Did you know or ever wanted to know the real names of famous people such as actors, actresses, dancers, singers, musicians, directors, comedians, martial artists, rappers, Politicians…etc? then this weeks article will provide you with this information. For celebrities it has become a norm and a necessity to have a stage name. A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers (such as those listed above, as examples) instead of using their real name that is, their birth name. But why is this name changing so important? Well, there are many reasons that will cause someone to change his or her name.

Why famous celebrities change their names
The reasons for celebrities choosing a stage name instead of using their birth name is for one or more of the following reasons:

i.) May wish to conceal their family origins in their name.

ii.) Birth name is less than glamorous - too plain and ordinary.

iii.) Name is too hard to pronounce, spell and remember. they will be less likely to be remembered and hired!

iv.) There is a need for a name that compliments their performing persona.

vi.) Name is too long, unattractive and don't have the right sound to compliment their performing persona.

vii.) Another person has the same name especially in your career field. (explain in more detail below).

viii.) Simply need a name that stands out while at the same time both unique and memorable.

ix) Need to remain anonymous for a specific reason.

x.) Real names may be considered to be too "ethnic."

In number 7 (vii.) above, this holds true in the acting profession. Acting organizations such as the British Actors' Equity Association (now called Equity), in the UK and The Screen Actors Guild in the US, both lay down rules that specifically prevent more then one member having the same name. Should such a situation arise then, that new person will have to modify his/her name or change it totally for a new name.

Hollywood Stars are known all over the world by their famous stage names and not by their real or birth name. Would Tom Cruise become a Movie Star with his real name of Thomas Mapother IV? or what about singer Shania Twain whose real name is Eilleen Regina Edwards? Check out other names like Chuck Norris, MC Hammer, John Wayne, Bruce Lee and so on and you will certainly get the reasons for some of these name changes. Now, take the time and look for the name you know a celebrity by and find their real name given by birth.

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Personality/Public Name              Birth Name/Real Name

A
Aaliyah...............................................Aaliyah Dana Haughton
Edie Adams.........................................Elizabeth Edith Enke
Nick Adams.........................................Nicholas Adamshock
Eddie Albert........................................Edward Albert Heimberger
Alan Alda.............................................Alphonso D'Abruzzo
Jane Alexander...................................Jane Quigley
Muhammad Ali...................................Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr.
Fred Allen............................................John Sullivan
Woody Allen........................................Allen Konigsberg
June Allyson........................................Ella Geisman
Don Ameche........................................Dominic Felix Amici
Julie Andrews.....................................Julia Wells
Jennifer Aniston.................................Jennifer Anastassakis
Eve Arden..........................................Eunice Quedens
Beatrice Arthur..................................Bernice Frankel
Jean Arthur........................................Gladys Greene
Ashanti..............................................Ashanti Shaquoya "Shani Bani" Douglas
Fred Astaire.......................................Frederick Austerlitz
Frankie Avalon....................................Francis Thomas Avalonne

B
Babyface.............................................Kenny Edmonds
Lauren Bacall.....................................Betty Joan Perske
Kaye Ballard.......................................Catherine Balotta
Anne Bancroft....................................Anne Italiano
Brigitte Bardot...................................Camille Javal
Rona Barrett......................................Rona Burstein
Gene Barry........................................Eugene Klass
John Barrymore................................John Blythe
Orson Bean.........................................Dallas Burrows
Tony Bennett.....................................Anthony Dominick Benedetto
Jack Benny.........................................Benjamin Kubelsky
Milton Berle........................................Milton Berlinger
Irving Berlin.......................................Israel Baline
Beyonce...............................................Beyonce Giselle Knowles
Joey Bishop.........................................Joseph Gottlieb
Amanda Blake....................................Beverly Louise Neill
Robert Blake.......................................Michael Gubitosi
Michael Bolton....................................Michael Bolotin
Bono (U2)............................................Paul Hewson
Sonny Bono.........................................Salvatore Bono
Victor Borge........................................Borge Rosenbaum
Big Bopper...........................................Jiles Perry Richardson
Ernest Borgnine..................................Ermes Effron Borgnino
David Bowie.........................................David Robert Jones
Da Brat.................................................Shawntae Harris
Fanny Brice.........................................Fanny Borach
Charles Bronson.................................Charles Buchinski
Mel Brooks..........................................Melvin Kaminsky
Dr. Joyce Brothers.............................Joyce Diane Bauer
Yul Brynner........................................Taidje Kahn, Jr.
George Burns......................................Nathan Birnbaum
Ellen Burstyn......................................Edna Gilhooley
Richard Burton...................................Richard Jenkins
Red Buttons........................................Aaron Chwatt

