29 Celebrity Name Change Backstories
There’s way more behind celebrity names than just union rules.
![29 Celebrity Name Change Backstories](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/4/3/9/696439.jpg?v=2)
Celebrities change their names all the time, and it's not always because Cruise sounds cooler than Mapother. A lot of times there's a truly interesting, if not juicy, story behind a famous person's stage name.
For example ...
![CRAy Leonardo Dicaprio's first name was inspired by none other than Leonardo da Vinci. While his mother was pregnant with DiCaprio, she and his father](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/6/7/7/695677.jpg?v=2)
![My real name is Robert Elias. -Robert Downey Jr. The Iron Man star revealed that his father, filmmaker Robert Downey Sr., changed his name sO he cou](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/6/6/4/695664.jpg?v=2)
![Alicia Beth Moore (Pink) got her stage name from Mr Pink in Reservoir Dogs because she shared the Steve Buscemi character's sassy and smart-ass attitu](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/6/5/2/695652.jpg?v=2)
![CRACKED COM 2 CHAINZ'S INITIAL RAP NAME WAS TITY BOY (AND THAT'S BECAUSE HE WAS THE ONLY BREAST FED CHILD IN HIS FAMILY). But according to him, 2 Ch](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/6/7/3/695673.jpg?v=2)
![Ace of Cakes star DUFF GOLDMAN got his nickname when his big brother couldn't say his real name, calling him Duffy as a baby instead of Jeffrey. C](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/6/6/9/695669.jpg?v=2)
![Charlotte Emma Aitchison couldn't think Of a good stage name, SO she picked her MSN screen name charlie XCX which stuck after she got famous. CRACKEDO](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/6/6/1/695661.jpg?v=2)
![Katy Perry changed her name from Katy Hudson to avoid being confused with actress Kate Hudson. ? ? But Kate Hudson's father had changed his name from](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/6/5/8/695658.jpg?v=2)
![BUSTER KEATON WAS KNOWN FOR HIS DEATH-DEFYING STUNTS BORN JOSEPH KEATON, HIS NICKNAME CAME FROM HARRY HOUDINI WHO SAW HIM FALL DOWN THE STAIRS AS A](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/6/6/0/695660.jpg?v=2)
![CRACKEDOON In 1967, David Jones had to change his last name to avoid being confused with Davy Jones of The Monkees. His new surname, Bowie, was a trib](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/6/5/6/695656.jpg?v=2)
![The Weeknd came up with his stage name as a reference to the time when he ran away from home with his friend for the weekend. He had to drop an'e' in](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/6/5/7/695657.jpg?v=2)
![Actor CREED BRATTON is often as odd in real life as his namesake character on THE OFFICE. He didn't like his given name. So while partying in Europe i](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/6/5/4/695654.jpg?v=2)
![David Tennant's birth name was David McDonald but there was already a David McDonald in the actors' union he was joining SO he had to change it. He fl](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/6/4/2/695642.jpg?v=2)
![Oprah Winfrey was named Orpah after a woman in the Bible. Along the way, her name got misspelled as Oprahs SsO often that it just kinda stuck. CRA](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/6/4/3/695643.jpg?v=2)
![Arrested Development star Portia de Rossi was born in Australia as Amanda ROgers. The actress said she was struggling with her identity as a gay teen,](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/6/7/2/695672.jpg?v=2)
![CRACKED.COM Brie Larson's given surname is Desaulniers, but she wanted one that's easier to say. So she took the surname of Kirsten Larson, her favori](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/6/2/7/695627.jpg?v=2)
![Keanu Reeves's first name is Hawaiian, ke'anu meaning cool breeze over the mountains. As awesome as that is, his agents thought it Wasn't good enoug](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/6/3/8/695638.jpg?v=2)
![Emily Jean Stone changed her name to Emma Stone for two reasonss 1. Her real name was already taken when she tried to register with the Screen Actors](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/6/3/7/695637.jpg?v=2)
![Martin Sheen's real name is Ramon Gerardo Antonio Estevez. BE a Due to prejudices against Hispanics in 1950s New York, he named himself Martin after](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/6/3/2/695632.jpg?v=2)
![Ella Yelich-o'connor, better known as Lorde, has been into royal stuff since she was a kid, and thought that Lord was a great stage name- she just add](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/6/3/3/695633.jpg?v=2)
![Belcalis Almanzar was nicknamed Bacardi'o. 0O after the liquor company -a because her sister's name is Hennessy. It was her Instagram name but her ac](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/6/5/0/695650.jpg?v=2)
![John Simon Ritchie was named Sid Vicious after a hamster. PRU ARUS JRITY CCALISTS Bandmate Johnny Rotten's pet hamster was named Sid, and he mocking](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/6/3/1/695631.jpg?v=2)
![Post Malone He went to a rap StoyAoy name generator and just typed Austin Post, his real name. ontloy](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/6/2/3/695623.jpg?v=2)
![Buzz Aldrin's first name was actually Edwin but his sister, who couldn't pronounce brother, called him Buzzer and it stuck. BU27 ALDRIN CRACKEDCON](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/6/4/1/695641.jpg?v=2)
![IGGY AZALEA Iggy came from her dog's name. Azalea was derived from the street her mom lived on.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/6/3/6/695636.jpg?v=2)
![Nicki Minaj's birth name is Onika Maraj. Her friends started calling her Nicki but she was convinced to change her last name by a company exec igas](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/6/4/4/695644.jpg?v=2)
![Ben Haggerty took his stage name from a high school art assignment where he named a superhero figurine Professor Macklemore. CRACKEDCON](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/6/2/1/695621.jpg?v=2)
![Adam Spiegel got nicknamed Spike Jonze by his dirtbike shop co-workers. He didn't shower before work, so his hair stuck out in spikes. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/6/1/9/695619.jpg?v=2)
![Miley Cyrus (born Destiny Hope Cyrus) was called ''Smiley as a child because she smiled all the time. Eventually, Smiley became Miley, which she lega](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/6/4/6/695646.jpg?v=2)
![Alicia Keys chose her last name after her friend told her of a dream about trying to open a locked briefcase. (...) I was like, 'Keys? and I play the](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/pictofact/6/1/8/695618.jpg?v=2)