
Christopher Andrew "Christy" Moore is a popular Irish folk singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He is well known as one of the founding members of Planxty and Moving Hearts...
; and Mike McGear (brother of Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
). Sisters Loretta, Peggy, and Brenda Webb adopted the names Loretta Lynn
Loretta Lynn
Loretta Lynn is an American country music singer-songwriter, author and philanthropist. Born in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky to a coal miner father, Lynn married at 13 years old, was a mother soon after, and moved to Washington with her husband, Oliver Lynn. Their marriage was sometimes tumultuous; he...
, Peggy Sue
Peggy Sue (singer)
Peggy Sue Webb is a country music singer and songwriter, who had brief success as a country singer in the late 60s. She is the sister of two popular country performers, Loretta Lynn and Crystal Gayle....
, and Crystal Gayle
Crystal Gayle
Crystal Gayle is an American country music singer best known for her 1977 country-pop hit, "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue". An award-winning singer, she accumulated 18 number one country hits during the 1970s and 1980s...
, respectively. Actor Nicolas Cage
Nicolas Cage
Nicolas Cage is an American actor, producer and director, having appeared in over 60 films including Raising Arizona , The Rock , Face/Off , Gone in 60 Seconds , Adaptation , National Treasure , Ghost Rider , Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans , and...
, born Nicolas Coppola, chose a new last name to avoid comparisons to his uncle, director Francis Ford Coppola
Francis Ford Coppola
Francis Ford Coppola is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. He is widely acclaimed as one of Hollywood's most innovative and influential film directors...
, who gave him his big break in the movie Peggy Sue Got Married
Peggy Sue Got Married
Peggy Sue Got Married is a 1986 American comedy-drama film directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Kathleen Turner as a woman on the verge of a divorce, who finds herself transported back to the days of her senior year in high school...
. Conversely, individuals who wish to receive benefit from their family connections may take that person's first or last name. For example, Lon Chaney Sr.’s son Creighton spent a number of years appearing in minor roles before renaming himself Lon Chaney Jr. Actress Rebecca Isabelle Laemmle rechristened herself Carla Laemmle
Carla Laemmle
Rebecca Isabelle "Carla" Laemmle is an American actress and the niece of Universal Pictures founder Carl Laemmle. She was a movie actress in the 1920s and 1930s, and is, along with Lupita Tovar, one of the very few surviving actors of the silent film era.-Career:Laemmle entered films in 1925...
in reference to her uncle, Universal Studios head Carl Laemmle
Carl Laemmle
Carl Laemmle , born in Laupheim, Württemberg, Germany, was a pioneer in American film making and a founder of one of the original major Hollywood movie studios - Universal...
. Emilio Estévez
Emilio Estevez
Emilio Estevez is an American actor, film director, and writer. He started his career as an actor and is well-known for being a member of the acting Brat Pack of the 1980s, starring in The Breakfast Club and St. Elmo's Fire...
and his sister Renee
Renée Estevez
-Early years:Estevez was born in New York City, New York, the daughter of artist Janet and actor Martin Sheen. Her father is of Spanish and Irish descent. Her three brothers are also actors: Emilio Estevez, Ramon Estevez and Charlie Sheen. Her husband, Jason Thomas Federico, has been a...
chose not to take their father Martin Sheen
Martin Sheen
Ramón Gerardo Antonio Estévez , better known by his stage name Martin Sheen, is an American film actor best known for his performances in the films Badlands and Apocalypse Now , and in the television series The West Wing from 1999 to 2006.He is considered one of the best actors never to be...
’s professional name and use their birth names; however, their brother Carlos chose to use their father's professional name, and took the name Charlie Sheen
Charlie Sheen
Carlos Irwin Estevez , better known by his stage name Charlie Sheen, is an American film and television actor. He is the youngest son of actor Martin Sheen....
.
Guild and association rules
Guilds and associations that represent actors, such as the Screen Actors GuildScreen Actors Guild
The Screen Actors Guild is an American labor union representing over 200,000 film and television principal performers and background performers worldwide...
