A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a nom de plume (pen name). Some performers eventually choose to adopt their stage name as a legal name.
Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and may be similar or nearly identical to an individual's birth name or be inspired by nicknames or maiden names. Some people take a stage name because their birth name is difficult to pronounce or spell; is considered unattractive, dull, or unintentionally amusing; or projects an undesired image. Sometimes a performer adopts a name that is unusual or outlandish to attract attention. Some individuals use a stage name because their birth name is already being used by another notable individual, including names that are not exactly the same but still too similar; many guilds and associations that represent actors mandate that no two members may have identical working names. Other performers use a stage name in order to retain anonymity, as is often the case for porn stars, especially if they intend on switching careers.Stigma and the Shaping of the Pornography Industry By Georgina Voss, Routledge, 2015, page 52The Microgenre: A eout.org/2017/10/porn-star-why-we-should-probably-lose-the-term/ | title='Porn Star': Why We Should Probably Lose the Term - Intellectual Takeout | date=October 26, 2017 }}CONFESSIONS OF A PORN ADDICT, The Spectator, 10th november 2001, page 34
Family connection
Some individuals who are related to a celebrity take a different last name, so they are not perceived to have received undue advantage from their family connection. Actor Nicolas Cage, born Nicolas Coppola, chose a new last name to avoid comparisons with his uncle, director Francis Ford Coppola, who gave him his big break in the 1982 film Fast Times at Ridgemont High.
Conversely, individuals who wish to receive benefits from their family connections may take that person's first or last name. Lon Chaney Sr.'s son Creighton spent a number of years appearing in minor roles before renaming himself Lon Chaney Jr. Likewise, Emilio Estevez and his sister Renee chose not to take their father Martin Sheen's professional name and use their birth names. Their brother Carlos chose to use their father's professional name and took the name Charlie Sheen. Some children born outside marriage to a (usually male) celebrity parent have done the same: Jett Williams (née Antha Bell Jett) and Scott Eastwood (né Scott Clinton Reeves) each use their fathers' last names; while others have not: Joseph Baena, son of Arnold Schwarzenegger, chose not to use his father's last name.
Women who achieve fame after marriage often use their married name as part of their professional name, while women who achieved fame before marriage may continue to use their maiden name or a hyphenated surname.
In some cases, the individual may adopt a stage name to avoid confusion with other family members who have similar names. Actor Mark Harmon (Thomas Mark Harmon) uses his middle name professionally to avoid confusion with his father Heisman Trophy winner and former broadcaster Tom Harmon (Thomas Dudley Harmon).
Stephen Nice, the birth name of the lead singer of Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel, took on the stage name Steve Harley after realising that his on stage persona differed greatly from his real-life persona, and as a result feeling that he was no longer "Ronald and Joyce's (Harley's parents) little boy" when on stage.Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine:
Comedian Amos Muzyad Yaqoob Kairouz adopted the stage name Danny Thomas, largely because he did not want his friends and family to know he had gone back into working clubs where the salary was better.
Union rules
Guilds and associations that represent actors, such as the SAG-AFTRA (formed from a 2012 merger between the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) in the United States and Equity in the United Kingdom, stipulate that no two members may have identical working names. An actor whose name has already been taken must choose a new name. SAG-AFTRA allows any new member to keep their legal name as their stage name, even if another member has the same stage name already, as long as they sign a waiver.
Notable examples include: Nathan Lane, whose birth name (Joseph Lane) was already in use; Stewart Granger, born James Stewart. Diane Keaton, whose birth name is Diane Hall, took her mother's maiden name as a stage name after learning that there was already a registered actress named Diane Hall in the Actors' Equity Association. Ugly Betty actress Vanessa Williams officially uses "Vanessa L. Williams" because of SAG guidelines, although the other actress with same first and last name (Vanessa E. Williams) is arguably less notable. Similarly, David Walliams changed one letter in his surname owing to there being another "David Williams". Terry O'Quinn of Lost fame changed his surname from Quinn to O'Quinn as another registered actor already had the name Terrance Quinn. Long-time Simpsons writer and Futurama executive producer David X. Cohen changed his middle initial from S to X because there was already a David S. Cohen registered with the Writers Guild of America. Julianne Moore was born Julie Anne Smith but found that all variations of that name were already used by other actors. Former American football player Thomas Q. Jones added his middle initial to his name when he began acting, as his name was already taken.
The rumor that Michael Keaton, born Michael Douglas changed his surname because of an attraction to actress Diane Keaton is incorrect; he chose Keaton because of an affinity for the physical comedy of Buster Keaton.Keaton, Eleanor; Vance, Jeffrey (2001). Buster Keaton Remembered. Harry N. Abrams Inc. pp. 124. . Retrieved July 24, 2012.
A middle name may be adopted in preference to changing a name. American author James Finn Garner, born James Edward Garner, adopted his mother's maiden name for a middle name after joining the SAG, to avoid confusion with James Garner, and retained the name for his writing career. In some cases, attaching a generational suffix is sufficient for guild rules; broadcaster David Lawrence is credited as David H. Lawrence XVII as a result of there being sixteen other David Lawrences in show business at the time he received his SAG card.
