Nepo babies who completely changed their names — from Meryl Streep’s kids to Elon Musk’s daughter

Miley Cyrus is one of the world’s most-loved pop singers and the beloved star of Disney classic Hannah Montana. But did you know her famous name was a purposeful change on the part of the singer?

Born Destiny Hope Cyrus, her parents believed their child was destined “to bring hope to the world.” But she later took her childhood nickname, Smiley, and shortened it to Miley, eventually cementing the change legally in 2008. Thus the new full name of Miley Ray Cyrus was born, with “Ray” an ode to her family members, dad Billy Ray and grandfather Ronald Ray Cyrus.

Born Tanner Elle Schneider, the daughter of former Saturday Night Live regular Rob Schneider is now more commonly known by her stage name, Elle King. 

King comes from her mother, model London King, and Elle is her middle name. While it appears she wanted to keep some connection to her original name, she’s shared in interviews that she created the stage name to bring a sense of separation from her famous father. “I don’t want to be associated with him,” Elle said on Bunnie Xo’s Dumb Blonde podcast.

On name alone, there’s very little chance you’d guess Louisa Jacobson’s very famous parentage. Born to Meryl Streep and Don Gummer, she changed her stage name from Louisa Gummer to Louisa Jacobson when she began her acting career as the other name was already registered with SAG.

Her siblings have also gone by different names on screen, to protect their privacy or avoid “nepo baby” allegations. Mamie Gummer was credited as Natalie Stern when she appeared with Meryl as a 20-month-old toddler in Heartburn (1986), while singer Henry Wolfe dropped the surname Gummer to avoid family associations.

When Vivian Wilson turned 18 in 2022, she used her newfound legal autonomy to assert her identity and step away from her billionaire father with whom she has a fractured relationship.

Born Xavier Musk, she stated that the name change was due to: “Gender Identity and the fact that I no longer live with or wish to be related to my biological father in any way, shape or form.”

Norah Jones was born Geethali Norah Jones Shankar to sitar-player extraordinaire and internationally-recognized composer Ravi Shankar. She was quick to drop her first name and her famous father’s last name, legally changing it to simply her middle two names, the latter of which is her mother’s maiden name of Jones.

The change in name she made as a teen later allowed Norah to build fame of her own, away from the spotlight cast by her father’s global success.