(SAG) in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and British Actors' Equity Association
British Actors' Equity Association
Equity is the trade union for actors, stage managers and models in the United Kingdom. It was formed in 1930 by a group of West End performers....
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, stipulate that no two members may have identical working names. An actor whose name has already been taken must choose a new name. Notable examples include David Tennant
David Tennant
David Tennant is a Scottish actor. In addition to his work in theatre, including a widely praised Hamlet, Tennant is best known for his role as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who, along with the title role in the 2005 TV serial Casanova and as Barty Crouch, Jr...
, born David McDonald, who said in an interview that he adopted the surname Tennant after reading Smash Hits
Smash Hits
Smash Hits was a pop music based magazine, aimed at teenagers and young adults and originally published in the United Kingdom by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006 and was issued fortnightly for most of that time...
magazine. Nathan Lane
Nathan Lane
Nathan Lane is an American actor of stage and screen. He is best known for his roles as Mendy in The Lisbon Traviata, Albert in The Birdcage, Max Bialystock in the musical The Producers, Ernie Smuntz in MouseHunt, Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls, Pseudolus in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to...
, whose birth name Joseph Lane was already in use, Stewart Granger
Stewart Granger
Stewart Granger was an English-American film actor, mainly associated with heroic and romantic leading roles. He was a popular leading man from the 1940s to the early 1960s rising to fame through his appearances in the Gainsborough melodramas.-Early life:He was born James Lablache Stewart in Old...
, whose birth name was James Stewart, and Michael Keaton
Michael Keaton
Michael John Douglas , better known by the stage name Michael Keaton, is an American actor known for his early comedic roles, most notably his performance as the title character of Tim Burton's Beetlejuice . Keaton is also famous for his dramatic portrayal of Bruce Wayne/Batman in Tim Burton's...
, born Michael Douglas. The latter chose the last name Keaton simply because he came across a picture of actress Diane Keaton
Diane Keaton
Diane Keaton is an American film actress, director, producer, and screenwriter. Keaton began her career on stage, and made her screen debut in 1970...
and "liked the sound of [her] name," so he adopted it as his own. Michael Andrew Fox became Michael J. Fox
Michael J. Fox
Michael J. Fox, OC is a Canadian American actor, author, producer, activist and voice-over artist. With a film and television career spanning from the late 1970s, Fox's roles have included Marty McFly from the Back to the Future trilogy ; Alex P...
because a Michael Fox
Michael Fox (American actor)
Michael Fox was an American character actor who was in numerous movies and television roles. Some of his most famous recurring roles were as various autopsy physicians in Perry Mason, as Coroner George McLeod in Burke's Law, as Amos Fedders in Falcon Crest and as Saul Feinberg in The Bold and the...
was already a member of the Screen Actors' Guild. Ugly Betty
Ugly Betty
Ugly Betty is an American comedy-drama television series developed by Silvio Horta, which premiered on ABC on September 28, 2006, and ended on April 14, 2010. The series revolves around the character Betty Suarez and is based on Fernando Gaitán's Colombian telenovela soap opera Yo soy Betty, la fea...
actress Vanessa Williams
Vanessa L. Williams
Vanessa Lynn Williams is an American pop-R&B recording artist, producer, dancer, model, actress and showgirl. In 1983, she became the first woman of African-American descent to be crowned Miss America, but a scandal generated by her having posed for nude photographs published in Penthouse magazine...
officially uses "Vanessa L. Williams" due to SAG guidelines, although the other actress with same first and last names (Vanessa A. Williams
Vanessa A. Williams
Vanessa A. Williams is an American actress who has appeared in several television series such as Melrose Place and the Showtime cable television series Soul Food. In 1996, she was featured in the television series Murder One...