C
Cher....................................................Cherilyn Sarkarsian La Pierre
Nicholas Cage.....................................Nicholas Coppola
Michael Caine.....................................Maurice Micklewhite
Rory Calhoun......................................Francis Timony Durgin
Dyan Cannon......................................Simille Frieson
Truman Capote..................................Truman Streckfus Persons
Diahann Carroll..................................Carol Diahann Johnson
Jeff Chandler......................................Ira Grossel
Cyd Charisse.......................................Tula Ellice Finklea
Chubby Checker.................................Ernest Evans
Cher......................................................Cherilyn Sarkisian
Patsy Cline...........................................Virginia Patterson Hensley
Lee J. Cobb..........................................Leo Jacoby
Claudette Colbert................................Lily Chauchoin
Perry Como..........................................Pierino Roland Como
Mike Connors.......................................Krekor "Kirk" Ohanian
Robert Conrad.....................................Conrad Robert Falk
Alice Cooper.........................................Vincent Damon Furnier
Gary Cooper.........................................Frank James.
David Copperfield................................David Kotkin
Howard Cosell......................................Howard Cohen
Elvis Costello........................................Declan MacManus
Joan Crawford......................................Lucille Le Sucur
Michael Crawford................................Michael Dumble-Smith
Bing Crosby..........................................Harry Lillis Crosby
Tom Cruise...........................................Thomas Mapother IV
Tony Curtis...........................................Bernard Schwartz

D
Vic Damone.........................................Vito Farinola
Snoop Doggy Dogg..............................Calvin Broadus
Rodney Dangerfield............................Jacob Cohen
Bobby Darin........................................Walden Robert Cassotto
Doris Day.............................................Doris von Kappelhoff
Jimmy Dean........................................Seth Ward
Yvonne De Carlo.................................Peggy Middleton
Sandra Dee..........................................Alexandra Zuck
John Denver........................................Henry John Deutschendorf Jr.
John Derek..........................................Derek Harris
Danny DeVito......................................Daniel Michaeli
Angie Dickinson...................................Angeline Brown
Bo Diddley............................................Elias Bates
Marlene Dictrich..................................Maria Von Losch
Troy Donahue......................................Merle Johnson, Jr.
Diana Dors............................................Diana Fluck
Kirk Douglas.........................................Issur Danielovitch
Mike Douglas........................................Michael Delaney Dowd, Jr.
Bob Dylan..............................................Robert Zimmerman

E
Barbara Eden........................................Barbara Huffman
Vince Edwards......................................Vicent Edward Zoino
Ron Ely...................................................Ronald Pierce
Eminem..................................................Marshall Bruce Mathers III
Dale Evans.............................................Frances Octavia Smith
Chad Everett.........................................Raymond Cramton

F
Fabian....................................................Fabiano Forte
Douglas Fairbanks...............................Douglas Ullman
Stepin Fetchit.......................................Lincoln Perry
Sally Field..............................................Sally Mahoney
W.C. Fields............................................William Claude Dukenfield
Peter Finch...........................................William Mitchell
Rhonda Fleming...................................Marilyn Louis
Gerald R. Ford......................................Leslie Lynch King, Jr.
Joan Fontaine.......................................Joan de Havilland
Glenn Ford............................................Gwyllyn Samuel Newton Ford
John Ford..............................................Sean O'Fearna
John Forsythe.......................................John Freund
Jodie Foster..........................................Alicia Christian Foster
Jaime Foxx...........................................Eric Morlon Bishop
Tony Franciosa.....................................Anthony Papaleo
Connie Francis......................................Concetta Franconero

G
Ginuwine................................................Elgin Lumpkin
Greta Garbo..........................................Greta Gustafsson
John Garfield.........................................Julius Garfinkle
Judy Garland.........................................Frances Gumm
James Garner........................................James Scott Baumgardner
Crystal Gayle.........................................Brenda Gayle Webb
Mel Gibson.............................................Columcille Gibson
Whoopie Goldberg.................................Caryn Johnson
Eydie Gorme..........................................Edith Gormezano
Stewart Granger...................................James Stewart
Cary Grant.............................................Archibald Leach
Peter Graves..........................................Peter Aurness
Rocky Graziano......................................Rocco Barbella
Joel Grey................................................Joe Katz

H
Buddy Hackett.......................................Leonard Hacker
MC Hammer...........................................Stanley Kirk Burrell
Jean Harlow...........................................Harlean Carpentier
Rex Harrison..........................................Reginald Carey
Helen Hayes...........................................Helen Brown
Susan Hayward......................................Edythe Marrener
Rita Hayworth........................................Margarita Cansino
Jimi Hendrix...........................................Johnny Allen Hendrix
Charlton Heston.....................................Charles Carter
Hulk Hogan.............................................Terry Jean Bollette
William Holden.......................................William Franklin Beedle, Jr.
Billy Holiday...........................................Eleanora Fagan
Judy Holliday.........................................Judith Tuvim
Buddy Holly...........................................Charles Hardin Holley
Bob Hope................................................Leslie Townes Hope
Hedda Hopper.......................................Elda Furry
Robert Horton.......................................Meade Howard Horton, Jr.
Leslie Howard........................................Leslie Stainer
Harry Houdini........................................Ehrich Weiss
Rock Hudson..........................................Roy Schere Jr.
Engelbert Humperdinck............................Arnold Dorsey
Tab Hunter............................................Arthur Andrew Gelien

