23 Celebrities You Didn’t Realize Use Stage Names, And You'll Be Shocked To Find Out What Their Real Names Are

You know those celebrities whose names you’ve heard a million times and never once questioned? Yeah, same. Turns out, quite a few of them are using stage names, and some of their real names are...not what you'd expect, to say the least.

Who knew that this entire time, we’ve all been casually calling some celebrities by fake names? And honestly, some of their real names are so different, I’m not sure I would’ve believed them without a quick Google search. Based on this Reddit thread, here are some of the stage names that had people saying, “Wait…THAT’S their real name?”

1. "Michael J. Fox — his real name is Michael A. Fox. The name Michael Fox was already registered in the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), and he chose to add the J as an homage to Michael J. Pollard."

2. "Stevie Wonder. I figured Wonder was probably a stage name, but his first name threw me for a loop: Stevland Morris."

4. "Olivia Wilde. Kinda makes sense after hearing her real last name: Cockburn. Although it's pronounced 'co-burn.'"

5. "Sir Ben Kingsley. His birth name is Krishna Pandit Bhanji. People give him shit sometimes for playing Gandhi, but the dude is legitimately Indian! Just born in England."

6. "David Bowie. His real name is David Robert Jones. He originally went by Davy Jones, but then The Monkees with Davy Jones happened, so he had to change it. He then changed it to Tom Jones, and then Tom Jones happened. 😂"

7. "Johnny Knoxville, which in hindsight should have been obvious. Real name: Philip John Clapp."

8. "Travis Scott. His real name is Jacques Bermon Webster II."

9. "Sigourney Weaver. Her real name is Susan. She took the name from a small character in The Great Gatsby."

10. "Miley Cyrus' birth name is Destiny Hope Cyrus. Miley came from being called Smiley as a little girl. I think that’s precious."

11. "Chappell Roan’s real name is Kayleigh Rose Amstutz."

12. "David Tennant. His real last name is McDonald. He had to change it due to SAG rules, so he picked Tennant after seeing a magazine cover with Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys on it."

13. "Calvin Harris’s real name is Adam Wiles. Such a boring stage name."

14. "Jamie Foxx. Real name: Eric Bishop."

15. "Michael Keaton. He was born Michael Douglas."

16. "50 Cent — why would a mother name their child Curtis Jackson over 50 Cent? That will always get me…"

17. "Bruno Mars. 'Bruno Mars' sounds so weirdly perfect and natural that I never questioned it, but then you find out his real name is Peter Gene Hernandez, and it genuinely feels like forbidden trivia."

18. "Dove Cameron! Her real name is Chloe Hosterman."

19. "Brie Larson’s real name is Brianne Sidonie Desaulniers."

20. "Carmen Electra’s real name is Tara Patrick. Yet there was a porn star by the name of Tera Patrick."

21. "Albert Brooks. His real name is Albert Einstein (seriously)."

22. "Gene Wilder is Jerome Silberman, of all things."

23. And lastly: "Whoopi Goldberg is Caryn Johnson."

Well, there goes our ability to trust celebrity names ever again. Some of these name changes made perfect sense, while others left us wondering how we went this long without knowing.

Which of these celebrity names completely caught you off guard? Drop a comment below and let us know!

Note: Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.