) is arguably less notable. Similarly, David Walliams
David Walliams
David Edward Walliams is an English comedian, writer and actor, known for his partnership with Matt Lucas on the TV sketch show Little Britain and its predecessor Rock Profile...
changed one letter in his surname due to there being another "David Williams". Terry O'Quinn
Terry O'Quinn
Terry O'Quinn is an American actor, most famous for playing John Locke on the TV series Lost. He made his debut in a 1980 television movie called F.D.R.: The Last Year. Since then, O'Quinn has had minor supporting roles in films and TV movies such as Young Guns, All the Right Moves, Silver Bullet,...
of Lost
Lost (TV series)
Lost is an American television series that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 2004 to May 23, 2010, consisting of six seasons. Lost is a drama series that follows the survivors of the crash of a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, on a mysterious tropical island...
fame changed his surname from Quinn to O'Quinn as another registered actor already had the name Terrance Quinn. Long time writer for The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
, David X. Cohen
David X. Cohen
David Samuel Cohen , primarily known as David X. Cohen, is an American television writer. He has written for The Simpsons and he is the head writer and executive producer of Futurama.-Early life:...
changed his middle initial from S to X because there was already a David S Cohen registered with the Writer's Guild of America.
A person hoping to become successful as an entertainer who has a name identical to a name already familiar to the public (in any field of endeavor) may change his/her name in order to not have his/her name evoke the other person with that name. By way of example, the actor/writer/director Albert Brooks
Albert Brooks
Albert Lawrence Brooks is an American actor, voice actor, writer, comedian and director. He received an Academy Award nomination in 1987 for his role in Broadcast News...
was named "Albert Einstein" by his parents and chose a different second name so that his name would not be a distraction that would evoke the renowned physicist of the same name
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of general relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics and one of the most prolific intellects in human history...
. Singer Katy Perry
Katy Perry
Katy Perry is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Born in Santa Barbara, California, and raised by Christian pastor parents, Perry grew up listening to only gospel music and sang in her local church as a child. After earning a GED during her first year of high school, she began to pursue a...
, born Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson, released her self-titled album
Katy Hudson (album)
Katy Hudson is the eponymous, gospel rock debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Katy Hudson, who would later adopt the familiar stage name of Katy Perry. It was released on October 23, 2001, as a Christian music album by Red Hill Records two days before her seventeenth birthday. This...
under the name Katy Hudson, but later used her mother's maiden name Perry to avoid confusion with actress Kate Hudson
Kate Hudson
Kate Garry Hudson is an American actress. She came to prominence in 2001 after winning a Golden Globe and receiving several nominations, including a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, for her role in Almost Famous. She then starred in the hit film How to Lose a Guy in 10...
.
Involuntary name changes
A performer may also have had their stage name chosen for them by their agent (such was the case with Barbara EdenBarbara Eden
Barbara Eden is an American film and television actress and singer who is best known for her starring role in the sitcom I Dream of Jeannie.-Early years:...
, born Barbara Jean Huffman). Joan Rivers
Joan Rivers
Joan Rivers is an American comedian, television personality and actress. She is known for her brash manner; her loud, raspy voice with a heavy New York accent; and her numerous cosmetic surgeries...
(born Joan Alexandra Molinsky) went one step further and named herself after a former agent, Tony Rivers, when he told her to change her name.
Cary Grant
Cary Grant
Archibald Alexander Leach , better known by his stage name Cary Grant, was an English actor who later took U.S. citizenship...
(born Archibald Leach) had his name selected for him by Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
. He had been using the name "Cary Lockwood", but the studio decided against it, deeming it too similar to another actor working at the time. Cary and the studio eventually settled on "Cary Grant" (Grant thought the letters "C" and "G" to be lucky: they had brought previous success for both Clark Gable
Clark Gable
William Clark Gable , known as Clark Gable, was an American film actor most famous for his role as Rhett Butler in the 1939 Civil War epic film Gone with the Wind, in which he starred with Vivien Leigh...
and Gary Cooper
Gary Cooper
Frank James Cooper, known professionally as Gary Cooper, was an American film actor. He was renowned for his quiet, understated acting style and his stoic, but at times intense screen persona, which was particularly well suited to the many Westerns he made...
