Tim Allen’s real name is Tim Dick and you can understand why he changed it.
1.
Alicia Keys was born Alicia Augello Cook.
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Alicia Keys said when she was younger she wanted to use a stage name and originally considered going for Alicia Wild. Asking for her mother’s opinion, she said, “That sounds like you’re a stripper.” Alicia settled on the last name Keys, explaining, “It’s like the piano keys. And it can open so many doors.”
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2.
Olivia Wilde was born Olivia Cockburn.
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Olivia changed her last name to Wilde after playing Gwendolen in her high school production of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest.
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3.
Erykah Badu was born Erica Abi Wright.
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When she was younger, she changed the spelling of her name from Erica to Erykah, believing her original name to be a slave name. She chose Badu as her surname because it was her favorite jazz scat sound and is also an African name for the 10th born child used for the Akan people in Ghana.
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4.
Joaquin Phoenix was born Joaquin Rafael Bottom.
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After his parents left the Children of God religious group, they changed their family’s last names from Bottom to Phoenix.
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5.
Demi Moore was born Demi Gene Guynes.
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At 18, Demi married musician Freddy Moore and took his last name. After they divorced four years later, she decided to keep his last name.
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6.
Julianne Moore was born Julie Anne Smith.
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When Julianne tried to join SAG using her real name, she was told that there was already a Julie Smith at SAG so she would have to use a different name. Her father’s name was Peter Moore Smith and her mother’s name was Anne Smith, so she came up with a name that included them both.
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7.
John Legend was born John Roger Stephens.
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The stage name John Legend started out as a nickname his friends would always call him. He said, “Legend” is something I would never have originally chosen for myself.
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8th.
Blake Lively was born Blake Ellender Brown.
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Blake took her mother’s last name, Lively, when she decided to become an actress.
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9.
Aaron Paul was born Aaron Paul Stutevant.
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Aaron dropped his real last name because it was too difficult for people to pronounce. Now he only uses his middle name as his last.
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10
Nicolas Cage was born Nicolas Kim Coppola.
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Nicolas is the nephew of director Francis Ford Coppola. He appeared in some of his uncle’s films and apparently changed his name to avoid being accused of nepotism. His stage name is partially inspired by the Marvel comic book character Luke Cage.
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11.
Tim Allen was born Timothy Allen Dick.
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Tim uses his middle name as his stage last name because he didn’t want to go by Tim Dick. When he was on Good Afternoon Detroit, he was told to think of a different name because they refused to write “Tim Dick” on the screen when he was on camera.
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12.
Katy Perry was born Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson.
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Katy changed her name because she didn’t want to be confused with Kate Hudson. She made her stage name by replacing her last name with her mother’s maiden name.
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13.
Jonah Hill was born Jonah Hill Feldstein.
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His sister is actress Beanie Feldstein and she uses her family’s surname.
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14
Natalie Portman was born Natalie Hershlag.
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Natalie Portman was born in Israel and had a traditional Hebrew name. Her family changed the Hershlag surname to Portman when they immigrated to the United States in 1984.
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fifteen.
Chelsea Kane was born as Chelsea Kane dust.
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Chelsea said she started using her middle name as a stage name because it was easier to pronounce.
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16
Courtney Love was born Courtney Michelle Harrison.
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In 2010, Courtney stopped using her stage name. She explained the change by saying: “We love her [Courtney Love] when she goes on stage, but I don’t need her for the rest of my life. The name Courtney Love is a way of repressing me.” She now prefers to go by her first name, Courtney Michelle Harrison.
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17
Julie Bowen was Julie Bowen Lütkemeyer.
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Julie Bowen hasn’t spoken publicly about why she dropped “Luetkemeyer” from her stage name, but actors often change their names to one that’s easier to spell and pronounce.
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18
Theo James was born Theodore Peter James Kinnaird Taptiklis.
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After attending Bristol Old Vic Theater School in England, he decided to change his surname to Actor. He considered the surname Taptiklis unidentifiable and difficult to pronounce. He also liked the idea of not having everything in the world about himself. He chose his middle name as his stage surname due to “a very relevant personal connection with a family member.”
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19
Michael Keaton was born Michael Douglas.
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Michael changed his last name early in his acting career to avoid being confused with the other great actor named Michael Douglas.
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20
Stevie Wonder was born Steveland Judkins.
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When he was four, Stevie’s parents divorced and his mother legally changed his surname from Judkins to Morris. When he was about 11 years old, a record producer gave him the stage name Little Stevie Wonder. They chose Wonder as a name because it alluded to how young and incredibly talented he was.
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21
And finally, Winona Ryder was born Winona Laura Horowitz.
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Winona was cast in the 1986 film Lucas. When asked how she would like her name to appear in the credits, she reportedly chose Ryder as her stage name because a Mitch Ryder album was playing in the background.
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