{"id":997578,"date":"2026-08-13T06:03:03","date_gmt":"2026-08-13T06:03:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/997578\/"},"modified":"2026-08-13T06:03:03","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T06:03:03","slug":"50-cent-shares-stage-name-he-almost-used-instead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/997578\/","title":{"rendered":"50 Cent Shares Stage Name He Almost Used Instead"},"content":{"rendered":"

Originally appeared on E! Online<\/a><\/p>\n

50 Cent<\/strong><\/a> was just a lil bit away from rocking a different stage name.<\/p>\n

The “In Da Club” rapper (born Curtis Jackson<\/strong>) revealed there was one adorable nickname he considered adopting as his alias before becoming known in the music industry as 50 Cent.<\/p>\n

“My first nickname was Boo Boo,” Jackson confessed during an Aug. 11 episode of The Tonight Show<\/a>, playfully noting, “It wouldn’t work well.”<\/p>\n

And the 51-year-old is familiar with answering 21 questions about his pseudonym, including how fans should pronounce the moniker.<\/p>\n

“The question I get asked the most is Fifty or Fiddy?” Jackson said on Late Night with Seth Meyers<\/a> in 2014, emphasizing the different pronunciations of the number. “If you say fifty, call me Fifty.”<\/p>\n

And the New Yorker gave a prime example of when he can tell a fan is leaning into replicating his Queens accent to “try to be cool.”<\/p>\n

“If you see hundred dollar bills, call me Fifty,” Jackson explained while an image of cash flashed on screen, before joking, “If what you see is Benjamins, Fiddy is just fine.”<\/p>\n

More from E! Online<\/strong><\/p>\n

As for why he ultimately chose 50 Cent as his stage name? “There was actually a guy from the Fort Greene projects [in Brooklyn, New York] who called himself 50 Cent<\/strong>,” the Get Rich or Die Tryin’ actor told Vanity Fair<\/a> in 2013. “I used it as a metaphor for change. Musically, I had my own way of doing things.”<\/p>\n

It was the neighborhood figure’s drive that the “Candy Shop” artist wanted to infuse into his music.<\/p>\n

\"Curtis<\/p>\n

Photo by: Todd Owyoung\/NBC via Getty Images<\/p>\n

“I took the name 50 Cent because it says everything I want it to say,” he said in a 2005 interview with Stuff Magazine<\/a>. “I’m the same kind of person 50 Cent was. I provide for myself by any means.”<\/p>\n

For more celebs who’ve adopted professional monikers, keep reading…<\/p>\n

Austin Richard Post<\/p>\n

\"Austin<\/p>\n

Congratulations to Post Malone<\/strong>, who incorporated his surname into his stage name. However, the rapper does prefer his close friends to call him by his real name.<\/p>\n

During the 2024 MTV VMAs, Taylor Swift<\/strong> referred to him as “Austin” when they won the Best Collaboration award for their duet “Fortnight.”<\/p>\n

Aubrey Frances Anderson-Emmons<\/p>\n

\"Aubrey<\/p>\n

Though she portrayed Lilly on Modern Family under the name Aubrey Anderson-Emmons<\/strong>, the actress changed her moniker to Frances Anderson<\/strong> to mark her era as a musician.<\/p>\n

“Frances is actually part of my legal name\u2014it’s my middle name, and it’s after my mom’s old family friend,” she explained in a 2025 E! News interview<\/a>. “I thought, one, it was a bit shorter than ‘Aubrey Anderson-Emmons.’ I do have a long, hyphenated last name.”<\/p>\n

Hannah Fanning & Mary Fanning<\/p>\n

\"Hannah<\/p>\n

The siblings grew up going up by their middle names<\/a>, which they chose to use when they entered Hollywood: Dakota Fanning and Elle Fanning.<\/p>\n

As Elle explained, because their mother went by her middle name, it made sense for the sisters to do the same.<\/p>\n

“It was awkward in school when they were calling roll call,” she recalled to Glamour in 2016, “because they’d go, ‘Mary? Mary?’ Kids would be like, ‘There’s no Mary here.’ I’d awkwardly raise my hand, like, ‘Uh, it’s me.'”<\/p>\n

William Carl Radke<\/p>\n

\"William<\/p>\n

The Summer House star shocked Bravo fans by revealing his legally given first name isn’t <\/a>actually<\/a> Carl<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“My I.D. and my passport\u2014my first name is William,” Carl\u2014who has appeared on the reality show for all nine seasons\u2014told PopViewers<\/a> in August 2025. “So, my middle name is Carl, but I’ve always, since day one, been called Carl.”<\/p>\n