).
Ethnicity
In the past, a stage name was often used when a performer's real name was considered to denote a specific ethnicity that faced potential discrimination. An example of this type of name change involved Freddie MercuryFreddie Mercury
Freddie Mercury was a British musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band Queen. As a performer, he was known for his flamboyant stage persona and powerful vocals over a four-octave range...
of the British rock band Queen
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
, who was born Farrokh Bulsara to Parsi parents; his name change was partly intended to conceal his heritage. Similarly, Steven Tyler
Steven Tyler
Steven Tyler is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, best known as the frontman and lead singer of the Boston-based rock band Aerosmith, in which he also plays the harmonica, and occasional piano and percussion. He is known as the "Demon of Screamin'", due to his high screams...
of Aerosmith
Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many...
changed his name from the original Stephen Victor Tallarico "for more promotional appeal". The actor Kal Penn
Kal Penn
Kalpen Suresh Modi , best known by his stage name Kal Penn, is an American film and television actor, producer, and civil servant....
changed his name from Kalpen Modi for professional purposes; after changing his name, calls back increased by 50%. Historically, Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
in Hollywood were encouraged to anglicize their names to avoid possible discrimination. This still happens to a degree (Jason Alexander
Jason Alexander
Jay Scott Greenspan , better known by his professional name of Jason Alexander, is an American actor, writer, comedian, television director, producer, and singer. He is best known for his role as George Costanza on the television series Seinfeld, appearing in the sitcom from 1989 to 1998...
, Jon Stewart
Jon Stewart
Jon Stewart is an American political satirist, writer, television host, actor, media critic and stand-up comedian...
, Brad Garrett
Brad Garrett
Bradley "Brad" Garrett is an American actor, voice actor, stand-up comedian, and professional poker player. Throughout he has appeared in numerous television and film roles....
, Jonah Hill
Jonah Hill
Jonah Hill Feldstein , known professionally as Jonah Hill, is an American actor, producer, screenwriter, and comedian. Hill is best known roles for his roles in Superbad, Knocked Up, and Get Him to the Greek. He made his theatrical debut in I Heart Huckabees, alongside Jason Schwartzman and Dustin...
, Winona Ryder
Winona Ryder
Winona Ryder is an American actress. She made her film debut in the 1986 film Lucas. Ryder's first significant role came in Tim Burton's Beetlejuice as a goth teenager, which won her critical and commercial recognition...
and Natalie Portman
Natalie Portman
Natalie Hershlag , better known by her stage name Natalie Portman, is an actress with dual American and Israeli citizenship. Her first role was as an orphan taken in by a hitman in the 1994 French action film Léon, but major success came when she was cast as Padmé Amidala in the Star Wars prequel...
for instance), but the growing acceptance of ethnic performers in the performing arts has made this occurrence less frequent. Ramón Estévez changed his name to Martin Sheen
Martin Sheen
Ramón Gerardo Antonio Estévez , better known by his stage name Martin Sheen, is an American film actor best known for his performances in the films Badlands and Apocalypse Now , and in the television series The West Wing from 1999 to 2006.He is considered one of the best actors never to be...
because he expected a better reception for an Irish name than a Spanish name ; his sons made divergent choices: Carlos Irwin Estévez is now Charlie Sheen
Charlie Sheen
Carlos Irwin Estevez , better known by his stage name Charlie Sheen, is an American film and television actor. He is the youngest son of actor Martin Sheen....
, while Emilio Estévez
Emilio Estevez
Emilio Estevez is an American actor, film director, and writer. He started his career as an actor and is well-known for being a member of the acting Brat Pack of the 1980s, starring in The Breakfast Club and St. Elmo's Fire...
left his name unchanged. German-born actor Hans Gudegast adopted the non-German stage name of Eric Braeden
Eric Braeden
Eric Braeden is a German-American film and television actor, best known for his role as Victor Newman on the soap opera The Young and the Restless and as John Jacob Astor IV in the 1997 film Titanic...
