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Added by tartan_skirt

on 27 Aug 2008 05:20

 
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A Change of Names

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1. Woody Allen
Allan Stewart Konigsberg
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2. Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Anastassakis
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3. Fred Astaire
Frederick Austerlitz
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4. Mary Astor
Lucile Vasconcellos Langhanke

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5. Cilla Black
Priscilla Maria Veronica White
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6. Bono
Paul David Hewson
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7. David Bowie
David Robert Jones
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Average listal rating (286 ratings) 7.4  
8. Mel Brooks
Melvin Kaminsky
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9. Michael Caine
Maurice Joseph Micklewhite, Jr.
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Average listal rating (198 ratings) 6.9  
10. Chevy Chase
Cornelius Crane Chase
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11. Patsy Cline
Virginia Patterson Hensley

Average listal rating (298 ratings) 6.5  
12. Alice Cooper
Vincent Damon Furnier
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Average listal rating (104 ratings) 6.7  
13. Elvis Costello
Declan McManus
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Average listal rating (92 ratings) 6.4  
14. Rodney Dangerfield
Jacob Cohen
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Average listal rating (242 ratings) 6.6  
15. Dido
Florian Cloud de Bounevialle Armstrong
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16. Yvonne De Carlo
Peggy Yvonne Middleton

Average listal rating (17 ratings) 5.9  
17. David James Elliott
David William Smith

(There was already a David Smith, so he needed a better stage name)

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18. Morgan Fairchild
Patsy Ann McClenny

Average listal rating (208 ratings) 7.3  
19. Mia Farrow
Maria de Lourdes Villers Farrow

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20. Peter Finch
Frederick George Peter Ingle-Finch

Average listal rating (154 ratings) 6.2  
21. Edward Furlong
Edward Walter Torres
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22. Judy Garland
Frances Ethel Gumm
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23. Mitzi Gaynor
Franceska Mitzi von Gerber

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24. Whoopi Goldberg
Caryn Elaine Johnson
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25. Hulk Hogan
Terry Gene Bollea
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26. Billie Holiday
Eleanora Fagan

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27. Bob Dylan
Robert Allen Zimmerman

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28. Buddy Holly
Charles Hardin Holley

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29. Elton John
Reginald Kenneth Dwight
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30. Johnny Knoxville
Phillip John Clapp
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31. Lucy Lawless
Lucille Frances Ryan
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Average listal rating (15 ratings) 5.9  
32. Anna Lee
Joan Boniface Winnifrith

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33. Spike Lee
Shelton Jackson Lee

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34. Stan Lee
Stanley Martin Lieber
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35. Lemmy
Ian Fraiser Kilminster

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36. Peter Lorre
László Löwenstein

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37. Lulu
Marie McDonald McLaughlin Lawrie
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38. Marilyn Manson
Brian Hugh Warner
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Average listal rating (208 ratings) 8.7  
39. Freddie Mercury
Farrokh Bulsara
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Average listal rating (678 ratings) 8.2  
40. Marilyn Monroe
Norma Jeane Mortenson, but baptized Norma Jeane Baker
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41. Meat Loaf
Marvin Lee Aday
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42. Sophia Loren
Sofia Villani Scicolone
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Average listal rating (607 ratings) 6.4  
43. Demi Moore
Demetria Gene Guynes

Average listal rating (8 ratings) 4.6  
44. Patsy Palmer
Julie Harris
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Average listal rating (2191 ratings) 8.1  
45. Natalie Portman
Natalie Hershlag
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Average listal rating (6 ratings) 5.2  
46. Freddie Prinze
Frederick Karl Pruetzel

Average listal rating (17 ratings) 6.6  
47. Suzi Quatro
Susan Kay Quatrocchio

Average listal rating (12 ratings) 6.1  
48. Sally Rand
Harriet Helen Gould Beck

Average listal rating (13 ratings) 7.1  
49. Vic Reeves
James Moir
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Average listal rating (24 ratings) 5.4  
50. Cliff Richard
Harry Rodger Webb
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Some of the most interesting, weird and notable name changes I have come across.

Listed alphabetically by stage name.

At the moment the list is a little too musician/singer heavy for my liking, so it will be updated in the future with more actors.

