Would you go see Enrique Martin Morales in concert? Do like to party to the music of Cordozar Calving Broadus? Well, I do. Those are the actual names of some of top selling recording artists. Here is a short list of my favorite artists and their actual names as it appears in their birth certificate.
- Ricky Martin – Enrique Martin Morales IV – His stage name is simply anglicized.
- Marc Anthony – Marco Antonio Muniz – Similar to Ricky Martin, his stage name is in anglicized form.
- Queen Latifah – Dana Elaine Owens – Latifah means kind in Arabic and she was called this by her cousin.
- 50 Cent – Curtis James Jackson III – The III in his name are the number of times he got shot at.
- LL Cool J – James Todd Smith – Supposedly LL Cool J stands for Ladies Loves Cool James.
- Snoop Dogg – Cordozar Calvin Broadus – I guess any stage name is better than Calvin.
- John Denver – Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. – I guess Deutschendorf means Denver in German.
- Elton John – Reginald Kenneth Dwight – His real name is the most British sounding name ever, next to Sponge Bob Squarepants.
- Alicia Keys – Alicia Augello-Cook – Her other potential names would have been Alicia Piano keys, Alicia Sax, Alicia, or Alicia Bandcamp.
- Flavor Flav – William Johnathon Drayton Jr. – Cause Flavor Bill doesn’t have the same effect.