10| Mila Kunis — Milena Markovna Kunis
At the age of seven, Milena Markovna Kunis and her family moved from Ukraine to Los Angeles, CA. Mila’s mother, Elvira, and father, Mark, soon enrolled her in acting classes and allowed Mila to shorten her name when she started booking her first roles on “Days of our Lives,” “7th Heaven” and playing a young Angelina Jolie in “Gia.”
9| Natalie Portman — Natalie Herschlag
After being born in Jerusalem, Israel, in 1981 to an Israeli gynecologist father named Avner Hershlag and American mother named Shelley Stevens (her mother’s family changed their last name from “Edelstein” to “Stevens” when arriving in the U.S. from Russia and Austria), Portman now holds dual American and Israeli citizenship.
8| Christopher Walken — Ronald Walken
According to a Salon article from 2000, Walken was originally named after actor Ronald Colman. The change in name came about after singer Monique Van Vooren, who Walken worked for at the time, renamed him Christopher for no real apparent reason. The name stuck, though his friends still call him Ronnie.
7| Louis C.K. — Louis Szekely
The comedian’s Hungarian surname is pronounced SEK-kay; however, after people had a tough time pronouncing his name, he decided to change it to an easier English translation: SEE-Kay.
6| Jamie Foxx — Eric Marlon Bishop
Rumor has it Foxx picked an androgynous name because he noticed female comedians were often picked over men to perform at comedy clubs.
5| Ludacris — Christopher Brian Bridges
The rapper has said the stage name explains his split personality. “The nickname is something I made up,”said Ludacris. ”Part of me is calm, cool, and collective (sic), while the other side is just beyond crazy.” Before becoming a rapper, Ludacris was known as “Chris Luva Luva” on Atlanta’s Hot 97.
4| Charlie Sheen — Carlos Irwin Estevez
With his paternal grandparents originally immigrants from Spain and Ireland, Sheen wanted to take on a more American name. His children share the Sheen surname.
3| Michael Caine — Maurice Joseph Micklewhite
According to IMDB, Caine changed his name after advice from an agent. In 2009, Caine explained re-naming himself after Humphrey Bogart’s character in “The Caine Mutiny” to NY Mag.
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