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Michael B. Jordan Details Needing Therapy After Playing Black Panther Villain
What’s in a name? Just ask Michael B. Jordan.
After all, the Sinners actor—who shares his name with Michael Jordan—admitted that stepping out of the NBA legend’s shadow wasn’t exactly a slam dunk, as the bullying that came from being compared to a world-class athlete became a “big time” problem during his childhood.
“I got teased so much,” he told CBS Sunday Morning in an interview that aired Jan. 4, “to the point where I almost changed my name.”
In fact, the 38-year-old—who was named after his father, Michael A. Jordan—considered going by his middle name Bakari, meaning “noble promise” in Swahili. However, he opted instead to embrace his given moniker, noting that being compared to the basketball superstar “was a part of the alchemy that made me who I am today.”
“It definitely made me want to be competitive,” he explained. “I wanted to be great at something, if not for nothing else at that time, just to feel like I had my own identity.”
And with numerous accolades for his work over the years—including a 2026 Golden Globe nomination for his dual roles as twin brothers in the horror blockbuster—there’s no denying Michael has delivered on the promise for which he was named.
“I feel like I'm walking in that and will continue to do so, big time,” he said of his middle name’s significance. “We got a lot more things to do. We're just getting started.”
Matt Baron/BEI/Shutterstock; Shane Drummond/BFA.com/Shutterstock
But for now, Michael is celebrating the ongoing success of Sinners, both at the box office and among critics.
“It came out so early in the year, and people are still excited about it,” he told E! News in December, “still going back to the theaters and seeing it and acting as if it's the first time that they're seeing it.”
“It feels great,” Michael added. “It feels good.”
While Michael ultimately opted to stick to his given name, not everyone in Hollywood has gone the same route. Keep reading for more on celebs’ real names…
Steve Jennings/FilmMagic
Austin Richard Post
Congratulations to Post Malone, who incorporated his surname into his stage name. However, the rapper does prefer his close friends to call him by his real name.
During the 2024 MTV VMAs, Taylor Swift referred to him as "Austin" when they won the Best Collaboration award for their duet "Fortnight."
Gilbert Flores/Penske Media via Getty Images
Aubrey Frances Anderson-Emmons
Though she portrayed Lilly on Modern Family under the name Aubrey Anderson-Emmons, the actress changed her moniker to Frances Anderson to mark her era as a musician.
“Frances is actually part of my legal name—it’s my middle name, and it’s after my mom’s old family friend,” she explained in a 2025 E! News interview. “I thought, one, it was a bit shorter than 'Aubrey Anderson-Emmons.' I do have a long, hyphenated last name.”
Clifton Prescod/Bravo
William Carl Radke
The Summer House star shocked Bravo fans by revealing his legally given first name isn't actually Carl.
"My I.D. and my passport—my first name is William," Carl—who has appeared on the reality show for all nine seasons—told PopViewers in August 2025. "So, my middle name is Carl, but I've always, since day one, been called Carl."
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Sterling Kelby Brown
Sterling K. Brown went by his middle name Kelby until he was a teenager.
"My dad's name is Sterling Brown Jr., my grandfather is Sterling Brown Sr.," he said during an April 2025 appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show. "I wanted my own name and it felt like Sterling was an old man's name."
But years after his dad died from a heart attack, the This Is Us alum decided to revert back to his first name as a way to honor his father.
"Because he passed away when I was 10, by the time I turned 16 and I hadn't heard his name for five, five-and-a-half years,” he continued. “I was like, ‘I kinda just want to hear that name again.’ So I asked people to call me Sterling."
Christopher Polk/Variety via Getty Images
Nicholas Dylan Efron
The Traitors winner shared on E!'s Hot Goss that his real name is Nicholas Dylan Harrison Efron, but he's "axed off" his first name and prefers Dylan. As he explained, "That's my first name and everything gets bumped up," making Harrison his middle name now.
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Andrew Mignogna, Matthew Mignogna & Joey Mignogna
Andrew Lawrence, Matthew Lawrence and Joey Lawrence adopted a new last name in their careers. Joey—whose middle name is Lawrence—was the first to do so after a talent agent criticized the family surname.
Amy Sussman/E! Entertainment/NBCU Photo Bank
Katherine Victoria Litwack
Kat Dennings adopted a stage name at age 9, years before she made her official onstage acting debut on a 2000 episode of Sex and the City.
The 2 Broke Girls alum told Kylie Kelce on the March 13, 2025 episode of her podcast Not Gonna Lie With Kylie Kelce that she didn't think her real name name should "be displayed on a poster."
The actress drew inspiration for her stage name from Christina Ricci's character Kat in the film Casper as well as the surname of Janine Denni, the French wife of late The Black Cauldron author Lloyd Alexander, a writer she said was her mother's best friend.
Emma McIntyre/WireImage
Cheryl Sarkisian
For more than three decades, Cher was made to believe that her legal first name was Cherilyn. It wasn't until the late '70s, when she obtained her birth certificate in order to change her full name to just Cher, that she discovered that she had been registered as "Cheryl."
