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The Surprising Real Names Of 30 Celebrities

Kirsten Acuna,Aly WeismanJan 6, 2014, 10:04 IST

Caryn Elaine Johnson's stage name was literally inspired by a whoopee cushion.

Sometimes you need to change your name to make it as a star in Hollywood or the music business.

Plenty of today's biggest stars don't go by their birth names - Reese Witherspoon, Mila Kunis, and Natalie Portman.

However, you probably aren't familiar with how they ended up with their current monikers.

Some are simple. Francis Ford Coppola's nephew Nicolas Cage changed his last name to avoid the worries of Hollywood nepotism.

Others, like Bruno Mars and Michael Caine are more inspired. And then there's Whoopi Goldberg, whose name was changed after friends noticed her flatulence problem.