. Cherilyn Sarkisian is now known to the world by the single name Cher
Cher
Cher is an American recording artist, television personality, actress, director, record producer and philanthropist. Referred to as the Goddess of Pop, she has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, three Golden Globes and a Cannes Film Festival Award among others for her work in...
.
Also, legendary actor Anthony Quinn
Anthony Quinn
Antonio Rodolfo Quinn-Oaxaca , more commonly known as Anthony Quinn, was a Mexican American actor, as well as a painter and writer...
was also advised to anglicize his name, as 'Antonio Rodolfo Quinn Oaxaca' was considered too 'ethnic' for Hollywood at the time.
Ease of use
Another consideration in choosing a stage name is ease of use. The Actors' Equity AssociationActors' Equity Association
The Actors' Equity Association , commonly referred to as Actors' Equity or simply Equity, is an American labor union representing the world of live theatrical performance, as opposed to film and television performance. However, performers appearing on live stage productions without a book or...
(AEA) advises performers to select a name that is easy for others to pronounce, spell, and remember. Some performers while paying great attention to their skills and abilities give little thought to the difference that a well-thought-out name can make to their career. Often it is only after the realization that a poorly chosen name results in an undesired impression that a person or group decides on a different name.
Actor Michael Caine
Michael Caine
Sir Michael Caine, CBE is an English actor. He won Academy Awards for best supporting actor in both Hannah and Her Sisters and The Cider House Rules ....
was born Maurice Micklewhite and chose the name Michael because he preferred the sound of it to the less glamorous-sounding "Maurice". He chose the name Caine reputedly because at the precise instant he needed to decide upon his new stage name, he saw a cinema marquee for the then-current movie The Caine Mutiny
The Caine Mutiny (film)
The Caine Mutiny is a 1954 American drama film set during World War II, directed by Edward Dmytryk and produced by Stanley Kramer. It stars Humphrey Bogart, José Ferrer, Van Johnson and Fred MacMurray, and is based on the 1951 Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Herman Wouk The Caine Mutiny. The film...
and thought that it would make a good last name in conjunction with Michael. ("Had I looked the other direction," he would later quip, "I'd be known as Michael The One Hundred and One Dalmatians
One Hundred and One Dalmatians
One Hundred and One Dalmatians, often abbreviated as 101 Dalmatians, is a 1961 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and based on the novel The Hundred and One Dalmatians by Dodie Smith...
.")
Relevance to image
Commonly in the music world, and especially those of heavy metalHeavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
, punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
, industrial
Industrial music
Industrial music is a style of experimental music that draws on transgressive and provocative themes. The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by the band Throbbing Gristle, and the creation of the slogan "industrial music for industrial people". In general, the...
and hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
, musicians will rename themselves with names more menacing or striking than their birth names. Rock music examples include Davey Havok
Davey Havok
David Paden Marchand , more commonly known by the stage name Davey Havok, is the lead vocalist of the American rock band AFI and the electronic music band Blaqk Audio....
, Slash
Slash (musician)
Saul Hudson , known by his stage name Slash, is a British-American musician and songwriter. He is best known as the former lead guitarist of the American hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late 1980s and early 1990s. During his later years with Guns N'...
, Sting, Darby Crash
Darby Crash
Darby Crash was an American punk musician who, along with long time friend Pat Smear , co-founded The Germs...
, Marilyn Manson
Marilyn Manson
Marilyn Manson may refer to:* Marilyn Manson , an American rock musician* Marilyn Manson , the American rock band led by the singer of the same name...
, Sid Vicious
Sid Vicious
Sid Vicious was an English musician best known as the bassist of the influential punk rock group Sex Pistols...
, Johnny Rotten, Zakk Wylde
Zakk Wylde
Zachary Phillip Wylde , best known by the stage name Zakk Wylde, is an American musician, songwriter, and occasional actor who is best known as the former guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne and founder of the heavy metal band Black Label Society. He was the lead guitarist and vocalist in Pride & Glory,...
