Emma Stone is a very well known star in Hollywood these days, but fans might have known her as something entirely different if she had stuck to her original name idea.
Yes - surprise! Emma Stone isn't the actor's real name. It probably won't come as much of a shock, as plenty of stars change their name to something more 'celebrity' as they make their way into the spotlight, but you might have been unaware nonetheless.
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Unlike some stars - I'm looking at you Elton John (Reginald Kenneth Dwight) - Emma didn't change her name too drastically, as she was actually born Emily Jean Stone.
As a fellow Emily, I personally would have been happy to stick with this name - but there was an issue. When Emma went to register with the Screen Actors Guild and start her rise to fame, she learned there was already an actor registered with the name Emily Stone.
Since the other Emily got there first, our Emma had to come up with a new title.
Recalling the situation to W Magazine, Emma explained: "For a 16-year-old, picking a new name is an interesting prospect."
After giving it some thought, Emma settled on the name Riley. It's a drastic change from the name she grew up with, and though she was confident at first, it wasn't long before she realised the name wasn't for her.
She continued: "Back then I said, ‘I’m now going to be Riley Stone!’ So, for about 6 months I was called Riley. I landed a guest spot on Malcolm in the Middle and one day they were calling me, ‘Riley! Riley! Riley!’… and I had no idea who they were talking to. At that moment, I realized that I just couldn’t be Riley.”
So, forced to go back to the drawing board, Emma started thinking about what her new, new name would be. She could have stuck with her real name but added the initial 'J' in the middle to differentiate from the other actor, but Emma didn't think she could pull it off.
Instead, she opted for the name we've come to know and love.
She explained: “I had the option of Emily J. Stone and it’s kind of like Michael J. Fox… but I don’t think I could pull off the J. So then I changed it to Emma because, you know, it’s closer to Emily. But most people call me ‘Em’ that know me well… But I miss Emily. I’d love to get her back."
As well as being close to her original name, Emma's new name was inspired by one of the Spice Girls, Baby Spice - aka Emma Bunton.
Speaking on The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon, Emma recalled: “I was super blonde, and my real name is Emily, but I wanted to be called Emma because of Baby Spice and guess what, now I am.”
I'm not just saying this because it's close to Emily, honest, but I think Emma was definitely the way to go!
Topics: Celebrity, TV and Film
Emily Brown