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Bob Dylan, the legendary rock-folk singer, was born as Robert Zimmerman. He changed his name in honor of the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, whom he greatly admired.
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David Bowie, the renowned musician and actor, was born with the name David Robert Jones. He decided to change his surname to Bowie as a tribute to the American folk hero Jim Bowie and also to avoid any confusion with Davy Jones, the singer of the band 'The Monkees', who was gaining popularity at the time.
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Elton John is actually named Reginald Kenneth Dwight. The Englishman adopted his new stage name in honor of Elton Dean, a saxophonist of the jazz band 'Soft Machine', and John Baldry, a blues singer.
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Marilyn Manson is actually named Brian Warner. The controversial artist adopted his stage name by combining the first name of actress Marilyn Monroe and the last name of serial killer Charles Manson to create a provocative and subversive statement.
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Freddie Mercury was actually named Farouk Bulsara. The successful singer, during his school days in India, adopted the name Freddie. After 'Queen' was formed in 1970, Freddie wanted to change his last name to something worthy of a rock star and chose his stage name from the Queen song "My Fairy King" which he wrote in 1973.
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The singer known as Iggy Pop was born James Jewell Osterberg, Jr. He chose his stage name while performing with his previous band, The Iguanas, and to avoid confusion with another musician who shared his real name, Jim Osterberg. It wasn't until he shaved off his eyebrows that he acquired the surname Pop. This happened because the band had a friend named Jimmy Pop who had lost all his hair, including his eyebrows. The band then started calling James Jewell Osterberg, Jr. as Iggy Pop, inspired by their friend Jimmy Pop.
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Ringo Starr, the famous drummer of 'The Beatles', was born Richard Starkey. He adopted his stage name while performing with a band called Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. In that band, he used the name Ringo Roadagain, which was inspired by a character from the western television series 'Maverick'
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Sting's real name is Gordon Matthew Sumner. Sting got his stage name by wearing yellow sweaters with black and his friends would tell him he looked like a bee so they would say, ''Sting! Sting!
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Sid Vicious was not actually named Sid Vicious at birth. His real name was John Simon Ritchie. Sid Vicious adopted his stage name for his musical career in the 'Sex Pistols' because his girlfriend at the time told him he looked "vicious".
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Steven Tyler, was born with the name Steven Victor Tallarico. He adopted the stage name Tyler while performing with a band called Chain Reaction. According to him, he saw a bottle of Tyler hair dye in the bathroom and thought it would make a great name. From then on, he went by the name Steven Tyler.
Each of these artists, from Bob Dylan to Marilyn Manson, has left an indelible mark on the music industry and will forever be remembered by their iconic stage names.
We tell you the story behind each of these name changes and the inspirations behind their decision, forging their artistic identity.
Here is a list of well-known rock musicians who have decided to change their stage name, many of them inspired by irreverent things.