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.