Music | Celebrity

10 Musicians Who Have Been Lying About Their Names This Whole Time

Tamara Rules

While it may be common to not go by the name you were given when you were born, stage names for celebrities is a regular practice. While some celebrity names you can guess not be to be on their birth certificate, others may surprise you.

From pop queens, to rock and roll legends and country-music superstars, see how many on the list you knew about! There's one at the end, I bet you won't be able to guess.

Katy Perry - Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson

She changed her name to avoid being confused with the actress Kate Hudson. She originally released a Christian Rock album in 2001 under the name Katy Hudson, but that was before she was famous.

Jay Z - Shawn Corey Carter

Known as Jazzy around his childhood neighborhood nickname in Brooklyn, New York he took on the stage name of Jay-Z to pay homage to his mentor Jaz-O.

Miley Cyrus - Destiny Hope Cyrus

Destiny Hope Cyrus is no more. At 15 years-old she legally changed her name to Miley Ray Cyrus. The Hannah Montana star had been called Miley by her father since she was a baby, when he realized the little girl smiled all the time.  

Bono - Paul David Hewson

When he was a young teen in Dublin, Paul Hewson's buddies started calling him Bono Vox after the neighborhood hearing-aid store. Bonovox is latin for the term good voice, so he has been known as Bono ever since.

Faith Hill - Audrey Faith Perry

Born Audrey Faith Perry in Jackson, Mississippi, she married music publishing executive David Hill in 1988. Her career took off after that she never changed her name back after their divorce.

Continue to the next page to find out which famous country artist doesn't go by her real name.

Whether their name wasn't catch enough to be on an album cover or it was changed for family reasons, celebrities come up with all sorts of names for their fans to call them.

Think about it, what would you call yourself if you had millions of people watching your every move.

Nicki Minaj - Onika Tanya Maraj

Born on December 8, 1982 in Saint James, Trinidad and Tobago, she originally adopted the nickname Nicki Maraj before settling on Minaj.

Gene Simmons - Chaim Weitz

You may recognize him as Gene Simmons, but that name was not always applied to that face. The Demon, and bass guitarist for Kiss, was born Chaim Witz in Israel. When he moved to America, he changed his name to Gene Klein and later settled on Gene Simmons for professional purposes.

Lady Gaga - Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta

It probably comes as no surprise that Lady Gaga isn't the Born That Way artist's real name. She was born Stefani Joanna Angelina Germanotta and came up with Lady Gaga when her boyfriend at the time used to call her Gaga because her voice and style reminded him of the song Radio Gaga.

It's hard to deny that Lady Gaga and Freddie Mercury share some serious parallels when they get on stage.

Sting - Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner

Sting got his stage-name from a friend who used it as a nickname for him. He used to wear a black and yellow sweater with hooped stripes with the Phoenix Jazzman. Gordon Solomon, the bandleader thought he looked like a bee, which prompted the name sting.

Shania Twain - Eilleen Regina Edwards

Born Eilleen Regina Edwards, her parents divorced when she was just 2 years-old. Her mother remarried Jerry Twain, an Ojibwa man from nearby Mattagami First Nation. Jerry adopted Eileen and her sisters changing their last name to Twain. In the early 90s she changed her name to Shania, which was said to be an Ojibwa word which means "on my way".

How many of these did you already know?

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