Here is How These 12 Celebs Bought Their Distinctive Stage Names

Here is how these stars bought their stage names…

1. Doja Cat

Doja Cat’s actual identify is Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini however when she determined to decide on a stage identify, she opted to select two issues she actually cherished — cats and weed.

“I used to be closely hooked on weed and weed tradition, so after I started rapping I considered the phrase ‘doja’ and the way it appears like a woman’s identify,” Doja advised Dazed, noting that she additionally cherished cats “in each side.”

2. Lizzo

Lizzo was referred to as by her stage identify lengthy earlier than she grew to become well-known. The musician, whose actual identify is Melissa Viviane Jefferson, bought the nickname Lizzo when she was nonetheless a young person.

“It is a teenage nickname. We did a factor, in Houston, you chop the second half of your identify and put an O. I used to be ‘Lisso’ with two s’s, then everybody mentioned it with just a little swang to it so I modified the s’s to z’s and the remaining is historical past,” she defined on an episode of Carpool Karaoke.

3. Publish Malone

Publish Malone was born Austin Richard Publish however when he was a young person, he determined he wanted an artist identify to launch the music he was making. To assist select his new moniker, he turned to a random identify generator on-line.

“I used to be like 14, and I had began entering into producing and rapping and singing over my very own stuff. And I wanted a reputation, you already know, for my s—- mixtape,” he shared on The Tonight Present. “So I ran [my real name] via a random rap identify generator … now I am caught with it.”

4. Brie Larson

Brie Larson was born Brianne Sidonie Desaulniers however when she began performing, she realized her final identify was exhausting to pronounce. She went with the final identify Larson — partially as a result of it was a household identify and partially as a result of her American Lady doll Kirsten had the identical final identify!

“Nicely, my actual identify is tough to pronounce, and it simply bought extraordinarily irritating to appropriate individuals on a regular basis. Plus, I by no means glided by Brianne. It is a identify you get referred to as while you’re in bother! Larson is a household identify from my great-grandmother,” she advised Glamour.

5. Cardi B

Cardi B was born Belcalis Almanzar however earned her nickname due to her sister. Cardi defined that since her sister is known as Hennessy, individuals began calling her Bacardi. Finally, the identify advanced into Cardi B.

“My sister’s identify is Hennessy, so all people was like ‘Bacardi’ to me. Then I shortened it to Cardi B. The ‘B’ stands for no matter, relying on the day…stunning or bully. Nobody calls me Belcalis aside from my household, my mom and my daddy,” she shared on The Wendy Williams Present.

6. Alicia Keys

When Alicia Keys was first beginning out, she determined she wanted to modify up her start identify, Alicia Augello Prepare dinner. She says she flipped via the dictionary searching for alternate final names and initially picked ‘Wild’ however her mother did not just like the sound of it.

“It is a joke. I bought so determined I went via the dictionary for one thing that catches my eye. I get to the W’s and I choose Wild. ‘Alicia Wild, how does that sound, Ma?’ She mentioned, ‘It sounds such as you’re a stripper.’ However I appreciated Keys. It is just like the piano keys. And it could open so many doorways,” she advised Newsweek.

7. Lorde

When Lorde was born, she was given the identify Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O’Connor however as she started to pursue music, she opted for a stage identify. Early in her profession, she defined that the identify Lorde got here from her curiosity in royalty.

“Ever since I used to be just a little child, I’ve been actually into royals and aristocracy, so to make Lord extra female, I simply put an e on the top! Some individuals assume it is non secular, however it’s not,” she advised Interview journal.

8. Calvin Harris

Calvin Harris would possibly sound like a traditional identify however the DJ was truly born Adam Richard Wiles. Earlier than he launched his first single, he determined to modify up his identify so as to create extra ambiguity about himself.

“My first single was extra of a soul observe, and I believed Calvin Harris sounded a bit extra racially ambiguous,” he reportedly advised the Shortlist in 2009. “I believed individuals won’t know if I used to be Black or not. After that, I used to be caught with it.”

9. John Legend

John Legend was born with the identify John Stephens however was given his stage identify by the buddies he grew up with. By the point he was pursuing music professionally, he says extra individuals knew him by the nickname — however he was fearful he wouldn’t be capable to reside as much as such a giant identify.

“John Legend is a nickname that some buddies began calling me, and it form of grew into my stage identify. ‘Legend’ is one thing that I by no means would have chosen for myself initially. It grew to the purpose the place extra individuals in my circle would know me by that identify than by my actual identify. I needed to decide,” John advised MTV Information.

He continued, “I used to be identical to, ‘You recognize what? Let’s simply go for it. Individuals are going to concentrate and I’ll both reside as much as my identify or I am not.’ My guess was on me attempting to reside as much as the identify.”

10. Bruno Mars

Bruno Mars bought his nickname when he was only a child. Whereas he was born Peter Gene Hernandez, his dad began calling him Bruno when he was nonetheless a toddler. The identify caught after which as an grownup, he added Mars to his moniker.

“My dad nicknamed me Bruno since I used to be 2 years outdated … I used to be going to go by ‘Bruno,’ one identify. Mars simply form of got here joking round as a result of that sounds greater than life. That was it, easy as that,” Bruno advised Latina in 2017.

11. Iggy Azalea

Iggy Azalea was born Amethyst Amelia Kelly and her stage identify took place by chance. She says she had a canine named Iggy and would put on a necklace together with his identify on it — which ended up complicated individuals.

“I bought a name-plate necklace made in his honor. All people began to assume that my identify was Iggy so it form of grew to become my nickname and I took it on board and began rapping with it,” Iggy shared in 2014.

Though she virtually caught with simply “Iggy,” her grandfather prompt she add a surname. “That may be a avenue identify that my mother and household reside on … and it sounds very female and I believed it might steadiness out Iggy being so masculine.”

12. Halsey

Again when Halsey was simply beginning out, she believed her goals have been “far fetched” and so as to achieve success, being herself would not be sufficient. She determined to “develop into any person fully totally different,” creating the identify Halsey out of anagram for her actual identify Ashley.

“On the time, I felt that Ashley did not should be well-known and profitable as a result of she wasn’t that particular, but when I made Halsey, perhaps she could possibly be,” she advised Cosmopolitan. “[Changing my name] gave me the chance to create a brand new persona that wasn’t certain by the expectations I had for myself or the restrictions that others positioned on me due to my upbringing or my socioeconomic scenario.”

She continued, “I created an individual, and she or he may do all the pieces. There was no manner that Ashley was going to develop into a king, however I made a brand new identify for myself and took her to paranormal, supernatural heights.”