It’s not uncommon for celebrities to change their names on their way to fame – so much so that fans usually aren’t aware that their favourite artists used to go by another moniker.

Some have elected to make the change official by legally taking on a new name, while others simply go by their chosen aliases.

Bob Dylan, for example, was born Robert Zimmerman but legally changed his name in 1962.

Portia de Rossi was once known as Amanda Lee Rogers, but like Dylan, she legally changed it, in her case at the age of 15.

In 2019, Rocketman documented Reginald Dwight’s decision to go by Elton John instead as he grew into his music star persona.

This is a common move for performing artists, with David Bowie, Katy Perry and John Legend having all chosen new stage names for themselves on their path to fame.

Below are 27 celebrities who were born with very different names

Click through the bellow gallery to see what made the list

27 celebrities who were born with very different names