Real Celeb Names You Probably Don't Know (2024)

Real name: Olivia co*ckburn

Wilde hails from a family of writers and journalists, so it's no wonder she modeled her last name on novelist Oscar Wilde. She told The Observer, "At the time, I was doing The Importance of Being Earnest—I was playing Gwendolyn , and I was so in love with it. Oscar Wilde is someone who I respect for so many reasons—a revolutionary, a comedian and a profound thinker."

Real name: Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon

The actress chose to go by Reese for her first film appearance in The Man in the Moon when she was 14 years old for a sweet reason: It's her mother's maiden name.

Real name: Peter Gene Hernandez

The "That's What I Like" singer was nicknamed Bruno for the cutest reason: he was a chubby baby. He told Rap Up, "Bruno is after Bruno Sammartino, who was this big, fat wrestler. I was this chunky little baby, so my dad used to call me that as a nickname. Mars came up because a lot of girls say I'm out of this world!"

Real name: Jelena Hadid

"In first or second grade, there was a girl named Helena and it got confusing with the teacher who had to call out our names," the model told Vogue. "And so the teacher asked my mom, 'If I needed to call Jelena a nickname, what would it be?' And my mom was like, 'I call her Gigi sometimes,' and the name stuck."

Real name: Katheryn Hudson

The "I Kissed a Girl" singer adopted her mother's last name to avoid being confused with actress Kate Hudson.

Real name: Neta-Lee Hershlag

Portman is the actress's grandmother's maiden name.

Real name: Joaquín Rafael Bottom

Phoenix's parents ditched the last name Bottom in 1979 and reinvented themselves as the Phoenix family.

Real name: Christopher Catesby Harington

Harington didn't know his real name was Christopher until he was 11 years old. "I think they could see that I wanted to be Kit, but Christopher was a bit of a tradition," he told Glamour. "My brother's name is Jack, but his real name is John. Kit is traditionally an offshoot of Christopher, it's just not used that often. My middle name is Catesby."

Real name: Julie Anne Smith

Moore's given name was too popular in actors' unions, so she created a mash-up of her other family members's names. In an interview with The New York Times, she said, "My father's middle name is Moore; my mother's name is Anne. So I just slammed the Anne onto the Julie. That way I could use both of their names and not hurt anyone's feelings. But it's horrible to change your name. I'd been Julie Smith my whole life, and I didn't want to change it."

Real name: Rachel Meghan Markle

Old yearbook photos show her as Meghan, proving she has been going by her middle name for quite some time now.

Real name: Henry Charles Albert David

Like his wife, the Duke of Sussex also goes by another name. "My name is Henry as well," the royal told a young WellChild Award winner in 2022. "But everyone calls me Harry. I have no idea why."

Real name: Emily Jean Stone

"My real name is Emily. But it was taken at SAG," the actress told W Magazine. "I was 16.... So to ask a 16-year-old to pick a new name is really an interesting process, because I was like, 'I'm going to be Riley.' And so my name was Riley Stone for about six months." But the new name didn't go so well—Stone didn't respond to it when she was on set. "So then I changed it to Emma, because you know, it's closer to Emily, but most people call me 'M,' that know me well."

Real name: Eric Marlon Bishop

Foxx explained the reason for his name change on Late Show with David Letterman. When he was getting started on the stand-up circuit, he noticed female comedians were so rare that they would always score a slot. "So I went to the list and wrote down unisex names. Stacy Green, Tracy Brown…Jamie Foxx! And I'm the first guy called. He goes, 'Jamie Foxx, is she here?' I said, 'No, brother, that's me.' And then I go onstage and I get a standing ovation."

Real name: William Bradley Pitt

The actor might go by his middle name in Hollywood, but it seems he flirts by using his real name. "'Hi, I’m William,'" he reportedly told a woman during a 2018 coffee run, according to Page Six. "She replied, 'Oh, you look like a Bradley.' And he responded, 'Well, that's my middle name,' and smiled and winked at her."

Real name: Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor

The New Zealand singer was always drawn to the name "Lord" but thought the spelling was too masculine. "Ever since I was a little kid, I have been really into royals and aristocracy, so to make 'Lord' more feminine, I just put an 'e' on the end! Some people think it's religious, but it's not," she told Interview Magazine.

Real name: Robyn Rihanna Fenty

She still goes by Robyn with friends and family. "When I hear Robyn, I pay attention," she told Rolling Stone in 2011.

Real name: Karen Lucille Hale

"Karen is my alter ego," the actress joked on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in 2016.

Real name: Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta

The story behind Lady Gaga's stage name began with an autocorrected text message. In 2006, she met music producer Rob Fusari, who compared her vocals to Queen's Freddie Mercury. He would sing "Radio Ga Ga" whenever she entered the studio, and one day they were texting and his phone autocorrected it to Lady Gaga. She reportedly texted back, "That's it."