, Nikki Sixx
Nikki Sixx
Nikki Sixx is an American musician, songwriter, author, fashion designer, radio host, and photographer, best known as the co-founder and bassist of the band Mötley Crüe. Prior to forming Mötley Crüe, Sixx was a member of Sister before going on to form London with his Sister band mate Lizzie Grey...
, Count Grishnackh, Necrobutcher
Necrobutcher
Jørn Stubberud is a Norwegian musician. He is best known as the bassist in the black metal band Mayhem under the stage name Necrobutcher...
, Blasphemer, Nivek Ogre
Nivek Ogre
Nivek Ogre is a Canadian musician, performance artist and actor best known as a founding member of the industrial band Skinny Puppy. Since that band featured another Kevin and was produced by another Ogilvie Nivek Ogre (born Kevin Graham Ogilvie December 5, 1962) is a Canadian musician,...
, Rob Zombie
Rob Zombie
Rob Zombie is an American musician, film director, screenwriter and film producer. He founded the heavy metal band White Zombie and has been nominated three times as a solo artist for the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance.Zombie has also established a career as a film director, creating the...
, Dimebag Darrell
Dimebag Darrell
Darrell Lance Abbott , also known as Diamond Darrell and Dimebag Darrell, was an American guitarist. He was best known as a founding member of the heavy metal bands Pantera and Damageplan. Abbott also contributed to the album Rebel Meets Rebel, a collaboration between Pantera and David Allan Coe...
, Trey Azagthoth
Trey Azagthoth
Trey Azagthoth is an American musician best known as founder and guitarist of the Florida death metal band Morbid Angel. Azagthoth began playing at the age of 16...
and Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein
Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein
Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein , is an American guitarist best known for his material with the horror punk band the Misfits.-Life and career:...
as well as every member of Avenged Sevenfold
Avenged Sevenfold
Avenged Sevenfold is an American heavy metal band from Huntington Beach, California. Formed in 1999, the group consists of vocalist M. Shadows, lead guitarist Synyster Gates, rhythm guitarist Zacky Vengeance, bassist Johnny Christ....
(M. Shadows
M. Shadows
Matthew Charles Sanders , better known by his stage name M. Shadows, is the lead vocalist, songwriter, and founding member for the American metal band Avenged Sevenfold.-Early life and musical beginnings:...
, Synyster Gates
Synyster Gates
Brian Elwin Haner, Jr. , better known by his stage name Synyster Gates or simply Syn, is an American musician, best known for being the lead guitarist of the American heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold.-Early life:...
, Zacky Vengeance
Zacky Vengeance
Zachary James Baker, better known by his stage name Zacky Vengeance, is the rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist for the American metal/rock band Avenged Sevenfold.-Biography:...
, Johnny Christ
Johnny Christ
Jonathan Lewis Seward, , better known by his stage name Johnny Christ, is the bassist of the American heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold. Johnny was the fourth bassist to join Avenged Sevenfold in 2002, replacing former members Matt Wendt, Justin Sane, and Dameon Ash...
, and the late The Reverend Tholomew Plague). Every member of the punk band The Ramones took the pseudonymous "Ramone" surname as part of their collective stage persona. Being that those genres pride themselves on a larger-than-life quality, larger-than-life names are desirable.
Pop music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
examples of artists seeking to utilize catchy, marketable names include Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
, Lady Gaga
Lady GaGa
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta , better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she primarily studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and briefly attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before withdrawing to...
, Prince
Prince (musician)
Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...
, Keith Sweat
Keith Sweat
Keith Sweat is an American R&B/soul, singer-songwriter, record producer, radio personality and a major contributor to the new jack swing era.-Music career:...
, Pink
Pink (singer)
Alecia Beth Moore , better known by her stage name Pink , is an American singer-songwriter, musician and actress....
