Musicians and Their Stage Names

Stage Names
Stage Names A-D

Ever wonder how a musician gets their stage name? Here's how

Ringo Starr
-Real name: Richard Starkey
-Took the name 'Ringo' from the fact he liked to wear alot of rings and Starr from a shortened version of Starkey

Joe Perry
-Real name: Anthony Joseph Perreira
-Shortened real name

Axl Rose
-Real name: William Rose
-Took the name Axl from from the first band he was with, AXL, when he moved to L.A., so his friends started calling him Axl

Slash
-Real Name: Saul Hudson
-Family friend Seymour Cassel gave him the nickname Slash because he was in a constant hurry, zipping around

C.C. DeVille
-Real name: Bruce Anthony Johannesson
-I guess he thought it sounded cool. Maybe he took it from a car model, idk

Rikki Rockett
-Real Name: Richard Anthony Ream
-Took his name from being an avid rocket flyer

Marilyn Manson
-Real name: Brian Hugh Warner
-Took the name from Marilyn Monroe and Manson from the convicted serial killer

When it comes to punk and hardcore punk, most of the guys replaced their names with hardcore sounding names

Sid Vicious
-Real name: John Simon Ritchie
-Took the name Vicious after remarking a friend's hamster bite was vicious

Alice Cooper
-Real name: Vincent Damon Furnier
-Alice Cooper was originally the name of the band he was with

Paul Stanley
-Real name: Stanley Harvey Eisen
-Took the name Stanley from his real first name

Gene Simmons
-Real name: Chaim Witz
-Took the name Gene Simmons when he moved to the US

Eric Singer
-Real name: Eric Doyle Mensinger
-Took his stage name from a shortened version of his real name

Tommy Thayer
-Real name: Thomas Cunningham Thayer
-Took his stage name from a shortened version of his real name

Bono
-Real Name: Paul Hewson
-Was a nickname he was given when he was younger; Bono is a shortened Latin phrase for good voice

Cher
-Real name: Cherilyn LaPierre
-Shortened real name

David Bowie
-Real name: David Jones
-Took the name Bowie to avoid confusion with Monkees lead singer Davy Jones

He looks very nice in this photo :D

Billy Idol
-Real name: William Broad
-Took it from a teacher's description of being "idle"

Geddy Lee
-Real name: Gary Weinrub
-Inspired by his mother's heavily accented pronunciation of Gary

Mick Mars
-Real name: Robert Deal
-Changed it to sound more fierce and tough

Freddie Mercury
-Real name: Farrokh Bulsara
-Started calling himself "Freddie" at his boarding school in India and just changed the last name to Mercury

Sting
-Real name: Gordon Sumner
-Got his nickname Sting from the fact he wore a sweater that was black with yellow stripes, resembling a bee

Steven Tyler
-Real name: Steven Victor Tallarico
-Named after his father, Victor Tallarico and changed it to Tyler because he thought people might find his real name too hard to pronounce

Hottie!!!

Dee Snider
-Real Name: Daniel Dee Snider
-Shortened real name

Lady Gaga
-Real name: Stefani Germanotta
-Took her stage name from the Queen song Radio Ga-Ga

Mick Jagger
-Real name: Michael Philip Jagger
-Was given the name "Mick" from the Stones' manager Andrew Loog Oldham; he thought "Mick" would sound more "pop" than Michael Jagger on stage

Nikki Sixx
-Real Name: Frank Ferrana
-Just decided to call himself "Nikki Sixx"

Dusty Springfield
-Real name: Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien
-Was described as a tomboy, getting 'dusty' playing football

The Edge
-Real name: David Evans
-IDK on the origin of his stage name