42 Celebrities Who Don't Use Their Real Names

Born: Abel Makkonen Tesfaye

It probably goes without saying that The Weeknd's first name is not "The," and his last name not "Weeknd." The singer was born as Abel Makkonen Tesfaye.

He revealed during a Reddit Ask Me Anything that he chose his stage name after leaving home as a teenager. "I left home when I was about 17 dropped out of high school and convinced Lamar to do the same lol," he said, referring to a member of his crew. "We grabbed our mattresses from our parents threw it in our friends shitty van and left one weekend and never came back home. It was gonna be the title of HOB [House of Balloons]. I hated my name at the time though so I tried it as a stage name. It sounded cool. I took out the "e" because there was already a Canadian band named the weekend (copyright issues)."

Born: Rachel Meghan Markle

It's now common knowledge that Meghan Markle's real first name is Rachel, though her birth name doesn't much matter, as she's now a Duchess.

Born: Irina Shaykhlislamov

Irina Shayk's real last name is Shaykhlislamov, as Observer reported after catching her legal name on the deed of her Manhattan apartment.

Born: William Bradley Pitt

Despite going by his middle name in his professional life, Page Six reports that the newly-single actor introduces himself by his given name, William, when he's flirting with women. We're guessing any woman would see right through Pitt's not-so-pseudonym.

Born: Jelena Noura Hadid

True fans know that the world-renowned supermodel uses a pseudonym. Born Jelena (pronounced Yelena), Hadid was called Gigi early on, but only by her close family. "My mom was called that as a kid by her mother when she was younger, but only around the house," Gigi said in a 2015 interview. "I was called that around the house when I was really young, kind of like how my mom was called it."

Then in grade school, when Jelena became confusing, Gigi became Gigi full-time. "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, 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," the model explained.

Born: Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta

Before she became an international pop star, Germanotta adopted her now-famous stage name, inspired by the 1984 Queen song "Radio Ga Ga." Gaga will also retain her stage name for all her acting projects.

Born: Robyn Rihanna Fenty

Musically, the "Wild Thoughts" singer has always gone by her middle name, Rihanna. But the artist told Rolling Stone that her friends and family still call her Robyn, especially when they want to get her attention. “I get kind of numb to hearing Rihanna, Rihanna, Rihanna,” she told the publication. “When I hear Robyn, I pay attention.”

Born: Destiny Hope Cyrus

Miley Cyrus’s stage title developed out of a childhood nickname. Apparently, as a child, Destiny Hope was always grinning, so her family called her Smiley, which evolved to Miley. Then, in 2008, the "Malibu" singer legally changed her name.

Born: Belcalis Almanzar

Although we know her as Cardi B, true fans know that the musician was actually given a much longer name at birth: Belcalis Almanzar. Cardi B is actually short for Bacardi, like the rum. My sister's name is Hennessy," Cardi B explained to Jimmy Fallon. "So everyone used to call me Bacardi, and I started calling myself Bacardi," which eventually was shorted to Cardi B."

Born: Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon

Early in her career, then-Laura Jeanne adopted her mother's maiden name as her first name.

Born: Emily Jean Stone

The La La Land actress told W magazine that she had to rebrand herself when she was 16 years old because there was already an Emily Stone in Hollywood. "I changed it to Emma because you know it's closer to Emily, but most people call me 'M,' that know me well," the actress explained to the publication.

Born: Neta-Lee Hershlag

Born in Israel, Natalie Portman was given a traditional Hebrew name, but upon emigrating to the United States in 1984, the family changed the Hershlag surname to Portman, the actress's maternal grandmother’s maiden name, and Neta-Lee became Natalie.

Born: Christopher Catesby Harington

In an interview with Glamour, the Game of Thrones star revealed that his parents didn't tell him 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," Harington explained. "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."

Born: Elizabeth Woolridge Grant

Lana Del Rey was Lizzy (Elizabeth) Grant until she turned 25 and developed her alter ego, Lana Del Rey.

Born: Olivia Cockburn

The actress's stage name is an ode to Oscar Wilde. The actress changed her last name after playing Gwendolen in her high school's rendition of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest.

Born: Aubrey Drake Graham

In the early aughts, the actor-turned-rapper starred in the Canadian high school drama TV series Degrassi: The Next Generation, where he was known as Aubrey Graham. In 2006, when he started pursuing a rap career, he dropped the Aubrey and started going by Drake.

Born: Amanda Lee Rogers

In an interview for Advocate, de Rossi revealed how she went from Amanda to Portia.

"When I was 15, I changed it legally. In retrospect, I think it was largely due to my struggle about being gay. Everything just didn’t fit, and I was trying to find things I could identify myself with, and it started with my name," she said. "I picked Portia because I was a Shakespeare fan [Portia is the character in The Merchant of Venice who famously declaims, “The quality of mercy is not strain’d / It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven.”]. De Rossi because I was Australian and I thought that an exotic Italian name would somehow suit me more than Amanda Rogers. When you live in Australia, Europe is so far away and so fascinating, so stylish and cultured and sophisticated."

Born: Christopher Ashton Kutcher

Ashton Kutcher revealed his real first name at the 2013 Teen Choice Awards, where he received the Ultimate Choice Award. The actor joked that it's actually the "old guy" award and he feels like a fraud, revealing: “My name is not even actually Ashton.” The funny guy explained that he decided to go by his middle name when he was first trying to make it in Hollywood at the age of 19.