, and Alicia Keys
Alicia Keys
Alicia Augello Cook , better known by her stage name Alicia Keys, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and occasional actress. She was raised by a single mother in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan in New York City. At age seven, Keys began playing the piano...
, though both Madonna and Prince were given those names at birth. Lady Gaga named herself after the song "Radio Ga Ga
Radio Ga Ga
"Radio Ga Ga" is a 1984 song performed and recorded by the British rock band Queen, written by their drummer Roger Taylor. It was released as a single with "I Go Crazy" by Brian May on the original B-side and was included on the album The Works...
" by Queen
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
.
Actor John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
's real name was Marion Morrison. He adopted the stage name because the name Marion had since his birth become a female name and he felt at odds with the masculine cowboy characters he portrayed. Similarly, Norma Jeane Baker changed her name to the far more glamorous-sounding Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....
.
Hip Hop artists are known to use stage names but at times do advertise or bring out their real names such as rapper Eminem
Eminem
Marshall Bruce Mathers III , better known by his stage name Eminem or his alter ego Slim Shady, is an American rapper, record producer, songwriter and actor. Eminem's popularity brought his group project, D12, to mainstream recognition...
, who has used his real name, Marshall Mathers, in various public events and has used it as an alter ego
Alter ego
An alter ego is a second self, which is believe to be distinct from a person's normal or original personality. The term was coined in the early nineteenth century when dissociative identity disorder was first described by psychologists...
. His real name gained recognition in his multi platinum album, The Marshall Mathers LP
The Marshall Mathers LP
The Marshall Mathers LP is the third studio album by American rapper Eminem. Released May 23, 2000, the album sold more than 1.76 million copies in its first week just in the US. In 2001, the album won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album and was nominated for Album of the Year...
. (Singer-Actress Queen Latifah
Queen Latifah
Dana Elaine Owens , better known by her stage name Queen Latifah, is an American singer, rapper, and actress. Her work in music, film and television has earned her a Golden Globe award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, two Image Awards, a Grammy Award, six additional Grammy nominations, an Emmy...
did something similar when she released The Dana Owens Album
The Dana Owens Album
The Dana Owens Album is the fifth studio album by American recording artist Queen Latifah, released in the United States on September 28, 2004 by Interscope Records. Unlike Latifah's previous hip hop/R&B-oriented efforts, this album showcases a jazz vocal performance...
under her own given name, Dana Owens.)
Euphony and ease of remembrance
Some performers and artists may choose to simplify their name to make it easier to spell and pronounce, and easier for others to remember. For instance, Fall Out BoyFall Out Boy
Fall Out Boy is an American rock band from Wilmette, Illinois, formed in 2001. The band consists of vocalist, guitarist and composer Patrick Stump, bassist and lyricist Pete Wentz, guitarist Joe Trohman, and drummer Andy Hurley. The band released five studio albums from 2003–2008...
vocalist and guitarist Patrick Stump
Patrick Stump
Patrick Vaughn Stump is an American singer-songwriter, composer, record producer, and music critic. He is the composer, lead singer, and multi-instrumentalist of Fall Out Boy, an American rock band from Wilmette, Illinois, and is also a solo artist...
removed the "h" from his original name, Stumph. It was still pronounced "stump," but the change ensured his audience wouldn't think to pronounce it "stumf." Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
dropped an "a" from his original name, Warhola, while couturier Yves Mathieu-Saint-Laurent dropped the first of his two surnames. Rodolfo Alfonso Raffaello Piero Filiberto Guglielmi adopted the stage name Rudolph Valentino
Rudolph Valentino
Rudolph Valentino was an Italian actor, and early pop icon. A sex symbol of the 1920s, Valentino was known as the "Latin Lover". He starred in several well-known silent films including The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, The Sheik, Blood and Sand, The Eagle and Son of the Sheik...
in part because American casting directors found his original surname difficult to pronounce. Singer George Michael
George Michael
George Michael is a British musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who rose to fame in the 1980s when he formed the pop duo Wham! with his school friend, Andrew Ridgeley...