I
Burl Ives..............................................Burle Icle Ivanhoe

J
Wolfman Jack.......................................Robert Smith
David Janssen.......................................David Meyer
Elton John..............................................Reginald Dwight
Don Johnson..........................................Donald Wayne
Al Jolson.................................................Asa Yoelson
Jennifer Jones........................................Phyllis Isley
Louis Jourdan........................................Louis Gendre

K
Danny Kaye........................................David Kaminski
Boris Karloff........................................William Henry Pratt
Diane Keaton......................................Diane Hall
Michael Keaton..................................Michael John Douglas
Howard Keel.......................................Harold Leek
Alicia Keys..........................................Alicia Augello Cook
Carole King.........................................Carole Klein
Larry King..........................................Larry Zeigler
Ted Knight.........................................Tadeus Wladyslaw Konopka
Ben Kingsley......................................Krishna Banji
Ashton Kutcher.................................Christopher Ashton Kutcher

L
Cheryl Ladd........................................Cheryl Stoppelmoor
Veronica Lake.....................................Constance Ockleman
Frankie Laine......................................Frankie LoVecchio
Dorothy Lamour.................................Mary Kaumeyer
Ann Landers........................................Esther "Eppie" Pauline Friedman Lederer
Mario Lanza.........................................Alfredo Cocozza
Michael Landon...................................Eugene Orowitz
Queen Latifah......................................Dana Elaine Owens
Stan Laurel...........................................Arthur Jefferson
Steve Lawrence...................................Sidney Leibowitz
Bruce Lee..............................................Lee Yuen Kam
Gypsy Rose Lee...................................Rose Louise Hovick
Peggy Lee.............................................Norma Egstrom
Janet Leigh...........................................Jeanette Morrison
Jerry Lewis..........................................Joseph Levitch
Huey Lewis...........................................Hugh Cregg
Hal Linden.............................................Harold Lipshitz
Little Richard........................................Richard Penniman
Carole Lombard....................................Jane Peters
Jack Lord...............................................John Joseph Ryan
Sophia Loren.........................................Sophia Scicolone
Peter Lorre............................................Laszio Lowenstein
Bela Lugosi.............................................Bela Ferenc Blasko

M
Moms Mabley......................................Loretta Mary Aitken
Shirley MacLaine................................Shirley Beaty
Elle MacPherson.................................Eleanor Gow
Madonna..............................................Madonna Louise Ciccone
Lee Majors...........................................Harvey Lee Yeary II
Karl Malden.........................................Mladen Sekulovich
Barry Manilow.....................................Barry Alan Pincus
Jayne Mansfield..................................Vera Jane Palmer
Fredric March......................................Frederick Bickel
Rocky Marciano...................................Rocco Francis Marchegiano
Dean Martin.........................................Dino Crocetti
Chico Marx...........................................Leonard Marx
Groucho Marx......................................Julius Marx
Gummo Marx.......................................Milton Marx
Harpo Marx..........................................Adolph Marx
Zeppo Marx..........................................Herbert Marx
Walter Matthau....................................Walter Matuschanskayasky
Audrey Meadows.................................Audrey Cotter
Jayne Meadows....................................Jayne Cotter
Ethel Merman.......................................Ethel Zimmerman
George Michael.....................................Georgios Panayiotou
Ray Milland...........................................Reginald Truscott-Jones
Ann Miller..............................................Lucille Collier
Guy Mitchell..........................................Albert George Cernick
Joni Mitchell..........................................Roberta Joan Anderson
Marilyn Monroe....................................Norma Jean Baker
Yves Montand.......................................Ivo Levi
Demi Moore...........................................Demetria Guynes
Garry Moore.........................................Thomas Garrison Morfit
Rita Moreno..........................................Rosita Alverio
Harry Morgan.......................................Harry Bratsburg

N
Peter Nero............................................Bernie Nierow
Chuck Norris........................................Carlos Ray

O
Hugh O'Brian........................................Hugh Krampke
Maureen O'Hara..................................Maureen Fitzsimmons
Ozzy Osbourne.....................................John Osbourne

