"For me, it makes so much sense," says the rare male star who took his wife's name.
Getting married means a lot of changes in a person’s life — including their last name! Over 70% of people opt to share a name with their new spouse after tying the knot and that counts celebrities too. Even though it may seem like a lot of stars choose to retain their given name, it’s not always the case. While some opt to completely change their name, like Hailey Bieber, others decide to simply add their spouse’s name to their own, like Priyanka Chopra Jonas. And sometimes, they choose to keep their married name strictly for personal use. But whatever decision they make, it’s clear that it holds a lot of special meaning.
Find out which celebs changed their names after tying the knot…
Jennifer Lopez Wanted to Change Her Last Name to Affleck 20 Years Ago
1. Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lopez surprised fans not only when she tied the knot with Ben Affleck in a Las Vegas chapel but also when she filed paperwork to change her last name. Following the intimate ceremony, marriage records revealed that Jennifer filed to change her legal name to Jennifer Affleck.
It turns out that the name change is something Jennifer has been considering since the first time she was engaged to Ben. Back in 2003, Jennifer confirmed she would be taking Ben’s name, although she would be keeping her maiden name professionally.
“I think I’m going to stay with Jennifer Lopez, but my name will be Jennifer Affleck, obviously. J.Af doesn’t have quite the same ring to it. But you gotta make sacrifices,” Jennifer shared.
2. Hailey Bieber
When Hailey Bieber, née Baldwin, tied the knot with her husband Justin Bieber she decided to go by her new last name both personally and professionally. While she said it was “definitely strange” at first and “took some getting used to,” thankfully everyone in her famous family was on board.
“I’m very proud of my family name. I come from a great family with a history in this industry. I remember when I was going to change it, I asked my dad if he was going to be upset and he was like, ‘No! I don’t care. We love you. All good, everyone still knows you’re a Baldwin.’ It’s true!” Hailey told Bustle.
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3. Priyanka Chopra
After Priyanka Chopra married Nick Jonas, she said she wanted to incorporate part of his name into her own. She chose to do so by adding Jonas to her maiden name, officially making her Priyanka Chopra Jonas. While she goes by both versions of her name professionally, her married name definitely has special meaning for her.
“I always wanted to add his name to mine because I feel like we’re becoming family, and I’m a little traditional and old school like that. But I don’t take away my identity. He gets added to who I am,” Priyanka said on “The Tonight Show.”
4. Sophie Turner
Following Sophie Turner’s wedding to Joe Jonas, she decided to drop her maiden name and take Jonas as her new last name. While she still goes by Sophie Turner professionally, her name is now legally Sophie Jonas.
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5. Victoria Beckham
Victoria Beckham has been using her husband David Beckham’s last name for the majority of her career, so many fans may not even know her maiden name. While she was born Victoria Adams, people best knew her as Posh Spice before she tied the knot with David. After the couple got married 1999, Victoria officially became a Beckham — and never looked back.
6. Kim Kardashian
When Kim Kardashian tied the knot with Kanye West she decided to add his last name to hers. She chose to also use the name professionally, even incorporating her new initials in the name of her cosmetics brand, KKW Beauty.
In 2021, Kim announced her split from Kanye and while she was originally rumored to be keeping the West in her name, she was eventually granted a name change the following year.
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7. Fergie
Fergie, who was born Stacy Ann Ferguson, decided to take Josh Duhamel’s last name after they tied the knot. When she made the move to legally change her name, she decided to switch up her first name as well, officially adopting her stage name Fergie.
“I’m old fashioned in that way. When I married my husband, I wanted to take his last name. I was on tour and it takes a lot of paperwork so when I was pregnant, I had time to do it! I didn’t want to be Stacy Ann Duhamel. It just seems weird…I said, ‘We’ll keep it simple.’ Nobody calls me Stacy anymore. And I’m keeping my last name alive because there are no sons to take the name on,” Fergie said on “On Air With Ryan Seacrest.”
Following her divorce from Josh, she reportedly filed to change her name back to Stacy Ann Ferguson.
8. Jessica Biel
Following Jessica Biel’s wedding to Justin Timberlake, she revealed that she would be taking his last name. While she said she would continue to use Biel professionally, she would be a Timberlake everywhere else.
“Yes, I’m changing my name. My professional name will still be the same, but for life, yes, I think it sounds great. I think I really won the jackpot of names,” Jessica told People.
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9. Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie dated Brad Pitt for nearly a decade before they tied the knot so when they finally said “I do,” she made things official with a name change too. She legally added Pitt to her last name, making it Angelina Jolie Pitt, similar to her children’s hyphenated last name. She used her new last name professionally, notably being credited for her work in “By the Sea” as Angelina Jolie Pitt.
When the couple split, her name was restored to Angelina Jolie during divorce proceedings.
10. Demi Moore
Many fans may not know that Demi Moore has been using her married name for the majority of her career. When Demi was just 17-years-old, she tied the knot with singer Freddy Moore and legally changed her name from Demi Guynes to Demi Moore. Even after the couple split several years later, Demi decided to keep his name.
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11. Jessica Simpson
Jessica Simpson walked down the aisle with husband Eric Johnson in 2014 and officially became a Johnson along the way. Jessica legally changed her last name to that of her husband, although she decided to keep her maiden name professionally. She admits that even though her name is Jessica Johnson on official records, she sometimes uses her famous last name to get into restaurants!
“It depends on what restaurant it is. If it’s a hard restaurant to get into, I will definitely say Simpson, it helps a little bit,” Jessica joked.
12. Vanessa Lachey
Prior to tying the knot with Nick Lachey, Vanessa Lachey went by her maiden name, Minnillo. She says she wanted to take Nick’s name because she’s “old fashioned” and knew it would mean something special to her husband.
“We talked about it and he was so sweet. He said, ‘Whatever you want, I understand.’ And I said, ‘But would it mean a lot to you if I took it? Because I’m old fashioned and I want to.’ And he said, ‘What guy wouldn’t want their girl to take their name fully?’ [But] He didn’t push me, no, no, no,” Vanessa told People.
13. Jay Mohr
In a less-traditional route, Jay Mohr took his wife Nikki Cox’s last name when they got married — adding it as a second middle name after they tied the knot in 2008.
“For me, it makes so much sense. She took my last name, I took her last name as another middle name; John Ferguson Cox Mohr,” he explained during an appearance on The Preachers. “Her family devoured me whole, they live in Los Angeles, these are the people I have, these are the people here now, that will hold me, touch me, kiss me and love me. They’ve accepted me and taken me entirely, the least I can do is take three letters and put it on some paperwork.”
He filed for divorce hours after that TV appearance.
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