(the son of a Greek Cypriot restaurateur in North London) was born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou.
Some surnames may carry unfortunate connotations in English. Hal Linden
Hal Linden
Hal Linden is an American stage and television actor and television director, best known for his role in the television comedy series Barney Miller and as presenter on the ABC educational series Animals, Animals, Animals....
, born Harold Lipshitz, adopted his stage name for fear that the embedded obscenity in his original surname could cost him work. Ralph Lauren
Ralph Lauren
Ralph Lauren is an American fashion designer and business executive; best known for his Polo Ralph Lauren clothing brand.-Early life:...
's brother (who was his guardian) changed their family name from Lifshitz for a similar reason: fear of mockery.
Musical use
Some types of music are more associated with stage names than others. For example hip hop artistsHip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
almost always use stage names, whereas "classical" composers and performers virtually never do. Some Algerian raï musicians use the prefix Cheb
Cheb (disambiguation)
Cheb may refer to:* Cheb, city in the Czech Republic* A Yorkshire slang word meaning 'to throw'* Sunderland Mackem slang for a contemptible person.* A Scottish slang term for the female breasts...
(for men) or Chaba (Chebba) for women. Both Arabic words mean "young" (e.g. as in Cheb Khaled, or "Young Khaled"). Some performers take a series of different stage names. The British pop singer successful in the 1970s as Alvin Stardust
Alvin Stardust
Alvin Stardust is an English pop singer and stage actor.-Career:...
previously went by the stage name of Shane Fenton in the 1960s. He had been born Bernard William Jewry. Some performers will use different names in different settings. Charles Thompson, singer/songwriter for the alternative band the Pixies, was known in that band as Black Francis. He was called Frank Black
Frank Black
Black Francis is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known as the frontman of the influential alternative rock band Pixies, with whom he performs under the stage name Black Francis. Following the band's breakup in 1993, he embarked on a solo career under the name Frank Black...
as a solo performer, and again called Black Francis in a reunited Pixies.
Many performers refer to their stage name as their "professional name". In some cases performers subsequently adopt their stage name as their legal name. For instance, the former Robert Allen Zimmerman's legal name has been Robert Dylan (Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
) since he changed it in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
Supreme Court
New York Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the trial-level court of general jurisdiction in thestate court system of New York, United States. There is a supreme court in each of New York State's 62 counties, although some smaller counties share judges with neighboring counties...
in August 1962. Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
was born Reginald Dwight but changed his name by deed poll
Deed poll
A deed poll is a legal document binding only to a single person or several persons acting jointly to express an active intention...
, making Elton John his real name. When he was knighted, he became Sir Elton John rather than Sir Reginald Dwight. Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
(born Declan MacManus), who had adopted his professional name as a legal name, changed it back to his birth name in 1986. In a similar way, actress and singer Miley Cyrus
Miley Cyrus
Miley Ray Cyrus is an American actress and pop singer-songwriter. She achieved wide fame for her role as Miley Stewart/Hannah Montana on the Disney Channel sitcom Hannah Montana....
was born Destiny Hope Cyrus, but found "Miley" more comfortable, making it her legal name.
Due to recording contracts which do not permit them to openly record for competing companies, musicians may appear on other performers' recordings using other names.
See also
- Alter egoAlter egoAn alter ego is a second self, which is believe to be distinct from a person's normal or original personality. The term was coined in the early nineteenth century when dissociative identity disorder was first described by psychologists...
- List of stage names
- Moniker
- Ring nameRing nameA ring name is a stage name used by a professional wrestler, martial artist, or boxer. While some ring names may have a fictitious first name and surname, others may simply be a nickname, such as The Undertaker.-Wrestling:...
- Pen namePen nameA pen name, nom de plume, or literary double, is a pseudonym adopted by an author. A pen name may be used to make the author's name more distinctive, to disguise his or her gender, to distance an author from some or all of his or her works, to protect the author from retribution for his or her...
- PseudonymPseudonymA pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...