50 Fun Facts About Better Known as

Which Hollywood leading man, born Archibald Leach in Bristol, took US citizenship in 1942?

Cary Grant legally adopted his screen name only on 26 June 1942, the day he became a naturalised American at the age of 38.

Which Motown prodigy, born a Judkins in Saginaw, Michigan, topped the Hot 100 aged 13?

Stevie Wonder was born six weeks premature, and the oxygen-rich incubator that kept him alive caused the retinopathy that left him blind.

Which author, born Theodor Geisel, wrote The Cat in the Hat using just 236 different words?

Dr. Seuss first signed as Seuss, his mother's maiden name, to keep drawing for Dartmouth's humour magazine after the college barred him from it for drinking gin.

Which centre, born Lew Alcindor, so dominated UCLA that college basketball banned the dunk?

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar announced the name publicly in 1971 after converting to Islam; it translates roughly as noble one, servant of the Almighty.

Which author, born Eric Arthur Blair in British India, took his pen name from a Suffolk river?

George Orwell paired the River Orwell, one of his favourite places, with the first name of England's patron saint.

Which Honolulu-raised singer, born Peter Gene Hernandez, debuted with Doo-Wops & Hooligans in 2010?

Bruno Mars took his stage name from a childhood nickname: his father thought the two-year-old resembled wrestler Bruno Sammartino, and he added Mars because girls said he was out of this world.

Which comedian, born Caryn Johnson in Manhattan, won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Ghost?

Whoopi Goldberg says the Whoopi came from a whoopee cushion, a joke about her flatulence on stage, and a genealogy study found no Goldberg among her ancestors.

Which golfer, born Eldrick in Cypress, California, was nicknamed after a South Vietnamese colonel?

Tiger Woods honours Colonel Vuong Dang Phong, his father Earl's friend, who was also called Tiger; the first name Eldrick was built to start with E for Earl and end with K for Kultida.

Which pope, elected in 2025, was born Robert Prevost in Chicago and is also a citizen of Peru?

Leo XIV is the first pope born in the United States and the first Augustinian friar to hold the office, having run the order from Rome as prior general.

Which president, born Leslie Lynch King, was never elected to the presidency or the vice-presidency?

Gerald Ford was renamed for his stepfather, paint salesman Gerald Rudolff Ford, and only formalised the change, with the spelling Rudolph, in 1935.

Which singer, born Anna Mae Bullock and raised in Nutbush, Tennessee, won Record of the Year in 1985?

Tina Turner's winner, What's Love Got to Do with It, was her only Billboard Hot 100 number one, a quarter-century after A Fool in Love launched her with Ike.

Which Kiwi singer, born Ella Yelich-O'Connor, was the youngest US number one since Tiffany in 1987?

Lorde added an e to Lord, a title she found too masculine, to feminise a name that reflects her fascination with royals and aristocracy.

Which singer, born Gordon Sumner near Wallsend's shipyards, went on to front the Police?

Sting was so named by a jazz bandleader, Gordon Solomon, who said his black-and-yellow striped jumper made him look like a wasp.

Which Guns N' Roses guitarist, born Saul Hudson, got his nickname from the actor Seymour Cassel?

Slash was raised in Blurton, Stoke-on-Trent, until he was six, when he moved to Los Angeles with his father while his mother worked there in show business.

Which Stooges frontman, born James Osterberg in Muskegon, Michigan, is dubbed the Godfather of Punk?

Iggy Pop earned the Iggy from the Prime Movers, a later band, because he had drummed for an Ann Arbor high-school group called the Iguanas.

Which shock rocker, born Vincent Furnier, legally took his disbanded group's name in 1975?

Alice Cooper's birth names honoured an uncle, Vincent, and the writer Damon Runyon; the solo career opened that year with the concept album Welcome to My Nightmare.

Which English singer, born Declan Patrick MacManus in Paddington, released My Aim Is True in 1977?

Elvis Costello's debut produced no hit singles yet holds some of his best-known songs, including the ballad Alison; his father Ross was a professional trumpeter and singer.

