A stage name is the name a performer uses in public instead of, or alongside, the one on the birth certificate. Some are picked for rhythm, some for mystery and some out of sheer necessity. Reginald Dwight became Elton John in the late 1960s by combining the names of two bandmates in the group Bluesology, the saxophonist Elton Dean and the singer Long John Baldry, after asking their permission on a flight home from a gig.
Hollywood adds a practical twist. The Screen Actors Guild does not allow two members to work under the same name, so a young actor called Michael Douglas, finding his name already taken, chose Keaton instead, possibly after leafing through a phone book. In 2024 he announced he would be credited as Michael Keaton Douglas, and admitted he had meant to start earlier but simply forgot. Even the best-planned rebrand needs a reminder.