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Comments

Posted: 4 years, 4 months ago at Jan 5 7:10
Even though I risk sounding anti-Semitic in this comment, it has always seemed to me the jewish actors with the most jewish-sounding names are usually the ones changing their professional names. Gene Wilder is a perfect example.
Posted: 4 years, 4 months ago at Jan 11 22:56
Where's Madonna? She's been in films.
Posted: 4 years, 4 months ago at Jan 12 11:59
Madonna is her name, just omitting her middle and last name(s), which I didn't think was very interesting, tbh.
Posted: 4 years, 4 months ago at Jan 17 17:07
Samuel Wilder
Posted: 4 years, 1 month ago at Apr 15 17:51
Judy Garland's real last name was Gumm. not Cumm.
and some of these are just abbreviations of their real names and/or names they got from previous marriages that they were in when they got married. if you're not going to include Madonna, then you should probably take down Suzi Quatro, Mia Farrow, and a few other people.
Posted: 3 years, 10 months ago at Jun 30 17:50
Norma Jean Mortensen ;)
Posted: 3 years, 10 months ago at Jul 18 20:15
"Bono Vox" the guy calls himself 'good voice', some ego...
"Axl Rose", 'let's make an anagram for oral sex'
And who would like to be named "Whoopi"?
I really don't understand some names some people take xD
Mia Farrow is not a name change - Mia is short for Maria, and Farrow was already her last name. And there are other similar cases on the list...
Hum... Shakira changed her name to Shakira? Personally I think you should take her off the list.
Well some singers on there are just... band names...
Here's one to add: Christopher Walken - birth name Ronald Walken.
Posted: 3 years, 5 months ago at Dec 11 11:08
Whoopi Goldberg. Who the hell would voluntarily pick Whoopi as her own first name? I always figured she had a kooky parent to blame.
Posted: 2 years, 11 months ago at Jun 5 19:03
I should have gone in show biz . thanks for such a comprehensive list
Posted: 2 years, 10 months ago at Jul 11 17:51
How About Robert Zimmerman ........Bob Dylan?
Posted: 2 years, 9 months ago at Aug 4 12:53
Sofia Villani Scicolone
Posted: 2 years, 5 months ago at Dec 15 4:50
Finally updated this list with suggestions! Also finally added Dido and Rip Torn.

I may or may not add Madonna at some later point, but I'm not going to justify anything I do or do not add. As I stated, this is just a list of people and their name changes that I find interesting, so its totally up to my whims and fancies what I do or don't add. Some names bore me, others I find amusing, so people just have to deal with that. :P
Posted: 2 years, 3 months ago at Feb 13 10:51
Paul Wesley -Paweł Tomasz Wasilewsk
Posted: 2 years ago at May 7 16:52
some real names i cant even pronounce, thank god they changed them:)
Posted: 1 year, 10 months ago at Jul 12 12:37
Cary Grant - Archibald (Archie) Alexander Leach
Posted: 1 year, 9 months ago at Aug 26 7:10
Why?... Why?
Posted: 1 year, 6 months ago at Nov 15 0:11
Tony Curtis - Bernie Schwartz

Danny Kaye - David Daniel Kaminsky

John Wayne - Born Marion Robert Morrison, but his middle name was soon changed from Robert to Mitchell when his parents decided to name their next son Robert.

David Bowie changed his name to avoid being confused with Davey Jones of the Monkees, who were popular at that time.

Posted: 1 year, 3 months ago at Feb 21 6:54
Hahaha Jennifer Aniston is soooo Greek. I love it.
Posted: 1 year, 2 months ago at Mar 22 19:53
Janet Leigh, born Jeanette Helen Morrison
Vera Miles, born Vera June Ralston
Posted: 11 months, 1 week ago at Jun 22 3:49
my friend's mother made $263164 so far just working on the laptop for a few hours. Read more here N u t t y R i c h dot cOm
Posted: 8 months, 2 weeks ago at Sep 13 11:23
Lucy Lawless didn't change her name. She married a man who's last name was "Lawless."
Posted: 3 weeks, 5 days ago at Apr 28 15:50
Walt Disney?

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