43 Celebrities You Never Knew Changed Their Names

Gigi Hadid

Gigi was born Jelena Noura Hadid, however, Yolanda Foster started calling the supermodel Gigi when she was just a child.

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Bella Hadid

Similarly to sister Gigi, Bella wasn't born, well, Bella either. Her full moniker? Isabella Khair Hadid.

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Meghan Markle

Prince Harry's leading lady wasn't actually born a Meghan. That is the actress's middle name — her given moniker is really Rachel ― the same name as her character on Suits.

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John Legend

Truth be told, John — the man, the myth, the LEGEND — did not bear such a show-stopping name at the time of his birth. The singer originally went by John Roger Stephens.

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Louis C.K.

The comic's real name is Louis Székely — "C.K." is a strictly professional suffix.

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Meg Ryan

Ryan's real name is quite the mouthful: Margaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra. We don't think that would have fit on the poster for You've Got Mail.

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Ralph Lauren

The first-name-as-a-last-name phenomenon is a gift bestowed upon the truly #blessed among us — but sometimes it isn't quite that easy. Lauren was born Ralph Lifshitz (doesn't really roll off the tongue, huh?).

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Audrey Hepburn

Much (read: all) of Hollywood's Audrey-Katharine confusion could've been avoided had Audrey stuck to her original last name: Ruston.

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Vin Diesel

If you've been wondering what sort of parents would willingly name their child Vin... well, not this guy's! The Fast and the Furious star was born Mark Sinclair. The rise of Vin Diesel came from his days as an N.Y.C. bouncer — obvs, you don't mess with Vin.

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Nicki Minaj

The rapper's nom de plume is a truncated version of her original moniker, Onika Tanya Maraj.

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Calvin Harris

Offstage, the DJ goes by Adam Richard Wiles. Taylor Swift drew attention to Harris's true name when she thanked her then "boyfriend Adam" at the 2016 iHeartRadio Awards in April of that year.

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Nicolas Cage

In an attempt to distance his image from that of his famous uncle (Francis Ford Coppola), Nicolas abandoned his original surname for the simple yet memorable "Cage."

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NeNe Leakes

The Real Housewives of Atlanta star was born Linnethia Monique Johnson.

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Charlie Sheen

The actor shortened his name from the lengthier Carlos Irwin Estevez.

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Diane Keaton

Ironic as it may seem, Diane's original last name was actually Hall — you know, like Annie.

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Olivia Wilde

No, she's not a long lost descendant of Oscar Wilde. Olivia entered into this world with a fairly unfortunate last name: Cockburn.

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Tina Fey

The celebrated comedian started out as Elizabeth Stamatina Fey, later shortening her middle name to form her current moniker.

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Michael Kors

The namesake designer was formerly known at Karl Anderson Jr.

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Rita Wilson

The 60-year-old actress was born Margarita Ibrahimoff.

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Woody Allen

The famed director is no stranger to name change. He was born Allen Stewart Konigsberg, changed his name to Heywood Allen when he was 17, and later adopted Woody as a memorable alternative.

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Katy Perry

The popstar was born Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson.

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Miley Cyrus

The optimistically named Destiny Hope Cyrus legally switched to Miley (a reference to her childhood nickname, "Smiley") in 2008.

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Nina Dobrev

The Bulgarian-born actress shortened her name from Nikolina Konstantinova Dobreva.

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Jamie Foxx

The Oscar-winner was born Eric Marlon Bishop.

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Lorde

Surprise, surprise, Lorde is not the New Zealander's birth name! Before she crooned her way to the top of the charts, the 20-year-old was known as Ella Maria Lani Yelich-O'Connor.

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