12 Celebrity Kids That Changed Their Name, And The Reasons Are Equally Sweet And Sad
As someone who dropped part of their name, I feel so seen!
From adopting stage names to undergoing dramatic physical transformations via plastic surgery, it is a time honoured tradition to reinvent yourself in Hollywood.
The next generation of celebrity kids are doing so by changing their last names, sometimes legally and sometimes just in the public eye. Whether it’s to distance themselves from an estranged parent or to honour a late family member, these 12 nepo babies are making it clear: they are each their own person with or without their famous last names.
1.
Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise’s daughter, Suri, made a very quiet, but powerful statement by legally dropping her father’s last name and adopting her mother’s middle name, Noelle. The 20-year-old actually debuted her new name in 2024, during her high school graduation in June, and was registered to vote in October of the same year.
2.
When Malia Obama made her filmmaker debut in 2024, she chose to be credited as Malia Ann, sans Obama. Ann is not only her middle name, but is also a tribute to her late grandmother. Although she dropped her last name in a professional setting, her mother, Michelle Obama, totally understands why, “It is very important for my kids to feel like they’ve earned what they are getting in the world, and they don’t want people to assume that they don’t work hard, that they’re just naturally, just handed things.”
3.
Angelina Jolie has had a very complicated relationship with her father, Jon Voight over the years. The two had a public fallout in 2002, after Jon made disparaging comments about Angelina’s mental health. The same year, Angelina legally dropped her name, choosing to go by her middle name Jolie instead of Voight.
4.
Of the six children Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt share, Vivienne is the fourth to legally drop their father’s last name. Shiloh’s petition was approved after filing in May 2024, while Zahara and Maddox are currently pending after submitting their own petitions in May 2026. None of the children have made public statements about their decision to change their names, and there hasn’t been an update on whether Pax will follow suit. Vivienne’s twin brother, Knox, however, chose to go by his “Knox Jolie” on his high school diploma when he graduated in June.
5.
Elle King, born Tanner Elle Schneider, has been very vocal about her tense relationship with her famous dad, Rob Schneider. When she signed with her record label, the singer decided to honour her mother, London King, saying, “I took on my mom’s last name because she raised me, and I wanted to be my own person.”
6.
In 2018, Liam Neeson’s son, Micheál, chose to change his last name in honour of his mother Natasha Richardson. The change came just months before the 10-year anniversary of the late actress’s tragic death in 2009. Micheál is still close with his father and has gone on to make two movies with his him, Cold Pursuit (2019) and Made in Italy (2020).
7.
Nicolas Cage (born Nicolas Coppola) may have taken his stage name from the comic book character Luke Cage, but the change also helped the nephew of legendary filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola avoid being immediately recognized as a nepo baby. In a recent interview, the actor confirmed that he legally changed his last name in 2025, “I’m Nick Cage in life, and I’m Nick Cage on camera. ‘Tis better to be the patriarch of my own little family than the clown cousin on the margins of someone else’s, so I decided I’m going to bring it on and be ‘Cage.'”
8.
In 2020, Vivian Wilson, made headlines when she came out as trans. But it wasn’t until 2022 (shortly after turning 18) that the model legally changed her name to distance herself from her tech mogul father Elon Musk stating, “I no longer live with or wish to be related to my biological father in any way, shape or form.” Instead, Vivian adopted her mother’s maiden name, Wilson.
9.
Charlie Sheen followed in the footsteps of his famous father Martin Sheen by using his dad’s stage name rather than their family name, Estévez. While Martin Sheen felt pressured to change his name when he entered Hollywood in the late ’50s, Charlie shared in his memoir that he wanted to honour his father by changing his last name to Sheen.
10.
When Liv Tyler was growing up, her rockstar mom Bebe Buell told her that Todd Rundgren (another famous musician) was her dad. But at 10 years old, Liv finally learned that Aerosmith’s lead singer Steven Tyler was her biological father. The actor later went on to change her last name to Tyler and appeared in a music video for the 1994 song, “Crazy,” alongside Alicia Silverstone.
11.
And finally, Langley Fox, dropped her great grandfather’s last name Hemingway (as in Ernest Hemingway), when she started her career as an actor, singer, and model. In an interview, she shared that she wanted to make a name for herself rather than piggybacking off her famous surname, “When someone meets me I would rather they judge me for who I am than for where I came from.”
Were there any celeb names on this list that surprised you? Tell us in the comments!
