15 Wild Origin Stories Of Celebrity Stage Names
![15 Wild Origin Stories Of Celebrity Stage Names](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/7/4/762974_320x180.jpg)
Some celebs find their given name so embarrassing, they have to make up a fun new one – or even a whole new personality. It's a tale as old as time: someone thinks they're names too boring, someone has the same name as someone else and has to set themselves apart, and sometimes a racist old studio head thinks you sound far too Jewish to have any success.
It's sort of silly: shouldn't one's talent be enough? But when your name is in lights, you gotta shine. Would you really believe “David Jones” is from outer space, or are you lining up for a feature by an alien from Mars named DAVID BOWIE??! See the difference? It's subtle, but it's there.
Just wait until you get to Caryn. Like “Karen” with a “C” and “Y.” She's a performer you definitely know, who came up with a world-renowned moniker based on her most un-hide-able flaw.
![David Bowie This town ain't big enough for two Joneses... that's okay, I'll leave. - David Bowie, maybe. Originally named DAVID JONES, he changed it](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/7/0/762970.jpg)
![Jamie Foxx CRACKED.COM Up-and-coming comedian ERIC MARLON BISHOP thought he needed an edge, SO he called himself Jamie, in the hopes that he'd be mi](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/6/2/762962.jpg)
Source: Yahoo
![Bono PAUL DAVID HEWSON wanted to pay homage to his hometown... 's hearing aid shop. Bonavox Shop is a sporty little hearing aid store in Dublin.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/6/0/762960.jpg)
Source: Biography.com
![Keanu Reeves That's actually his real name! And it's Hawaiian for cool breeze! The wild part is that his agent once tried to get him to change his n](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/6/7/762967.jpg)
![Ringo Starr CRACKED COM RICHARD STARKEY was always a drum wiz, and pals used to call his solos Starr Time. As for the Ringo part? Strap in, it's a](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/7/2/762972.jpg)
![Lady Gaga A producer thought her voice sounded like the Queen song Radio Ga-Ga. When he went to text her that bon mot, it was autocorrected to Lady](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/7/3/762973.jpg)
![John Legend Poet J. Ivy once told him JOHN STEPHENS was a bit old-school' for his legendary sound. When Chrissy Teigen was asked why she didn't ta](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/6/4/762964.jpg)
![Vin Diesel He began life as MARK SINCLAIR, but transformed into Vin Diesel when, as a young nightclub bouncer, friends noticed he was so jacked out of](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/6/8/762968.jpg)
![Calvin Harris CRACKED COM ADAM WILES won't answer to Calvin Harris when he's not behind the DJ booth: I'm sorry this is ridiculous. You're speaking](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/6/1/762961.jpg)
![Miley Cyrus ICRACKEDCOM DESTINY HOPE CYRUS wanted to use a stage name when she began acting, SO she went with a slight twist on her childhood moniker,](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/6/5/762965.jpg)
![Carmen Electra A yine CRACKED CON When she was trying out for a musical group, a young TARA LEIGH PATRICK was told by none other than Prince that: Yo](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/6/3/762963.jpg)
![lggy Azalea CRACKED CON When her dog was recovering from a snake bite, a young AMETHYST AMELIA KELLY got a necklace with his name on it: Iggy. She w](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/7/1/762971.jpg)
![Nicolas Cage CRACKED COM A young actor named NICOLAS KIM COPPOLA kept getting razzed by his castmates on his first gig, because of his famous uncle: F](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/6/6/762966.jpg)
![Woody Allen ORACKEDCO COM SURPRISE--WoOdY Allen is a creep! to a childhood friend, young ALLEN STEWART KONIGSBERG was obsessed with a girl whose dog's](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/5/9/762959.jpg)
![Whoopi Goldberg weets As a young actress, CARYN ELAINE JOHNSON worked at theatres sO small, the audience could hear the cast fart. She admit it, her n](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/6/9/762969.jpg)
Source: Hello Magazine