16 surprising celebrities who changed their names

Few celebrities are known for choosing a stage name, Chappelle Rowan has literally built an entire persona around herself, and Madonna, well, Madonna. But for a large number of other famous faces, whether their names are not the ones they were given at birth is less clear.

In fact, some new nicknames seem so natural or suit them so well that you probably never stop to think it wasn’t always known to them. Here are 16 of the best examples: