Celebs Are Ditching Their Stage Names

What's in a name? Apparently a lot for these Hollywood stars, who've been bidding adieu to their famous monikers

- ISLEY ZEGAS

"I was looking through-I can't remember if it was a phone book... And I went, 'Oh, that sounds reasonable," Keaton recently recalled of choosing his stage name.

For as long as most can remember, stage names have been a common practice in Hollywood. Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm) changed her moniker to appear more theatrical. Elton John (a.k.a. Reginald Kenneth Dwight) ditched his legal name in his 20s in hopes of standing out from the crowd. Katy Perry tweaked her surname (Katheryn Hudson) to avoid being confused with actress Kate Hudson. Even Reese Witherspoon opted to drop her first name, Laura Jeanne, in favor of her mother's maiden name before she broke onto the scene.

But lately, we've seen a rise in mega-successful stars ditching the names that made them famous. On Jan. 31,