17 Bollywood Actors You Didn’t Know Had Changed Their Name

A name change is a popular phenomenon in Bollywood. While some people prefer to get an appealing screen name for becoming famous, others change their name per astrological and numerological suggestions as they believe that these changes will bring them good luck.

Let’s check out some of the popular actors who have changed their name in Bollywood:

1. Ajay Devgn– Vijay Devgan

Vijay changed his name to Ajay as Vijay was a very common name at that time and there were many celebrities already with that name. Later he even changed his surname from Devgan to Devgn when him family forced him to change the same post consulting a numerologist.

2. Ashok Kumar- Kumudlal Ganguly

Ashok Kumar was formerly named as Kumudlal Ganguly. However, he was more fondly addressed as Dadamoni by people in the film industry. He did not like his former name Kumudlal and found it to be funny. Hence, he decided to change the same.

3. Mithun Chakraborty- Gouranga Chakraborty

Mithun Chakraborty’s original name was Gouranga Chakraborty. He had changed his name to Mithun and the latter appeared more appealing to him. He has been a popular actor since 1976 and has acted in many films which became a block blaster hit. Mithun is not only a film actor but also a singer, producer, social worker and an entrepreneur. He was also the former Rajya Sabha member of the Parliament.

4. Mahima Chaudhry- Ritu Chaudhry

Mahima Chaudhry is a popular name in Bollywood. Before her acting career, Mahima was a famous model. Her previous name was Ritu Chaudhry which she was changed to Mahima as she believed that Mahima sounded more unique.

5. Ayushmann Khurrana– Nishant Khurana

Ayushmann’s father was an astrologist and for this reason, his name was changed twice so that it can bring good fortune and success. Ayushmann was previously called as Nishant Khurana which had changed to Ayushman Khurana and then the spelling was further changed to Ayushmann Khurrana.

6. Annu Kapoor- Anil Kapoor

The famous actor Annu Kapoor was formerly named as Anil Kapoor. He decided to change his name as Anil Kapoor was already an established name in the industry. He did not want any confusion as he had played an important role in the film Tejaab.

7. Bobby Deol- Vijay Singh Deol

Bobby Deol is just famous by his surname Deol like the other Deol brothers. However, do you know that Bobby Deol was formerly named as Vijay Singh Deol and later he decided to change the same as Bobby sounded trendier?

8. Dilip Kumar– Muhammad Yusuf Khan

Imagine someone being appearing as Muhammad Yusuf Khan in the lead cast, does not it sound weird? Maybe because of this reason Muhammad Yusuf Khan decided to change his name to Dilip Kumar. Dilip Kumar was born in Peshawar at the time of undivided India. Now Peshawar is a part of Pakistan. Later his family had relocated to Mumbai and then Dilip had relocated to Pune. He was spotted by the leading director Bombay Talkies who helped him in the entry of Bollywood. Dilip Kumar is the most iconic film actor known till date. He has won eight Film fare Best Actors in his career span of fifty-four years.

9. Chunkey Pandey- Suyash Sarad Pandey

It is not known to many that Chunkey Pandey’s original name was Suyash Sarad Pandey. He changed his surname before making his first Bollywood debut.

10. Jackie Shroff- Jai Kishan Kakubhai Shroff

Jackie Shroff’s original name was Jai Kishan Kakubhai Shroff which the actor decided to change to Jackie as Jai Kishan Kakubhai Shroff was quite old fashioned and sounded weird to many.

11. Saif Ali Khan- Sajid Ali Khan

The Chotta Nawab’s original name was Sajid Ali Khan, which was later changed to Saif Ali Khan. Saif is a popular actor and has acted in many block blaster movies. He is currently married to Kareena Kapoor.

12. Kay Kay Menon- Krishna Kumar Menon

Kay Kay Menon was formerly called as Krishna Kumar Menon and the actor decided to transform his name to Kay Kay Menon as the latter sounded better.

13. Johnny lever- John Prakash Rao Janumala

Johnny Lever was previously called as John Prakash Rao Janumala. His father was employed in Hindustan Unilever Ltd company where once he had performed in a stage show and mimicked some of the senior officials in the Hindustan Unilever company. After that incident, he was called Johnny Lever.

14. Vivek Oberoi- Vivekanand Oberoi

Vivek Oberoi had initially shared his name with the famous Indian monk Swami Vivekananda. Vivek Oberoi’s full name was Vivekananda Oberoi which he decided to shorten to Vivek as he was doing gangster roles and romancing onscreen and he did not want to defame the legendary monk Vivekanda.

15. Sunny Deol- Ajay Singh Rathod

Sunny Deol’s original name was Ajay Singh Rathod which he had later changed to Sunny.

16. Tiger Shroff- Jai Hemant Shroff

Tiger Shroff was formerly named as Jai Hemant Shroff. There is a funny story behind his name Tiger. In fact, as a kid, Tiger used to often bite everyone and hence he had got this nickname, Tiger. Tiger Shroff decided to use this Tiger name in his movies as he feels that this name suits the aggressive roles that he generally plays in the movies.

17. Nana Patekar- Vishwanath Patekar

Vishwanath was the original name of the legendary actor Nana Patekar. However, he felt that the name Nana would sound more interesting in the movies and hence he decided to change his name.