What’s in a name? Apparently a lot for these Hollywood stars, who’ve been bidding adieu to their famous monikers.
For as long as most can remember, stage names have been a common practice in Hollywood. Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm) changed her moniker to appear more theatrical. Elton John (a.k.a. Reginald Kenneth Dwight) ditched his legal name in his 20s in hopes of standing out from the crowd. Katy Perry tweaked her surname (Katheryn Hudson) to avoid being confused with actress Kate Hudson. Even Reese Witherspoon opted to drop her first name, Laura Jeanne, in favor of her mother’s maiden name before she broke onto the scene.
But lately, we’ve seen a rise in mega-successful stars ditching the names that made them famous. On January 31, The Weeknd (a.k.a. Abel Tesfaye) released his album Hurry Up Tomorrow, which marked the end of his After Hours trilogy — and his pseudonym. “It’s a headspace I’ve gotta get into that I just don’t have any more desire for,” Tesfaye told Variety of ditching The Weeknd persona. “It becomes this rat race: more accolades, more success, more shows, more albums, more awards and more No. 1s. It never ends until you end it.”
In November 2024, Ariana Grande made headlines when her name appeared different in the credits of her Oscar-nominated film, Wicked: Ariana Grande-Butera. “You know, that was my name when I went to see the show when I was 10 years old,” she explained in February 2025 of her decision to go by her birth name to The Hollywood Reporter. “It felt like a really lovely way of honoring that.”
According to Gail Saltz, a clinical associate professor of psychiatry at the New York Presbyterian Hospital, a star’s decision to change their name can have deep meaning. “[It can] harken back to the time they had all these dreams and desires to be who they [later] became,” Saltz told Us Weekly, adding that “in this age of a lot of misinformation, there’s a desire for truth for many. Hence, I think some celebrities, particularly already having made it, want to be their true selves and recoup their birth name.”
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That seems to ring true with Emma Stone. While attending the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, Stone — who began going by Emma (a nod to her fave Spice Girl!) early on in her career because there was already an “Emily Stone” in SAG-AFTRA — thanked a reporter who referred to her by her legal name, later explaining that she prefers to be called that. “I freaked out a couple of years ago. For some reason, I was like, ‘I can’t do it anymore. Just call me Emily,’” she recalled. “I would like to be Emily. … That would be so nice.”
Michael Keaton feels similarly. In the ’70s, Keaton was forced to choose his now-famous last name because his actual surname, Douglas, was taken by the Michael Douglas we all know and love. (“I was looking through — I can’t remember if it was a phone book… And I went, ‘Oh, that sounds reasonable,’” Keaton recently recalled of choosing his stage name.) However, in September, Keaton announced that he plans to start using a hybrid version of his legal name — Michael Keaton Douglas — on future projects.
Is this name game just a passing trend, or is it here to stay? Laura Burkemper, brand-building expert and CEO of Scaleblazer, believes this is just the beginning. “In an era of social media and greater accessibility, the need for manufactured identities has diminished,” she told Us. “Celebrities are increasingly using their real names to honor their roots, simplify their legacy and reflect modern values of transparency.”
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Of course, we’ll always be fans of stars with (sometimes kooky!) stage names — how can you not love Lady Gaga and Vin Diesel? But in a time where the world is becoming more authentic, there is something refreshing about being simply yourself — and we’re totally here for it.