A person hoping to become successful as an entertainer who has a name identical to a name already familiar to the public (in any field of endeavor) may change their name in order to avoid having their name evoke the other person with the same name. Singer Katy Perry, born Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson, released her self-titled album under the name Katy Hudson, but later used her mother's maiden name to avoid confusion with actress Kate Hudson.
By suggestion
A performer may also have had their stage name chosen for them by their agent – such was the case with Barbara Eden, born Barbara Jean Morehead (later known as Barbara Huffman) – or, in the heyday of the Hollywood studios, by a movie studio.
Joan Rivers (born Joan Alexandra Molinsky) went one step further and named herself after a former agent, Tony Rivers, after he told her to change her name.
In the non-English-speaking world, an example is the Taiwanese Mandopop girl group S.H.E (composed of Selina Jen, Hebe Tian, and Ella Chen), whose members' English names were chosen by their manager after taking personality tests.
Former child star Patty Duke (whose real name is Anna Marie Duke) had her stage name chosen for her by her first managers. Their choice of the name "Patty" was inspired by another child actress named Patty McCormack.
Cary Grant (born Archibald Alexander [or Alec] Leach) had his name selected for him by Paramount Pictures. He had been using the name "Cary Lockwood", but the studio decided against it, deeming it too similar to another actor working at the time. Cary and the studio eventually settled on "Cary Grant" (Grant thought the letters "C" and "G" to be lucky: they had brought previous success for both Clark Gable and Gary Cooper).
Joan Crawford, born Lucille Fay LeSueur, had her name changed as a result of a magazine poll organised by her studio, MGM.
Gorden Kaye (born Gordon Kaye) had one letter in his first name changed owing to a spelling error by the British Actors' Equity Association; he preferred the mistake over his original name.
Maribel Guardia (born Maribel Fernandez Garcia) had her last name changed not only because was there an actress of the same first and last names, but also because "Maribel Garcia" had 13 letters; she changed the spelling of her mother's maiden name, adding a "u" and changing the "c" to a "d" in the process.
Ethnicity
In the past, a stage name was often used when a performer's real name was considered to denote a specific ethnicity that faced potential discrimination. In other cases, actors have reinvented themselves with a more ethnic identity, when that gave them an advantage in playing "ethnic" roles.
Steven Tyler of Aerosmith changed his name from Steven Victor Tallarico "for more promotional appeal".
Historically, Jews in Hollywood were encouraged to anglicize their names to avoid possible discrimination. Examples of such name changes are Danny Kaye and Mel Brooks, both of whom were born with the surname Kaminsky, the original two lineups of The Three Stooges (born Moses Horwitz, Jerome Horwitz, Samuel Horwitz and Louis Feinberg) and Woody Allen (born Allan Konigsberg). Jon Stewart claims that he did not anglicize his name for career reasons, but because of his estranged relationship with his father. Israeli-American Natalie Portman (born Natalie Hershlag) changed her name allegedly to protect her privacy. James Goldman, retired television anchorman, has stated that he chose the name Jim Gardner because of the thought that there were too many people with Jewish last names on staff.
Ramón Estévez changed his name to Martin Sheen as he felt it affected his job prospects owing to racial discrimination and bias, although he maintains his birth name for legal documents such as his passport; his sons made divergent choices: Carlos Irwin Estévez is now Charlie Sheen, while Emilio Estevez left his name unchanged. German-born actor Hans Gudegast adopted the stage name of Eric Braeden.
Actors Anthony Quinn and Anne Bancroft were advised to anglicize their names because 'Antonio Rodolfo Quinn Oaxaca' and 'Anna Maria Louisa Italiano', respectively, were considered too 'ethnic' for Hollywood and Broadway at the time. Eydie Gorme (born Edith Garmezano), Sophia Loren (born Sofia Villani Scicolone), Charles Bronson (born Charles Dennis Buchinsky), and Rita Hayworth (born Margarita Carmen Cansino), are four more well-known examples of this trend.
Broadcaster Dave Roberts was born David T. Boreanaz but was known professionally as Dave Thomas and later Dave Roberts as ethnic surnames were discouraged when he first began his career during the 1950s; his son, actor David Boreanaz, chose not to adopt a stage name.
The use of stage names for ethnic purposes may vary widely depending on the media market the personality is representing. For example, in Buffalo, New York, a city with a large Polish-American population, Polish-American media personalities typically work freely using their birth names.
Sicilian-American actor Espera Oscar de Corti, who built his film career portraying Native Americans, reinvented himself as Iron Eyes Cody. He not only took his stage name as his legal name but eventually began insisting that he actually was Native American.
Actress Bernadette Peters (born Bernadette Lazzara) was encouraged as a child actress to use her father's first name, Peter as her last name by her mother to avoid being type-cast in Italian roles.