Privacy Policy » 9 Celebrities Who Want To Ditch Their Stage Name

That’s why some stars decide they want to change their name right in the middle of their career, ditching their famous moniker in favor of their real name. Whether it’s because they want to make a return to their roots, pay tribute to a family member, or just go by the name they use in their personal life, these celebs want to make their stage names a thing of the past.

Find out why these stars don’t want to use their stage names…

The Weeknd has been known by his stage name for the majority of his career but he’s ready to close that chapter of his life. For the past several years, he’s been talking about going back to his given name, Abel Tesfaye, and after the release of his recent album, Hurry Up Tomorrow, he’s officially making the change.

“It’s a headspace I’ve gotta get into that I just don’t have any more desire for. I feel like it comes with so much,” he told Variety. “You have a persona, but then you have the competition of it all. 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.”

Michael Keaton has used a stage name for his entire career — much to the surprise of many movie fans. Michael’s last name is actually Douglas but when he became an actor, Michael Douglas was already taken. Going forward, Michael says he’d like to be credited as a hybrid of the two names, Michael Keaton Douglas. He meant to start using the moniker while directing his latest film Knox Goes Away, but ended up forgetting.

“I said, ‘Hey, just as a warning, my credit is going to be Michael Keaton Douglas.’ And it totally got away from me. And I forgot to give them enough time to put it in and create that. But that will happen,” Michael told People.

Throughout her career, Ariana Grande has gone by a shortened version of her full name. When she recently starred in Wicked, she decided to use her given name, Ariana Grande-Butera, a hyphenation of both her parent’s last names. She explained that she chose to go back to her full name as a tribute to her younger self.

“You know, that was my name when I went to see the show when I was 10 years old,” she explained to The Hollywood Reporter. “It felt like a really lovely way of honoring that.”

Emma Stone chose her stage name as a teen when she was told her given name, Emily Stone, was already being used in the Screen Actors Guild. She initially selected the name Riley but quickly realized it didn’t work for her and switched out to Emma, something closer to her real name. But looking back, Emma admits she misses using Emily and wishes she could go by that name.

“For a 16-year-old, picking a new name is an interesting prospect, and back then I said, ‘I’m now going to be Riley Stone!’ So, for about six months I was called Riley,” she told W Magazine. “I landed a guest spot on Malcolm in the Middle, and one day they were calling, ‘Riley! Riley! Riley! We need you on set, Riley!’ and I had no idea who they were talking to. At that moment, I realized that I just couldn’t be Riley. So I became Emma. But I miss Emily. I would love to get her back.”

Blac Chyna has gone by her stage name for years, beginning when she was a stripper. But when she recently began making many changes in her personal life, like reversing her plastic surgery procedures, she decided she also wanted to reclaim her birth name, Angela White, as part of getting back to herself.

“Nobody ever really calls me Angela. So sometimes I would forget who I am because it’s always about the brand, brand, brand, but not about the person,” she told Forbes.

When she was just a teenager, Anne Hathaway chose to go by her given name as her professional moniker in Hollywood — a decision she now regrets. Looking back, Anne wishes that she had used Annie, the name that everyone in her personal life uses. Going forward, she’d prefer for people to call her Annie but it hasn’t really stuck with the public.

“When I was 14 years old, I did a commercial, and I had to get my SAG card and they asked me, ‘What do you want your name to be?’ And I was like, ‘Well, it should be my name. My name’s Anne Hathaway.’ So that seemed like the right choice, but it never occurred to me that for the rest of my life, people will call me Anne. The only person who ever calls me Anne is my mother and she only does it when she’s really mad at me,” she said on The Tonight Show.

For most of her career, Thandie Newton went by a stage name — which actually started as an accidental misspelling of her given name. In the credits of her 1991 movie Flirting, her first name was spelled “Thandie” instead of “Thandiwe.” For over three decades, she went by the incorrect name before finally publicly making the switch.

“That’s my name. It’s always been my name. I’m taking back what’s mine,” Thandiwe told British Vogue, adding that the name means “beloved” in Shona, a language spoken in her mother’s native Zimbabwe.

Growing up in the spotlight, fans knew rapper Shad Moss as Lil Bow Wow. As he got older, he decided to drop the “lil” from his name, simply going by Bow Wow. Then in 2014, he decided to return to his given name, explaining that his stage moniker no longer fit who he was. He currently uses both his given name and Bow Wow

“We made a lot of history as Bow Wow,” he wrote in a now-deleted Instagram post. “Now it’s time for the next chapter and challenge. Bow wow does not fit who I am today. Ima father, business man, TV host, Actor, and rapper! Time for MR Moss to take over!”

Rapper Lil Xan derived his stage name from Xanax, an anxiety medication he was addicted to at one point in his life. When he got sober, he felt that the name no longer fit him — and before going to rehab, he explained that he was planning on letting go of the name. He now uses his given first name Diego, but many people still call him Lil Xan.

“I want to do rehab, so I can get over this last little hump…My goal is to come out of rehab with the name just Diego all caps…No more celebrating, talking good about drugs and all that,” he told TMZ.