Many celebrities end up changing their names. Whether they are legally changing their names to a stage name or legally changing their names after getting married - some of them you may not have even noticed. On another note, some celebrities change their "personal name," but not their stage names. Here are 10 celebrities that either changed their legal names to a stage name, or after getting married, or both!

Kourtney Kardashian 

She the knot with Travis Barker in 2022, saying it was a "given" to take his name. The reality star and entrepreneur legally changed her name to Kourtney Kardashian Barker, keeping her original last name as her middle name. Following their wedding, she told Today "It was a given, it wasn't a thought," when asked about her name change. 

Jada Pinkett Smith

Jada did something similar when she tied the knot with Will Smith in 1997. Afraid that she'd face criticism for taking Will's last name, she added it to hers, becoming Jada Pinkett Smith. On Facebook, she posted, "The dilemma you face whether to change your last name to your husband's is a timely one. I have always believed that an empowered woman is one that can stand on her own two feet and has the strength to trust her personal code of womanhood and not necessarily the code that a collective creates as the standard to which an independent woman must adhere to, to actually be identified as...independent.'"

Miley Cyrus

She changed her name to Miley Hemsworth while married to Liam Hemsworth, which spanned between 2018 - 2020. After their wedding, Liam told "Live with Kelly and Ryan," "She will still be, obviously, known as Miley Cyrus, but she took my name, which is great. I think that was honestly one of the best things about it. I didn’t ask her to take my name, and then she was like, 'No, of course I’m taking your name.' I’m like, '[Gasp] that’s awesome!'" Miley is no stranger to name changes. In 2008, she legally changed her name from Destiny Hope to Miley Ray, which was the name she went by professionally and personally. 

Sarah Michelle Gellar

She changed her name to Sarah Michelle Prinze as a fifth anniversary gift to husband Freddie Prinze Jr. She told Bullett Magazine, "It helps with what I do, specifically, because it does give you the feeling of being separate, of having had this other life — and you can go to work and have this stage name, and then go home and be someone else." She continued, "If people wouldn’t laugh at me, I would probably change my last name professionally, but people always give you a hard time when you change your name. It’s kind of late to change it now. And I’m used to being called by my initials anyway. People usually call me SMG or SMP. I call Freddie FPJ a lot, too."

Marilyn Monroe

Marilyn was originally born Norma Jeane Mortenson, but was baptized as Normal Jeane Baker. When she married James Dougherty in 1942, she changed her name to Norma Jeane Dougherty. In 1946, the same year that she divorced James, she rose to fame known as Marilyn Monroe. It wasn't until 1956 that she legally adopted her stage name. 

Jessica Biel

She waited eleven months after her marriage to Justin Timberlake to legally change her name to Jessica Timberlake. She told People, "My professional name will still be the same, but for life, yes, I think it sounds great. I think I really won the jackpot of names."

Hailey Baldwin

Hailey changed her name to Hailey Bieber after tying the knot with Justin Bieber in 2019. She told Bustle, "I remember when I was going to change it, I asked my dad if he was going to be upset and he was like, 'No! I don't care. We love you. It's all good. Everyone still knows you're a Baldwin!' And it's true!"

Victoria Beckham

After Spice Girls member Victoria Adams married David Beckham in 1999, she changed her name to Victoria Beckham.

Brooklyn Beckham

Speaking of Beckham's, David and Victoria's eldest son, Brooklyn, changed his name after he married his longtime girlfriend Nicola Peltz. After their wedding in 2022, Brooklyn changed his name to Brooklyn Peltz Beckham. Nicola also changed her name to Nicola Peltz Beckham. 

Alexa PenaVega

Similarly, when Alexa Vega married Carlos Pena in 2014, they combined their last names. The pair now goes by Carlos and Alexa PenaVega. He told People, "We were literally at the county office in Ventura signing all the paperwork and the woman was like, 'Whose last name?' I said, 'Let's see if this works. Carlos and Alexa PenaVega. Just one word.'"

The list could go on forever when it comes to celebrities who have changed their names. Did any of these surprise you?