How a memorable stage name can help you find fame

fa'mous adj. -- Well or widely known; famous

in-fa'mous adj. -- Having an exceedingly bad reputation; notorious.

There are many ways to become famous. There are famous athletes, famous politicians, famous cooks, famous artists, famous musicans, famous actors, and more. This article focuses on how to become famous in the entertainment industry.

Even in the narrow field of entertainment, there are millions of aspiring actors, but only a handful of famous ones. So how do you become famous? The answer is: You must become outstanding at your craft. That requires training, experience, and persistence. Beyond that, picking a memorable stage name helps.

Stage names have a long history. People used stage names for all sorts of reasons -- to become memorable, to hide their real identity, or because their real name sounded ridiculous or was unreadable. People have also changed their names because their real name sounded similar or was identical to some other famous person. For instance, Ray Charles was originally Ray Robinson, but there was already a famous boxer named "Sugar" Ray Robinson, which was also a stage name.

People that were part of the American Vaudeville era used stage names to hide their immigrant backgrounds. Ironically, at about the same time, many ballet dancers changed their English names to sound Russian. More often, people anglicized their names, or made them sound English. Here are some examples: Freddie Mercury, the lead singer from the rock group Queen, was originally called Farrokh Bulsara. Bob Dylan started as Robert Zimmerman. Rodney Dangerfield's real name was Jacob Cohen. Vikki Carr was born Florencia Bisenta de Casillas Martinez Cardona. Mel Brooks was Melvin Kaminsky. And Woody Allen's original name was Allen Stewart Konigsberg.

These days, people change their names or use stage names just to be memorable. Did you know that Marilyn Monroe's original name was Norma Jean? Why is the name "Marilyn Monroe" better? Her new name uses a poetic device called alliteration -- the use of similar repetitive sounds. Here are some other examples of names that benefit from the use of alliteration: Robert Redford, Alan Alda, Billy Bragg, Billy Baldwin, Ozzy Osbourne (originally Jonathan Michael Osborne), Hulk Hogan (who was born Terry Gene Bollea) and a whole score of animated characters like Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse. So, using alliteration in your stage name can make you more memborable.

Then there are the single word names, which were very cool in the 80's, like Prince. Madonna. Sting. But they're still in use today; Usher (real name is Usher Raymond IV) and Seal (originally Sealhenry Olusegun Olumide Samuel) uses one. Perhaps Twiggy - born Leslie Hornby -- did it first in the 60's. Of course, Cher - born Cherilyn Sarkisian - was doing it in the 70's too. You can still consider a single word handle today. It will make you stand out from the regular two-named people.

Of course, another trend is the three-word name: like Sarah Jessica Parker. Other famous three word names are: "Sugar" Ray Robinson (born Walker Smith, Jr.), Anna Nicole Smith (born Vickie Hogan) and James Earl Jones (originally Todd Jones).

Still, some people put a "the" somewhere in their name, like wrestlers Jesse "the body" Ventura and Tony the Tiger. Others add a cute word, which is not ordinarily even a name, to their name. Some examples: like Cat Stevens (born Steven Demetri Georgiou), Juice Newton (originally Judy Cohen), Courtney Love (started as Courtney Michelle Harrison), Billie Holiday (was Eleanora Fagan Gough) and Adam Ant (began as Stuart Leslie Goddard).

Of course, you can't ignore some of the hip-hop names that have emerged as well: Snoop Dogg (originally Cordazer Calvin Broadus), P. Diddy (originally Sean John Combs), Big Boi, Biggie, Bo Diddly (Ellas Bates, later Ellas McDaniel), and Ice-T (born Tracy Marrow).

So what is the future of stage names? Perhaps the most avant-garde type of stage names are actually the ones that contain numbers. The most famous are 2Pac (originally Tupac Shakur) and 50 Cent (who was Curtis Jackson.) Then there is Tech N9ne (born Aaron D. Yates.) Maybe I'll change my name to 3ric wo1fr4m.

So pick a professional name that people can remember. You don't need to legally change your name to have a stage name, although plenty of celebrities eventually change their name to adopt their stage name, not all of them do that. Most importantly, work at your craft. A good stage name will only help you if you're already excellent at acting, singing, or modeling.

For more information on becoming a star, check out these related articles:

Top Six Ways to Get on Stage
Use Your Day Job To Start a Career In Entertainment
Getting Discovered Online

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