Everthing’s in a name!

You may often wonder, ‘What’s in a name?’ Well, actually everything! Why would then people opt to change their names from Stefanie Joanne Angeline Germanotta to Lady Gaga. Or from Akashdeep Saigal to Sky Walkr. We all have our reasons — from quirks to astrology to drawing attention. Some even have gone a step further and changed their name to suit a popular character on screen or in novels.Whatever may be the reason, the showbiz world has plenty of examples of celebs who have changed their name to something ‘untraditional.’ We stumbled upon quite a few cool and not-so-cool ones. Read on...
When people change their names on social media inspired by characters from books and movies
Only a voracious reader can tell how much a book can do, from living a person’s life to knowing every pulse of the character. Books sure are influential. “I have read all the Harry Potter series and the books really intrigued me and compelled me to be a part of the league. I followed every news piece about the books and author, and thought I deserved the title I gave myself,” says Shreya Mittal, who changed her last name to Potter on social networking sites.
Movies have also served as great inspiration. And fans leave no stone unturned when it comes to following movie trends. “I would religiously watch every movie of the Twilight series and fell in love with the werewolf actor Taylor Lautner. The next thing I did was change my last name to Lautner,” says student Anisha Seth.
Did you know Miley is Destiny Hope Cyrus?
Singer Miley Cyrus’ father, Billy Ray Cyrus had a special reason to name his daughter Destiny Hope. In an interview, he was quoted as saying, “I had this vision that it was her destiny to bring hope to the world.” However, later the singer decided to shorten her nickname ‘Smiley’
to Miley.
Then there are the really adventurous ones
A name is also an expression for many and why shouldn’t it be? Some even go to the extent of switching to bizarre names like ‘On the tree top’ or ‘Fly high’. This freedom to change your name according to your whims and fancies is said to be exhilarating.
There are some die-hard sports fans who change their names after their idol. “Being a die-hard Wayne Rooney fan, I chose to switch my surname to Rooney,” says student
Ashton Vaz.
When business dictates the surname
Then there are those who already have cool names and need no tweaking. From Sodabottleopenerwala to Daruwala and Topiwala to Maanmode — the list goes on and only gets better. These names may come across as made up names but they are very much real.
Lady Gaga
Born as Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, the singer is believed to have taken up a stage name for herself — Lady Gaga — after her music producer, said that her voice reminded him of the Radio Ga-ga singer Freddie Mercury.
Johnny Walker
Did you know that Johnny Walker’s real name was Badruddin Jamaluddin Kazi? The yesteryear comedian, who was known for his drunken acts, was renamed after the popular alcohol brand by Bollywood actor Guru Dutt after the latter watched his performance.

Hard Kaur
The rapper had once said in an interview that her stage name came fr om a fan who appreciated her music by saying you are ‘hard core’. Quite pleased to receive the compliment, she thought it could make for a great stage name. And that’s how Taran Kaur Dhillon became Hard Kaur.
Sky Wlker
Actor Akashdeep Saigal, who had created quite a stir in the television industry, decided to change his name. But instead of just adding an extra letter or deleting one, Saigal went a step further and changed his name to Sky Wlker on the suggestion of a numerologist to enhance his career and suit his personality.
Watch: Lady Gaga's performance