Stage name

A stage name is a name an entertainer (such as a movie star or a musician) uses instead of their real name. Famous examples include actress Marilyn Monroe, singer Lady Gaga and rapper Nicki Minaj.

takes in the place of their real or birth name, they might like this name better than their real one or it's easier for people to remember. Professional wrestlers use stage names also, in their case it is called a "ring name".

Actors and actresses choose stage names for a variety of reasons. Their real names may be the same as or similar to those of other people, or they may be difficult to say or spell.

Famous examples

Stage name	Real name	Notes
2pac	Tupac Shakur	None
50 Cent	Curtis Jackson Brown	None
Alan Alda	Alfonso Joseph D'Abruzzo	None
David Bowie	David Robert Jones	None
Elvis Costello	Declan Patrick McManus	None
Dalida	Yolande Christina Gigliotti	None
Doris Day	Doris Mark Ann von Kappelhoff	None
Bob Dylan	Robert Allen Zimmerman	Surname legally changed to Dylan.
Paco de Lucía	Francisco Sanchez Gomez	None
Eminem	Marshall Mathers III	None
Jamie Farr	Jameel Joseph Farah	None
Lady Gaga	Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta	None
WC Fields	William Claude Dukenfield	None
Elton John	Reginald Kenneth Dwight	Full name legally changed to Elton Hercules John
Tom Jones	Thomas John Woodward	None
Marilyn Manson	Brian Warner	None
Prince	Prince Rogers Nelson	None
Rick Springfield	Richard Springthorpe	None
Ringo Starr	Richard Starkey	None
Tiny Tim	Herbert Khaury	None
Peter Tork	Peter Halsten Thorkelson	None
Peter Tosh	Winston McIntosh	None
Stevie Wonder	Steveland Hardaway Judkins	Last name can also be Morris.

Stage Name Media

• 

  Marilyn Monroe (born Norma Jeane Mortenson) created her stage name by combining her mother's maiden name with the first name of Broadway star Marilyn Miller. It became her legal name in 1956.

• 

  Singer Freddie Mercury legally changed his name from Farrokh Bulsara.

Related pages

• Pen name