Which singer, born with the surname Sarkisian in El Centro, California, won the Best Actress Oscar for Moonstruck?

Cher, now legally mononymous, released an early single, Dream Baby, under the name Cherilyn before teaming up with Sonny Bono.

Which Puerto Rican rapper, born Benito Martínez Ocasio, headlined the Super Bowl LX halftime show?

Bad Bunny's Debí Tirar Más Fotos became the first Spanish-language album to win the Grammy for Album of the Year, and he was Spotify's most-streamed artist four times between 2020 and 2025.

Which Toronto singer, born Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, headlined the Super Bowl LV halftime show in 2021?

The Weeknd dropped the last e of weekend, the moment he left home at seventeen, to avoid a trademark clash with a Canadian band called the Weekend.

Which Western star, born Marion Morrison in Winterset, Iowa, was called Duke after his Airedale dog?

John Wayne was credited as Duke Morrison just once, in Words and Music (1929), before Raoul Walsh's widescreen epic The Big Trail gave him a leading role in 1930.

Which Wizard of Oz star, born Frances Gumm in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, began in vaudeville aged two?

Judy Garland's surname has several origin stories, one being that vaudeville host George Jessel announced the Gumm Sisters looked prettier than a garland of flowers.

Which actor, born Maurice Micklewhite, took his surname from a Leicester Square cinema marquee?

Michael Caine was on the phone to his agent when he saw The Caine Mutiny playing at the Odeon; in 2016 he changed his name by deed poll so airport security stopped querying his passport.

Which filmmaker, born Allan Stewart Konigsberg in the Bronx, directed and starred in Annie Hall?

Woody Allen's legal name is Heywood Allen, which some reports say he adopted at 17; his mother Nettie kept the books at her family's delicatessen.

Which Oscar winner, born Eric Bishop in Texas, chose a unisex stage name to win open-mic slots?

Jamie Foxx noticed female comedians were called up first, so he picked a name ambiguous enough to beat the bias, with a surname honouring 1970s comic Redd Foxx.

Which action star, born Mark Sinclair, coined a tougher stage name while working as a nightclub bouncer?

Vin Diesel took Vin from his mother's married name, Vincent, and Diesel from friends who said he ran on energy; he also sold lightbulbs by telemarketing.

Which Beetlejuice star, born a Douglas, took a stage surname to satisfy Screen Actors Guild rules?

Michael Keaton needed a new name because an actor and a daytime host already used his, and says the choice had nothing to do with Diane or Buster Keaton.

Which Joker (2019) Oscar winner was born with the surname Bottom in San Juan, Puerto Rico?

Joaquin Phoenix's family legally adopted the surname Phoenix after settling in Florida, choosing the bird that rises from its ashes to mark a new beginning; as a child actor he went by Leaf.

Which comic actor, son of the radio comedian known as Parkyakarkus, voiced Marlin in Finding Nemo?

Albert Brooks was born Albert Lawrence Einstein into a show-business family; his father, radio comic Harry Einstein, performed as Parkyakarkus.

Which Gandhi (1982) Oscar winner was born Krishna Pandit Bhanji in Snainton, North Yorkshire?

Ben Kingsley's father, Rahimtulla Harji Bhanji, was born in Zanzibar to a Gujarati family from Jamnagar; the actor joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1967.

Which wrestler, born Terry Bollea, was handed his ring surname by promoter Vincent J. McMahon?

Hulk Hogan was told to dye his hair red to match; already thinning on top, he declined, quipping that he would be a blond Irishman.

Which Brazilian, born Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite, won the 2007 Ballon d'Or while at AC Milan?

Kaká was dubbed Caca by his younger brother Digão, who could not pronounce Ricardo, and the nickname evolved from there.

Which heavyweight champion, raised on the south side of Brockton, Massachusetts, retired undefeated at 49-0?

Rocky Marciano was born Rocco Francis Marchegiano and remains the only world heavyweight champion to finish his career undefeated, 49-0 with 43 knockouts.

