42 Celebrities Who Were Born with Different Names

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By Chelsea Peng published 27 August 16

"That's not my name. That's not my name." —the Ting Tings and the following 42 stars, who, for whatever reason, decided to adopt 42 different pseudonyms.

1/42

Fergie

In a previous life, she was known as Stacy Ann Ferguson. Then she did the duchess thing.

2/42

Ashton Kutcher

Goes by his middle name (from Christopher Ashton Kutcher).

3/42

Kelly Rowland

It's "Kelendria Trene Rowland."

4/42

Carmen Electra

Much sexier than Tara Leigh Patrick, TBH. (Props to the belated Prince for coming up with the new version.)

5/42

Nina Dobrev

Nikolina Konstantinova Dobreva has a certain ring to it, no?

6/42

John Legend

It takes balls to go from John Roger Stephens to "Legend," but he did it.

7/42

Pink

One name is *always* better than three, even if it's "Alecia Beth Moore."

8/42

Blake Lively

Born Blake Ellender Brown, she adopted her mom's last name when she started acting. <3

9/42

Lorde

Some of her squad members/friends still call her Ella (Yelich-O'Connor).

10/42

Lady Gaga

Meanwhile, though they're no more, ex-fiancé Taylor Kinney definitely called her by her given name Stefani (Joanne Angelina Germanotta).

11/42

Reese Witherspoon

To quote a fellow editor: "My fave different name is Reese Witherspoon, because her name is Laura. And it's like, you look way more like a Laura, TBH." (Reese is her second middle name.)

12/42

Rihanna

You know about the Fenty part. But did you know her real first name's Robyn?

13/42

Theo James

Because "Theodore Peter James Kinnaird Taptiklis" wouldn't fit on a marquee/anything, really.

14/42

Rooney Mara

It's actually Patricia.

15/42

Lana Del Rey

Elizabeth Grant would not get summertime sadness. Lana Del Rey freaking *invented* summertime sadness.

16/42

Miley Cyrus

She legally changed her name to Miley Ray Cyrus from "Destiny Hope."

17/42

Kat Dennings

Last name Litwack, first name still Kat (from Katherine).

18/42

Jon Stewart

Another one who legally changed his name—from Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz—to what he goes by on stage.

19/42

Jay Z

You know this one: Shawn Corey Carter.

20/42

Drake

And probably this one, from that GIF of young Aubrey Graham dancing in a tiny vest.

21/42

Calvin Harris

Before they were kaput/sworn enemies, Taylor Swift called him by his real name: Adam Richard Wiles.

22/42

Mila Kunis

Milena Markovna Kunis sounds pretty too.

23/42

Emma Stone

True story: She changed her name to Emma from Emily Jean because of her obsession with the Spice Girls, particularly Baby Spice/Emma Lee Bunton.

24/42

Nicki Minaj

Onika Tanya Maraj, which is like an anagram. IS IT AN ANAGRAM?

25/42

Bruno Mars

It's Peter Gene Hernandez. But he'll always be Bruno in our hearts.

26/42

Iggy Azalea

Amethyst! Amelia! Kelly!

27/42

Kim Cattrall

ICYMI, she's British. Which explains the Clare Woodgate.

28/42

Brad Pitt

Because William Bradley Pitt sounds like the friend of a friend of a Founding Father.

29/42

Marilyn Monroe

No Norma Jean Mortensen for this one.

30/42

Diane Keaton

Yup—Diane Hall, like Annie Hall.

31/42

Audrey Hepburn

Edda Kathleen van Heemstra Hepburn-Ruston...yeah.

32/42

Helen Mirren

Similarly, Ilyena Lydia Mironoff.

33/42

Natalie Portman

If we were going by birth names, her Oscar would read "Natalie Hershlag."

34/42

Kit Harington

Real name: Christopher Catesby Harington. Awwww.

35/42

Lily James

Following the trend of compact, easy-to-pronounce names, hers is Lily Chloe Ninette Thomson.

36/42

Demi Moore

Once upon a time, Demetria Guynes married singer Freddy Moore and kept his name after the divorce. A true Hollywood fairytale.

37/42

Julianne Moore

Julie Anne stitched her two names together...and emerged an Oscar winner and Tom Ford muse.

38/42

Alicia Keys

"Keys" is maybe a little more apt job-wise than "Alicia Augello Cook."

39/42

Lucy Hale

Karen, but she goes by a shortened version of her middle name–Lucille.

40/42

Olivia Wilde

No relation to Oscar Wilde, except in a literary sense. (She dropped Cockburn in honor of the writers in her family.)

41/42

Tina Fey

Funny how Elizabeth Stamatina Fey went on to play a Liz (Lemon).

42/42

Katy Perry

Simple: Kate Hudson was already taken.

Chelsea Peng

I'm Chelsea Peng, the assistant editor at MarieClaire.com. On my tombstone, I would like a GIF of me that's better than the one that already exists on the Internet and a free fro-yo machine. Besides frozen dairy products, I'm into pirates, carbs, Balzac, and snacking so hard I have to go lie down.