How to Come Up With a Stage Name in 5 Steps

A stage name—sometimes referred to as a pseudonym, artist name, or a nom de guerre—is a professional name that a performer adopts to publicly represent themselves as an artist. A stage name can contain parts of the person’s legal name, or be a completely different name. People adopt stage names for a number of different reasons, from paying homage to artists that inspired them, to differentiating themselves from artists with similar names.

Artists may use stage names for a number of different reasons, such as:

• Avoiding confusion: Some artists with very common names use stage names to avoid being confused with other performers of the same name. For example, actress Diane Keaton (birth name Diane Hall), adopted her mother’s maiden name when she found out that another working actress was going by that name.
• Cultivating a persona: A performer may adopt a stage name that lends itself to their stage persona. For instance, Lana Del Rey—born Elizabeth Woolridge Grant—chose a stage name that evokes the Hollywood ingenués who inspire her.
• Simplifying their names: Certain artists with longer or more complicated names choose stage names that are easy for people to remember or pronounce. For instance, actor Aaron Paul goes by his first name and middle name, because casting directors could not pronounce his last name, “Sturtevant.”
• To avoid being pigeonholed: Some performers change their names to avoid being stereotyped by the music industry. Such is the case with Peter Gene Hernandez, who adopted the stage name “Bruno Mars” to avoid being stereotyped as a Latin singer.
• Paying homage: Some entertainers choose their stage names to honor their favorite characters, authors, and artists. For example, actress Olivia Wilde, whose real name is Olivia Cockburn, chose the stage surname “Wilde” as an homage to Oscar Wilde and the other writers in her family.

Many famous musicians throughout history have used stage names to represent themselves in their professional careers. Here are some of the most famous artists who go by stage names.

1. 1. Beyoncé: Beyoncé, born Beyoncé Knowles is formerly the lead of multi-member musical group Destiny’s Child. Beyoncé went solo and took on her mononymous stage name in 2003 with her chart-topping debut single, “Crazy in Love.”
2. 2. Bono: Born Paul David Hewson, the U2 frontman Bono’s name comes from a nickname given to him by his friends, “Bonavox”—a Latin phrase meaning “good voice.” Over time, it was simply shortened to “Bono.”
3. 3. David Bowie: To avoid confusing his name with English singer Davy Jones, David Bowie (birth name David Jones), took on the last name “Bowie” to pay homage to Jim Bowie, a character in the 1960 film The Alamo inspired by the real-life nineteenth century Texas revolutionary, James Bowie.
4. 4. Bob Dylan: Iconic singer-songwriter Bob Dylan—born Robert Zimmerman—took on the last name “Dylan” as an homage to poet Dylan Thomas, because he was inspired by beat poetry.
5. 5. Elton John: Born Reginald Kenneth Dwight, Elton John crafted his name as an homage to saxophonist Elton Dean and vocalist Long John Baldry.
6. 6. Kesha: Formerly stylized as “Ke$ha,” Kesha Sebert’s dollar-sign accented stage name evoked the partying lifestyle that she sang about in her pop hits. When Sebert wanted to transform her image into a more vulnerable one, she dropped the dollar sign.
7. 7. Lady Gaga: Lady Gaga’s birth name is Stefani Germanotta, and she derived her stage name from the Queen song, “Radio Ga Ga” to pay homage to the artists who inspired her.
   
8. 8. Lorde: Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor, professionally known as “Lorde,” is a singer and songwriter from New Zealand whose stage name was inspired by the aristocracy.
9. 9. Madonna: Popstar Madonna Louise Ciccone, named for her mother Madonna Fortin, uses her unique first name Madonna as her professional stage name.
10. 10. Katy Perry: Katy Perry’s birth name is Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson, and she adopted her stage moniker to avoid confusion with actress Kate Hudson.
11. 11. Questlove: Ahmir Khalib Thompson, known professionally as Questlove or ?uestlove, is a Grammy award-winning musical tastemaker supreme, one of the world’s most beloved DJs, and a leading authority on the soul, funk, hip-hop, and R&B genres. His stage name is derived from one of his early influences, the musical group A Tribe Called Quest.
12. 12. St. Vincent: Singer, songwriter, and musician Annie Clark is known by her stage name St. Vincent, which was inspired by a lyric from the Nick Cave song “There She Goes, My Beautiful World” which alluded to the hospital where Dylan Thomas died: “And Dylan Thomas died drunk in St. Vincent’s Hospital.”

Plenty of artists in the music industry and beyond have built careers on their stage names. Follow these steps to come up with your own name.

1. 1. Use a variation of your actual name. If you have a distinctive first name or middle name, consider using that as your professional name. You can also take select letters from your full name and rearrange them to make a new name for yourself, like artist Halsey—whose birth name is Ashley Frangipane.
2. 2. Use a childhood nickname as inspiration. If you had a nickname from childhood that you particularly liked, you can use that or an alteration thereof as your moniker.
3. 3. Pick a word that embodies your style. Some stage names are meant to embody a particular image—like Guns N’ Roses lead guitarist‘s gritty stage name “Slash.” If you have a specific style or word that you think represents your persona, use that to inspire your stage name.
4. 4. Think about artists that inspire you. Turn to artists that you love—whether it’s a musician, author, or director—and who have inspired your work when coming up with your own artist’s name.
5. 5. Try brainstorming a couple of ideas. Make a list of your favorite name ideas, and choose the one that suits you best. You may need to brainstorm for a while to come up with a good name that embodies your persona, but having a lot of options will help.

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