Editing Stage name (section)

== Family connection ==
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| image1            = Nicolas Cage Comic-Con 2011.jpg
| image2            = Francis Ford Coppola on December 8, 2024 in the White House Oval Office (cropped).jpg
| footer            = Actor [[Nicolas Cage]] ''(left)'', born Nicolas Coppola, adopted a stage name to avoid comparisons with his uncle, director [[Francis Ford Coppola]] ''(right)''
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Some individuals who are related to a celebrity take a different last name, so they are not perceived to have received [[Nepotism|undue advantage from their family connection]]. Actor [[Nicolas Cage]], born Nicolas Coppola, chose a new last name to avoid comparisons with his uncle, director [[Francis Ford Coppola]], who gave him his big break in the 1982 film ''[[Fast Times at Ridgemont High]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Nicolas Cage|url=https://www.biography.com/actor/nicolas-cage|access-date=2021-05-12|website=Biography|language=en-us}}</ref>

Conversely, individuals who wish to receive benefits from their family connections may take that person's first or last name. [[Lon Chaney Sr.]]'s son Creighton spent a number of years appearing in minor roles before renaming himself [[Lon Chaney Jr.]] Likewise, [[Emilio Estevez]] and his sister [[Renée Estevez|Renee]] chose not to take their father [[Martin Sheen]]'s professional name and use their birth names. Their brother Carlos chose to use their father's professional name and took the name [[Charlie Sheen]]. Some children born outside marriage to a (usually male) celebrity parent have done the same: [[Jett Williams]] (née Antha Bell Jett) and [[Scott Eastwood]] (né Scott Clinton Reeves) each use their fathers' last names; while others have not: [[Joseph Baena]], son of [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]], chose not to use his father's last name.<ref name="VanHoose">{{cite news|url=https://people.com/movies/joseph-baena-on-not-using-dad-arnold-schwarzenegger-last-name/ |title=Joseph Schwarzenegger on Not Using Dad Arnold Schwarzenegger's Last Name: 'He Doesn't Believe in Handouts' |quote="My dad is old-school," Joseph Schwarzenegger said about Arnold Schwarzenegger |first=Benjamin |last=VanHoose |date=February 8, 2022 |work=[[People (magazine)|People]] |access-date=September 21, 2022}}</ref><ref name="Zurilla">{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2022-02-09/joseph-Schwarzenegger-arnold-schwarzenegger-hollywood |title=MOVIES Joseph Schwarzenegger won't use dad Arnold Schwarzenegger's name to pave his way in Hollywood |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |first=Christie |last=D'Zurilla |date=February 9, 2022 |access-date=September 21, 2022 }}{{Dead link|date=April 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

Women who achieve fame after marriage often use their married name as part of their professional name, while women who achieved fame before marriage may continue to use their maiden name or a [[hyphenated surname]].

In some cases, the individual may adopt a stage name to avoid confusion with other family members who have similar names. Actor [[Mark Harmon]] (Thomas Mark Harmon) uses his middle name professionally to avoid confusion with his father [[Heisman Trophy]] winner and former broadcaster [[Tom Harmon]] (Thomas Dudley Harmon).

[[Steve Harley|Stephen Nice]], the birth name of the lead singer of [[Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel]], took on the stage name ''Steve Harley'' after realising that his on stage persona differed greatly from his real-life persona, and as a result feeling that he was no longer "Ronald and Joyce's (Harley's parents) little boy" when on stage.<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211205/Es21ngdVwiQ Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20210923202243/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Es21ngdVwiQ Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web| url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Es21ngdVwiQ| title = Steve Harley - Make Me Smile/Friend for Life (Live 'Xposure') | website=[[YouTube]]| date = April 17, 2020 }}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Comedian Amos Muzyad Yaqoob Kairouz adopted the stage name [[Danny Thomas]], largely because he did not want his friends and family to know he had gone back into working clubs where the salary was better.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/02/07/obituaries/danny-thomas-79-the-tv-star-of-make-room-for-daddy-dies.html |title=Danny Thomas, 79, the TV Star of 'Make Room for Daddy', Dies|date=1991-02-07|website=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=2011-09-29 |first=Mervyn |last=Rothstein}}</ref>