Celebrities’ real names revealed

Stage name: 50 Cent

Birth name: Curtis James Jackson III

Jackson adopted the name 50 Cent from a well-known New York robber, Kelvin “50 Cent” Martin, who made his name by stealing from and murdering local hustlers. “I’m the same kind of person 50 Cent was. I provide for myself by any means.”  (Jim Cooper / Associated Press)

Stage name: Alicia Keys

Birth name: Alicia Augello Cook

The Grammy-award winning soul singer and piano playing prodigy renamed herself after the piano keyboard.  (Sean Gardner / Getty Images)

Stage name: Axl Rose

Birth name: William Bruce Rose Jr.

Named for his birth father, William Rose changed his name to Axl, after a band he once played in. He also played in bands called Rapidfire, Rose, LA Guns and Hollywood Rose. He’s right, they don’t have the same ring as Axl.  (Timothy A. Clary / Getty Images)

Stage name: Barry Manilow

Birth name: Barry Alan Pincus

The “Mandy” crooner had no say in his surname; his mother renamed him when she changed her own surname back to her maiden one, Manilow.  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Stage name: Busta Rhymes

Birth name: Trevor Smith

Public Enemy’s Chuck D gave Smith his moniker -- after football player George “Buster” Rhymes -- after watching him perform. The rapid-fire rapper explained to MTV News: “[Chuck] was just like, ‘Yo, you seem like the football player as an MC. Just the aggressiveness and that strength that you command.’ ”  (Ann Johansson / For The Times)

Stage name: Carrot Top

Birth name: Scott Thompson

The comedian, named, obviously, for his unruly ginger locks, currently performs at Vegas’ Luxor casino. Among the infamous props he uses is in his act are a variety of microphones, including Whitney Houston’s, which is attached to a bong, and Rush Limbaugh’s, which dispenses pills  (Andrew Gombert / EPA)

Stage name: Elton John

Birth name: Reginald Kenneth Dwight

When Reginald Kenneth Dwight changed his name to Elton John, anagram enthusiasts never forgave him. John’s original moniker is full of possibilities, including the anagram, “the weird England night.” John is said to have settled on his moniker by mixing the names of musicians Elton Dean and Long John Baldry.  (YM Yik / EPA)

Stage name: Jason Alexander

Birth name: Jay Greenspan

By 14, Jay Greenspan was perfecting his tap-dancing and dreaming about his first Tony. By 17, he had changed his name professionally, although he never changed it legally.  (Kane Hibberd / Getty Images)

Stage name: Marilyn Manson

Birth name: Brian Warner

Back in the late ‘80s, Brian Warner formed a band called Marilyn Manson and the Spooky Kids. Eventually, the name was shortened; because if you have to tell people you’re spooky, you’re probably not.  (Rick Nederstigt / EPA)

Stage name: Portia De Rossi

Birth name: Amanda Lee Rogers

In an interview with Advocate.com, De Rossi said that her sexual preference had a lot to do with her choice of stage name. “When I was 15, I changed it legally,” explained De Rossi. “In retrospect, I think it was largely due to my struggle about being gay. Everything just didn’t fit, and I was trying to find things I could identify myself with, and it started with my name.”  (Damon Winter / Los Angeles Times)

Stage name: Tom Cruise

Birth name: Thomas Cruise Mapother IV

By the time he became famous, Cruise had dropped his father’s name. When talking to Parade magazine, Cruise described his dad as “a bully and a coward – the person where, if something goes wrong, they kick you.”  (Peter Kramer / Associated Press)

Stage name: Whoopi Goldberg

Birth name: Caryn Johnson

Believe it. Goldberg actually got her first name from the whoopee cushion.

“When you’re performing on stage,” Goldberg told The New York Times Magazine, “you never really have time to go into the bathroom and close the door. So if you get a little gassy, you’ve got to let it go. So people used to say to me, ‘You are like a whoopee cushion.’ And that’s where the name came from.”  (Jeff Christensen / Associated Press)