From Cardi B to Put up Malone, these stars mentioned goodbye to their given names for one thing slightly extra memorable.
Not everyone seems to be born with a reputation that is match for a film poster or an enviornment marquee. That is why some celebrities determine to alter their identify on their journey to stardom. As a substitute of widespread names like Melissa or Peter, these future stars go for one thing slightly extra memorable. And whereas they mentioned goodbye to their given names, a lot of their stage monikers nonetheless maintain very particular which means.
This is how these stars obtained their stage names…
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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 choose two issues she actually cherished — cats and weed.
“I used to be closely hooked on weed and weed tradition, so once I started rapping I considered the phrase ‘doja’ and the way it appears like a lady’s identify,” Doja advised Dazed, noting that she additionally cherished cats “in each facet.”
2. Lizzo
Lizzo was known as by her stage identify lengthy earlier than she turned well-known. The musician, whose actual identify is Melissa Viviane Jefferson, obtained the nickname Lizzo when she was nonetheless an adolescent.
“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 slightly 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.
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3. Put up Malone
Put up Malone was born Austin Richard Put up however when he was an adolescent, he determined he wanted an artist identify to launch the music he was making. To assist pick his new moniker, he turned to a random identify generator on-line.
“I used to be like 14, and I had began moving into producing and rapping and singing over my very own stuff. And I wanted a reputation, , for my s—- mixtape,” he shared on The Tonight Present. “So I ran [my real name] by way of 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 appearing, she realized her final identify was arduous 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!
“Effectively, my actual identify is tough to pronounce, and it simply obtained extraordinarily irritating to appropriate individuals on a regular basis. Plus, I by no means glided by Brianne. It is a identify you get known as whenever you’re in bother! Larson is a household identify from my great-grandmother,” she advised Glamour.
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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 once like ‘Bacardi’ to me. Then I shortened it to Cardi B. The ‘B’ stands for no matter, relying on the day…lovely or bully. Nobody calls me Belcalis apart 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 change up her start identify, Alicia Augello Cook dinner. She says she flipped by way of the dictionary on the lookout for alternate final names and initially picked ‘Wild’ however her mother did not just like the sound of it.
“It is a shaggy dog story. I obtained so determined I went by way of the dictionary for one thing that catches my eye. I get to the W’s and I decide Wild. ‘Alicia Wild, how does that sound, Ma?’ She mentioned, ‘It sounds such as you’re a stripper.’ However I favored Keys. It is just like the piano keys. And it may possibly open so many doorways,” she advised Newsweek.
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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 slightly 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 spiritual, however it’s not,” she advised Interview journal.
8. Calvin Harris
Calvin Harris may sound like a traditional identify however the DJ was really born Adam Richard Wiles. Earlier than he launched his first single, he determined to change up his identify so as to create extra ambiguity about himself.
“My first single was extra of a soul monitor, and I believed Calvin Harris sounded a bit extra racially ambiguous,” he reportedly advised the Shortlist in 2009. “I believed individuals may not know if I used to be Black or not. After that, I used to be caught with it.”
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9. John Legend
John Legend was born with the identify John Stephens however was given his stage identify by the chums he grew up with. By the point he was pursuing music professionally, he says extra individuals knew him by the nickname — however he was nervous he wouldn’t be capable to dwell as much as such a giant identify.
“John Legend is a nickname that some mates began calling me, and it type 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 similar to, ‘You understand what? Let’s simply go for it. Individuals are going to concentrate and I’ll both dwell as much as my identify or I am not.’ My wager was on me attempting to dwell as much as the identify.”
10. Bruno Mars
Bruno Mars obtained 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 type of got here joking round as a result of that sounds larger than life. That was it, easy as that,” Bruno advised Latina in 2017.
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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 along with his identify on it — which ended up complicated individuals.
“I obtained a name-plate necklace made in his honor. Everyone began to assume that my identify was Iggy so it type of turned my nickname and I took it on board and began rapping with it,” Iggy shared in 2014.
Though she nearly caught with simply “Iggy,” her grandfather instructed she add a surname. “That could be a avenue identify that my mother and household dwell on … and it sounds very female and I believed it might stability 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 “change 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 need to be well-known and profitable as a result of she wasn’t that particular, but when I made Halsey, possibly 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 constraints that others positioned on me due to my upbringing or my socioeconomic state of affairs.”
She continued, “I created an individual, and she or he might do every part. There was no approach that Ashley was going to change into a king, however I made a brand new identify for myself and took her to paranormal, supernatural heights.”
