Gigi Hadid

Who: Gigi Hadid
Real name: Jelena Hadid
According to the Daily Mail, her mom Yolanda Hadid gave her the nickname Gigi because Jelena became “too confusing.”

Kit Harington

Who: Kit Harington
Real name: Christopher Catesby Harington
“I think they could see that I wanted to be Kit, but Christopher was a bit of a tradition,” he said to Glamour. “My brother’s name is Jack, but his real name is John. Kit is traditionally an offshoot of Christopher, it’s just not used that often.”

Meghan Markle

Who: Meghan Markle
Real name: Rachel Meghan Markle
Going with the middle name does give the name that nice alliteration.

Fetty Wap

Who: Fetty Wap
Real name: Willie Maxwell
The rapper told GlobalGrind that “fetty” is slang for money, and “Wap” is derived from his idol’s nickname (Alabama rapper Gucci Mane, who’s called Guwop).

Iggy Azalea

Who: Iggy Azalea
Real name: Amethyst Amelia Kelly
In a Vevo original series called “A.K.A.,” Iggy explained the creation of her stage name, saying her first name came from her dog. “I had a dog called Iggy, who I loved very, very much.”

And she chose Azalea “because that is a street name that my mom and family live on … and it sounds very feminine and I thought it would balance out Iggy being so masculine.”

Tyga

Who: Tyga
Real name: Michael Ray Nguyen-Stevenson
His name stands for “Thank You, God, Always” — simple as that.

Elle Fanning

Who: Elle Fanning
Real name: Mary Elle Fanning
Turns out Elle and sister Dakota’s mom became a trend-setter for them. “I just never went by Mary, like ever,” Elle told Glamour in an interview. “My mom goes by her middle name, and my sister [Dakota Fanning] goes by her middle name. Her first name is Hannah. It’s possibly a Southern thing, I don’t know. But since my mom goes by her middle name, we go by our middle names, too.”

Charli XCX

Who: Charli XCX
Real name: Charlotte Emma Aitchison
The pop star’s stage name was her MSN Messenger screen name when she was a kid.