P
Patti Page...........................................Clara Ann Fowler
Jack Palance........................................Walter Palanuik
Bert Parks...........................................Bert Jacobson
Johnny Paycheck....................................Don Lytle
Minnie Pearl.........................................Sarah Ophella Colley Cannon
Bernadette Peters..................................Bernadette Lazzaro
Ryan Phillippe......................................Matthew Ryan Phillippe
Lou Diamond Phillips..............................Lou Upchurch
Edith Piaf............................................Edith Gassion
Slim Pickens........................................Louis Lindley
Mary Pickford......................................Gladys Smith
Pink..................................................Alecia Moore
Stephanie Powers..................................Stefania Federkiewicz
Fresh Prince.........................................Will Smith


Q

R
Tony Randall........................................Leonard Rosenberg
Ahmad Rashad.....................................Bobby Moore
Johnnie Ray..........................................John Alvin
Martha Raye.........................................Margaret Theresa Yvonne Reed
Diana Ross.............................................Diane Earle
Donna Reed...........................................Donabella Mullenger
Della Reese............................................Delloreese Patricia Early
Debbie Reynolds...................................Mary Frances Reynolds
Busta Rhymes.......................................Trevor Tahiem Smith
Joan Rivers............................................Joan Sandra Molinsky
Johnny Rivers...................................... John Henry Ramistella
Harold Robbins.....................................Frances Kane
Edward G. Robinson............................Emmanuel Goldenberg
Ginger Rogers.......................................Virginia McMath
Roy Rogers............................................Leonard Slye
Mickey Rooney.....................................Joe Yule Jr.
Meg Ryan..............................................Margaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra
Bobby Rydell........................................Robert Ridarelli

S
Shaggy...................................................Orville Richard Burrell
Jane Seymour......................................Joyce Frankenberg
Del Shannon..........................................Charles Westover
Omar Sharif...........................................Michael Shalhoub
Charlie Sheen.........................................Carlos Irwin Estevez
Martin Sheen.........................................Ramon Estevez
Gene Simmons.......................................Chaim Witz
Sisqo........................................................Mark Andrews
Buffalo Bob Smith..................................Robert Emil Schmidt
Ann Sothern...........................................Harriet Lake
Robert Stack..........................................Robert Modini
Sylvester Stallone.................................Michael Sylvester Enzio Stallone
Jean Stapleton.......................................Jeanne Murray
Barbara Stanwyck.................................Ruby Stevens
Ringo Starr.............................................Richard Starkey
Connie Stevens......................................Concetta Ingolia
Sting........................................................Gordon Sumner
Gale Storm.............................................Josephine Cottle
Donna Summer......................................La Donna Andrea Gaines

T
Ice-T.....................................................Tracy Morrow
Mr. T......................................................Lawrence Tero
Robert Taylor........................................Spangler Arlington Brugh
Danny Thomas......................................Muzyad Yakhoob
Tina Turner.......................................... Annie Mae Bullock
Shania Twain.........................................Eilleen Regina Edwards
Twiggy....................................................Leslie Hornby
Conway Twitty......................................Harold Lloyd Jenkins

U

V
Ritchie Valens.......................................Richard Valenzuela
Rudolph Valentino................................Rudolpho D'Antonguolla
Frankie Valli..........................................Frank Castelluccio
Abigail Van Buren.................................Pauline Ester Friedman
Gene Vincent.........................................Vincent Eugene Craddock

W
Junior Walker.....................................Autry De Walt
Andy Warhol.......................................Andrew Warhola
Muddy Waters....................................McKinley Morganfield
David Wayne.......................................Wayne McMeekan
John Wayne.........................................Marion Michael Morrison
Clifton Webb........................................Webb Parmalee Hollenbeck
Raquel Welch.......................................Raquel Tejada
Tuesday Weld......................................Susan Kerr Wells
Nathaniel West....................................Nathaniel Wallenstein Weinstein
Gene Wilder.........................................Jerome Silberman
Shelley Winters...................................Shirley Schrift
Reese Witherspoon.............................Laura Jean Reese Witherspoon
Stevie Wonder.................................... Steveland Morris Hardaway
Natalie Wood........................................Natasha Gurdin J
Tiger Woods..........................................Eldrick Woods
Jane Wyman.........................................Sarah Jane Fulks
Tammy Wynette..................................Wynette Pugh

X

Y
Gig Young..........................................Byron Barr

Z
Catherine Zeta-Jones…..........................Catherine Jones

0-9
50 Cent..............................................Curtis James Jackson III
2Pac..................................................Tupac Shakur

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The list above is not complete due to my time schedule plus, not to mention that the listing (typing) of these names is very tedious and tiring. So, I will be adding as time allows me. If you know of someone famous such as a singer, rapper, politician, dancer, musician, comedian, movie star and such the like and want to know their real name, then drop me a line. If I can find the real name then it will be added. Apart from that , I do have more to add but they will be added to the list in time.