Sterling Kelby Brown<\/p>\n

\"Sterling<\/p>\n

Sterling K. Brown<\/strong> went by his middle name Kelby until he was a teenager.<\/p>\n

“My dad’s name is Sterling Brown Jr.<\/strong>, my grandfather is Sterling Brown Sr.<\/strong>,” he said during an April 2025 appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show<\/a>. “I wanted my own name and it felt like Sterling was an old man’s name.”<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

“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.”<\/p>\n

Nicholas Dylan Efron<\/p>\n

\"Nicholas<\/p>\n

The Traitors winner shared on E!’s Hot Goss that his real name is Nicholas Dylan Harrison Efron<\/strong>, 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.<\/p>\n

Andrew Mignogna, Matthew Mignogna & Joey Mignogna<\/p>\n

\"Andrew<\/p>\n

Andrew Lawrence<\/strong>, Matthew Lawrence<\/strong> and Joey Lawrence<\/strong> adopted a new last name in their careers. Joey\u2014whose middle name is Lawrence\u2014was the first to do so after a talent agent criticized the family surname.<\/p>\n

Katherine Victoria Litwack<\/p>\n

\"Katherine<\/p>\n

Kat Dennings<\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n

The 2 Broke Girls alum told Kylie Kelce<\/strong><\/a> 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.”<\/p>\n

The actress drew inspiration for her stage name from Christina Ricci<\/strong>‘s character Kat in the film Casper as well as the surname of Janine Denni<\/strong>, the French wife of late The Black Cauldronauthor Lloyd Alexander<\/strong>, a writer she said was her mother’s best friend.<\/p>\n

Cheryl Sarkisian<\/p>\n

\"Cheryl<\/p>\n

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.”<\/p>\n

In her 2024 memoir, Cher: The Memoir, Part One, the pop icon recalled her mom Georgia Holt<\/strong>‘s reaction to this discovery.<\/p>\n

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.”<\/p>\n

Collins Obinna Chibueze<\/p>\n

\"Collins<\/p>\n

The outlaw country star adopted Shaboozey<\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n

Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson<\/p>\n

\"Katheryn<\/p>\n

Though the singer initially released a Christian album under her birth name in 2001, she felt the stage name Katy Perry<\/strong><\/a>\u2014inspired by her mom’s maiden name\u2014might leave pop fans more in awe, awe, awe.<\/p>\n

Belcalis Almanzar\"Belcalis<\/p>\n

Cardi B <\/strong>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.<\/p>\n

Rachel Meghan Markle\"Rachel<\/p>\n

Before she became the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle <\/strong>was briefly known as Rachel.<\/p>\n

Eilleen Regina Edwards\"Eilleen<\/p>\n

Shania Twain<\/strong> 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<\/strong> and Regina<\/strong>. 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.”<\/p>\n

Kayleigh Rose Amstutz<\/p>\n

\"Kayleigh<\/p>\n

The “Good Luck, Babe!” singer’s onstage persona\u2014Chappell Roan<\/strong>\u2014has always been a “drag project,” allowing her to set boundaries and separate her personal life from the industry.<\/p>\n

Jelena Noura Hadid\"Jelena<\/p>\n

Oddly enough, Gigi Hadid<\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n

Mark Vincent\"Mark<\/p>\n

If you’re looking for an explosive action-star name, how about Vin Diesel<\/strong> instead?<\/p>\n

Destiny Hope Cyrus\"Destiny<\/p>\n

Miley Cyrus<\/strong>‘ bright smile is what inspired her childhood nickname, Smiley. Eventually the name was shortened to Miley and it stuck.<\/p>\n

Peter Gene Hernandez\"Peter<\/p>\n

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<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Stefani Germanotta\"Stefani<\/p>\n

Before the meat dresses and chart-topping music, Lady Gaga<\/strong> was just an everyday girl from New York.<\/p>\n

Daniel Sudeikis\"Daniel<\/p>\n

Jason Sudeikis<\/strong> confirmed on Today<\/a>that he was named Daniel after his father, but following some confusion, his mom started using his middle name Jason to avoid confusion.<\/p>\n

Emily Stone\"Emily<\/p>\n

Emma Stone<\/strong> ended adopting this stage name after finding out that the Screen Actors Guild already had a member registered under her birthname.<\/p>\n

Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon\"Laura<\/p>\n

Turns out Reese isn’t even Reese Witherspoon<\/strong>‘s middle name. The actress chose the moniker in honor of her mother, whose maiden name is Reese.<\/p>\n

Elizabeth Woolridge Grant\"Elizabeth<\/p>\n

Every artist has an alter ego, and Lana Del Rey<\/strong> just happens to be the persona of choice for the singer.<\/p>\n

For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News App<\/p>\n