Celebrity Name Changes

Check out these Celebrities who changed their name!

Celebrity name changes are incredibly popular and looking at these 'before and after' names I can see why!

What man would even admit to being called Marion, let alone try and become a famous Cowboy! John Wayne sounds so much better...

You will discover throughout this site that our names impact on us and others in many different ways - so the celebrities below who changed their names also changed their destiny!

I wonder where they would be now if they had kept their original names?

Discover what Brad Pitt's current name and original birth name reveal about him - and the career he would probably have had if he hadn't changed his name!

Here are the celeb name changes, with the new name on the left.

Charlie Sheen - Carlos Irwin Estevez
Charlie's name has such a great ring to it, I just can't imagine him with his former name!

Barry Mannilow - Barry Alan Pincus
Hmm, been to see Barry Pincus in concert? That sounds SO wrong!

Billie Holiday - Eleanora Fagan
The new name has a lovely flowing sound to it, much like her music.

Billy Idol – William Michael Albert Broad
No way would William Broad have had the cult following of Billy Idol, surely?

Piers Morgan - Piers Stefan O'Meara
Ah, Piers, didn't realize you had lovely Irish roots!

Billy Ocean – Leslie Charles

Bob Dylan – Robert Zimmerman

Bob Hope – Leslie Townes Hope

Danny La Rue - Daniel Patrick Carroll

Martin Sheen - Ramon Gerardo Antonio Estevez
What is it with celebrity name changes in the Sheen family?

Meg Ryan – Margaret Mary Emily Ann Hyra
Wow, thank goodness Margaret changed her name!

Cary Grant – Archibald Alexander Leach
Ditto!

Michael Crawford - Michael Patrick Dumbell-Smith
Well, no-one wants dumb in their name - do they?

Levi Roots - Keith Graham

Stephanie Powers - Stefania Zofya Federkiewicz
Excuse me? Star of Hart-To-Hart cannot have an un-pronounceable name!

Lauren Bacall – Betty Joan Perske
Another example of a name sounding better than the original.

More celebrity name changes:

Charlton Heston – John Charles Carter

Donna Summer – Ladonna Andrea Gaines
Don't mind either name actually, how about you?

Dean Martin – Dino Crocetti

Demi Moore – Demetria Guynes
No question, new name way better!

Elton John – Reginald Kenneth Dwight
Big ditto!

Englebert Humperdink – Jerry Dorsey
And another!

Cher – Cherilyn Sarkisian
Oh, I can't keep saying 'ditto'

George Michael – Georgios Panayiotou
Who?

Greta Garbo – Greta Lovisa Gustafsson

John Wayne – Marion Michael Morrison
A cowboy names Marrion would have been ridiculous...

Judy Garland – Francis Gumm
No, we could not have the star of Wizard of Oz being called that!

Marilyn Monroe – Norma Jean Mortenson (then Baker) Again, the new name just sounds good and flows...

Ringo Starr – Richard Starkey

Rock Hudson – Roy Harold Scherer Jr
Who can imagine gorgeous Rock being called Roy?

Tony Curtis – Bernard Schwartz
Old name SO wrong!

Sting – Gordon Sumner

Woody Allen – Allen Stewart Konigsberg
Well, I'm relieved I can at least pronounce the new name.

Michael Caine – Maurice Micklewhite

Brad Pitt - William Bradley Pitt

Jack Palance – Volodymyr Palahniuk in Ukraine
100% improvement!

Elton John recently told Piers Morgan in an interview that he deliberately changed his name because he couldn't imagine success as a singer with his original name!

Nor can I! Good move Elton!

And Michael Crawford chose his new surname after a Crawfords biscuit van drove past him in the street!

I hope you've enjoyed reading about celebrity name changes.

Have your own names analyzed - For example your current name, your birth name and a name you'd like to change to

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