Which Yankees catcher, born Lorenzo Pietro, won a record ten World Series as a player?

Yogi Berra's friend Jack Maguire said he looked like a yogi from India when he sat with arms and legs crossed waiting to bat, or moping after a loss.

Which Black Sox outfielder, banned by Landis, got his nickname during a mill game in Greenville, South Carolina?

Shoeless Joe took off cleats that had blistered his feet, ran to third in his stockings, and a heckler yelled 'You shoeless son of a gun, you!'; MLB lifted his ban in 2025.

Which Barcelona star, surnamed de Assis Moreira at birth, is nicknamed O Bruxo, the Wizard?

Ronaldinho, meaning little Ronaldo, was so called from the age of eight because he was usually the youngest and smallest player in youth club matches.

Which wrestler, born Roussimoff in Coulommiers, France, had a Bulgarian father and a Polish mother?

André the Giant's brother Jacques said he could do the work of three men on the family farm in Molien; his size came from gigantism caused by excess growth hormone.

Which 1990s NBA guard, given the first name Anfernee, owes his nickname to his grandmother's drawl?

Penny Hardaway's grandmother called him Pretty, which in her Southern accent sounded like Penny; the name Anfernee came from a schoolmate of his mother.

Which Negro leagues pitcher, given the name Leroy Robert, made his major league debut at 42 in 1948?

Satchel Paige said the name came from toting bags at the Mobile train station as a boy; his family changed the spelling of Page to Paige in the mid-1920s.

By what nickname was Julius Erving, the only MVP of both the ABA and the NBA, known?

Dr. J began as a high-school in-joke: Erving called his friend Leon Saunders the professor, and Saunders answered by calling him the doctor.

Which Candide author, born François-Marie Arouet, adopted his pen name after the Bastille in 1718?

Voltaire is thought to be an anagram of AROVET LI, the Latinised spelling of Arouet plus the initials of le jeune, the young.

Which playwright, born Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, fell ill on stage in The Imaginary Invalid in 1673?

Molière, who had tuberculosis, was playing the hypochondriac Argan when a coughing fit struck; he finished the performance and died a few hours later.

Which Heart of Darkness author, born with the Polish surname Korzeniowski, was not fluent in English until his 20s?

Joseph Conrad's third given name, Konrad, honoured the heroes of two Adam Mickiewicz poems; he kept a strong foreign accent all his life.

Which Atlas Shrugged author, born Alisa Rosenbaum in Saint Petersburg, moved to the US in 1926?

Ayn Rand found fame only with her 1943 novel The Fountainhead, after two unsuccessful early novels and two Broadway plays.

Under which pen name did Daniel Handler write the 13-book series A Series of Unfortunate Events?

Lemony Snicket is also a character whose childhood Handler explored in the four-part All the Wrong Questions; his adult novels appear under his real name.

Under which pen name did Stephen King publish Thinner, until a bookstore clerk unmasked him in 1985?

Richard Bachman was later said to have died of 'cancer of the pseudonym', and Thinner's sales rose tenfold once King was revealed as the author.

Which revolutionary, born Vladimir Ulyanov, embraced socialism after his brother's 1887 execution?

Lenin first used the pseudonym in December 1901, possibly after the Siberian Lena River, and published What Is to Be Done? under it the next year.

Which civil rights leader, surnamed Little at birth, became el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz after the Hajj?

Malcolm X chose the letter to symbolise his unknown African ancestral surname while discarding what he called the white slavemaster name of Little.

Which frontierswoman, born Martha Canary, lies beside Hickok in Deadwood's Mount Moriah Cemetery?

Calamity Jane took charge of five younger siblings at 14 and drove the family wagon to Fort Bridger, Wyoming Territory, arriving in May 1868.

Which Old West outlaw, born Henry McCarty, was killed by Sheriff Pat Garrett at Fort Sumner in 1881?

Billy the Kid also went by the alias William H. Bonney, was linked to nine murders, and was 21 when he died.