5 Ridiculous Celebrity Name Changes

Do you know Metta World Peace? How about Ron Artest? The former Laker recently decided to abandon his birth name for something a little more… poetic.

Artest isn’t the first celebrity to make a bizarre name change, and he won’t be the last. Here’s a look at the five most ridiculous celebrity name changes.

When Lisa Boney started acting on shows like the “Cosby Show” and “A Different World” she used the stage name Lisa Bonet. But when her celebrity star started to rise, Lisa decided to change her name to Lilakoi Moon in order to gain some privacy.

Russell Tyrone Jones could have made it on this list by choosing the rap name Ol’ Dirty Bastard. After decades of being ODB, the Wu Tang Clan rapper decided to go in a different direction. ODB changed his name to Big Baby Jesus in 1998.

Whoopi Goldberg’s real name isn’t Whoopi Goldberg? It makes sense, but she’s been going by Whoopi for so long that most people forget her real name is Caryn Johnson. Even stranger, Whoopi chose her name because she farted frequently and earned the nickname whoopi cushion.

Prince is the king of the name change. Prince Rogers Nelson was shortened to Prince. Then to the Artist Formerly Known as Prince. Then to a symbol. And now, back to Prince.

Sean Combs is another artist that goes by several names. First Puff Daddy, then P. Diddy, and now, just Diddy.

You can see more strange name changes at Time.com.