In her 2024 memoir, Cher: The Memoir, Part One, the pop icon recalled her mom Georgia Holt's reaction to this discovery.
She said her mother, who gave birth to her at age 19, responded, "Let me look at that!" and then, recalling her postpartum experience, added, "I was only a teenager, and I was in a lot of pain. Give me a break."
Prince Williams/WireImage
Collins Obinna Chibueze
The outlaw country star adopted Shaboozey as his nickname and later used it as his official alias as a music artist after his Virginia high school misspelled his surname that way.
(Disney/Eric McCandless)
Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson
Though the singer initially released a Christian album under her birth name in 2001, she felt the stage name Katy Perry—inspired by her mom's maiden name—might leave pop fans more in awe, awe, awe.
Mike Coppola/Getty Images for iHeartMedia
Belcalis Almanzar
Cardi B took on the name Bacardi after family and friends started calling her sister Hennessy. Later on she shortened the name to something that suited her quite a bit more.
Tim Rooke/Shutterstock
Rachel Meghan Markle
Before she became the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle was briefly known as Rachel.
Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Stagecoach
Eilleen Regina Edwards
Shania Twain shared the origin story of her stage name during an appearance on Apple Music's Home Now Radio: "In short, I was born, Eilleen Regina Edwards, and then I was adopted and I became Eilleen Regina Twain. Then I became a professional singer and I needed a stage name that sounded a little less like my grandmother's name, because I'm named after my grandmother, both my grandmothers, Eilleen and Regina. I think, in my mind, I was just not really wanting to be called my grandmother's name onstage, so I decided to change it to Shania Twain. I met somebody with the name Shania, thought it was beautiful, and Shania Twain was born."
Christopher Victorio/Shutterstock
Kayleigh Rose Amstutz
The “Good Luck, Babe!” singer’s onstage persona—Chappell Roan—has always been a “drag project,” allowing her to set boundaries and separate her personal life from the industry.
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images
Jelena Noura Hadid
Oddly enough, Gigi Hadid got her stage name in school when the teacher would confuse her and a girl named Helena. Since her mom called her "gigi" as a term of endearment at home, she told the teacher to just call her Gigi and it simply stuck.
Monica Schipper/Getty Images
Mark Vincent
If you're looking for an explosive action-star name, how about Vin Diesel instead?
Chelsea Lauren/REX/Shutterstock
Destiny Hope Cyrus
Miley Cyrus' bright smile is what inspired her childhood nickname, Smiley. Eventually the name was shortened to Miley and it stuck.
Kevin Mazur/WireImage
Peter Gene Hernandez
Apparently the singer looked more like a Bruno than a Peter, so one day his dad started calling him Bruno. Ever since, he has been known as Bruno Mars.
Jeff Kravitz/Getty Images for Live Nation
Stefani Germanotta
Before the meat dresses and chart-topping music, Lady Gaga was just an everyday girl from New York.
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Daniel Sudeikis
Jason Sudeikis confirmed on Today that he was named Daniel after his father, but following some confusion, his mom started using his middle name Jason to avoid confusion.
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Academy Museum of Motion Pictures
Emily Stone
Emma Stone ended adopting this stage name after finding out that the Screen Actors Guild already had a member registered under her birthname.
Jim Smeal/REX/Shutterstock
Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon
Turns out Reese isn't even Reese Witherspoon's middle name. The actress chose the moniker in honor of her mother, whose maiden name is Reese.
Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic
Elizabeth Woolridge Grant
Every artist has an alter ego, and Lana Del Rey just happens to be the persona of choice for the singer.
Jason Merritt/Getty Images
Christopher Edwin Breaux
In 2014, Frank Ocean legally changed his name because, why not?
Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tribeca Festival
Elizabeth Stamatina Fey
A little known fact about 30 Rock's Tina Fey is that she is actually named Elizabeth. The comedian made a not so subtle tribute to her birth name by naming her character Liz Lemon.
Jason Merritt/Getty Images
Calvin Broadus
This pioneer of West Coast rap would later go on to be known as Snoop Dogg.
Lester Cohen/Getty Images for NARAS
Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor
Turns out the "Royals" singer is really into learning about the aristocracy, hence the reason why she chose the name Lorde, but with a feminine 'e.'
Laura Cavanaugh/Getty Images
Enrique Morales
Before he started shaking his bonbon for the masses, music superstar Ricky Martin went by this everyday name.
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Amethyst Kelly
It's hard to believe that Iggy Azalea was born Amethyst Kelly!
Matt Baron/REX/Shutterstock
Adam Richard Wiles
Fans were confused when Taylor Swift thanked then-boyfriend Adam in an acceptance speech, which lead people to the discovery that Calvin Harris is simply a stage name. The DJ told Shortlist magazine he chose the name because his first single was more soulful and wanted something a bit more "racially ambiguous."
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