History Main / TwoFirstNames

* Creator/LilyJames (born Lily Thomson)

* Music/KatyPerry (born Katheryn Hudson).

* The [[FiveManBand Holy Quintet]] of ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'' are all examples: [[Characters/PuellaMagiMadokaMagicaMadokaKaname Madoka Kaname]], [[Characters/PuellaMagiMadokaMagicaHomuraAkemi Homura Akemi]], [[Characters/PuellaMagiMadokaMagicaSayakaMiki Sayaka Miki]], [[CoolBigSis Mami]] [[{{BFG}} Tomoe]], and [[NominalHero Kyoko]] [[OralFixation Sakura]]. Minor character Hitomi Shizuki is one as well.

* Music/{{Huey Lewis|AndTheNews}} (born Hugh Anthony Cregg III)
* Creator/JerryLewis (born Joseph Levitch)

* Radio broadcaster Radio/PaulHarvey (born Paul Harvey Aurandt).

* Ross Martin, born Martin Rosenblatt.

* Creator/JoeyLawrence, [[TheDanza Joey Russo]] from ''Series/{{Blossom}}'', (born Joseph Lawrence Mignogna, Jr.).

* The assassin of [[WhoShotJFK Lee Harvey Oswald]], Jack Ruby (born Jacob Rubenstein).

* Valentino's contemporary Creator/JohnGilbert (born John Pringle).

* Rachel Zoe (born Rachel Zoe Rosenzweig).

* Psychic John Edward (... [=McGee=] Jr.).

* Dirk Benedict, the actor of Faceman from The ''A-Team''(born Dirk Niewoehner).

* Creator/LewisCarroll born Rev. Charles Lutwidge Dodgson).

* Gypsy Rose Lee, born Louise Hovick, was a ''three'' first name example.

Additionally some surnames are patronymic in origin but for one reason or another lack the usual affixes that would clearly identify them as such rather than a first name, particularly if it's a name that ends in -s (e.g. Thomas, Ross, etc). To muddy the issue further, some names that are commonly used as first names nowadays originated as surnames (e.g. Carter, Mason, Clark, Parker, many names ending in -son, etc).

In RealLife, this practice was particularly common among Jewish-American entertainers for much of the 20th century. In a time of widespread antisemitism, they would often replace their distinctive Germanic surnames with innocuous Anglo-Saxon given names when choosing stage aliases. This is how Moses Horwitz became "[[Film/TheThreeStooges Moe Howard]]", how Stanley Lieber became "Creator/StanLee", how Allan Konigsberg became "Creator/WoodyAllen", how Robert Zimmerman became "Music/BobDylan" and how Stanley Eisen became "[[Music/{{KISS}} Paul Stanley]]".

* {{Transgender}} murder victim Brandon Teena (the subject of ''Film/BoysDontCry'') was born...Teena Brandon.

* Dirk Benedict (Faceman from The ''A-Team'') (born Dirk Niewoehner).

* Butch Patrick actor of Eddie Munster (born Patrick Caples).

* Designer Ralph Lauren (born Ralph Rueben Lifshitz).

* Valentino's contemporary Creator/JohnGilbert -- born John Cecil Pringle.

* Creator/GeorgeEliot, [[MoustacheDePlume whose real name was Marian Evans]].

* Creator/RobertConrad, born Conrad Robert Falk.

* Ian Stuart (...Donaldson).

* Sheldon Leonard (... Bershad) (the racetrack tout from ''The Jack Benny Program'' and the old bar owner from ''Cheers'', but much more famous as a TV producer).

* Creator/JasonAlexander (born Jay Scott Greenspan).

* Creator/JoeyLawrence ([[TheDanza Joey Russo]] from ''Series/{{Blossom}}'') (born Joseph Lawrence Mignogna, Jr.) Ditto his brothers [[Creator/MatthewLawrence Matthew]] and Creator/AndrewLawrence, although they were born after the whole family changed their surname.

* Eddie Albert (''Series/GreenAcres'') (born Edward Albert Heimburger)

* Creator/CassandraClare, born Judith Rumelt.

Additionally some surnames are patronymic in origin but for one reason or another lack the usual affixes that would clearly identify them as such rather than a first name, particularly if it's a name that ends in -s (e.g. Thomas, Ross, etc). To muddy the issue further, some names that are commonly used as first names nowadays originated as surnames (e.g. Carter, Mason, Clarke, Parker, many names ending in -son, etc).

In RealLife, this practice was particularly common among Jewish-American entertainers for much of the 20th century. In a time of widespread antisemitism, they would often replace their distinctive Germanic surnames with innocuous Anglo-Saxon given names when choosing stage aliases. This is how Moses Horwitz became "[[Film/TheThreeStooges Moe Howard]]", how Stanley Lieber became "Creator/StanLee", how Allan Konigsberg became "Creator/WoodyAllen", and how Robert Zimmerman became "Music/BobDylan".

* Creator/KevinJames from ''Series/TheKingOfQueens'' (born Kevin George Knipfing).
* Dame Music/VeraLynn (born Vera Margaret Welch).

* The assassin of Lee Harvey Oswald, whom himself killed UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy, Jack Ruby (born Jacob Rubenstein).

* Radio broadcaster Radio/PaulHarvey, born Paul Harvey Aurandt.

* Radio star Fred Allen (born John Florence Sullivan).

* Moe Howard of Film/TheThreeStooges (born Moses Hurwitz.

* Creator/TimAllen (''Series/HomeImprovement'') was born Timothy Alan [[HaveAGayOldTime Dick]].

* Butch Patrick actor of Eddie Munster(born Patrick Caples).

* Creator/LewisCarroll, whose real name was Rev. Charles Lutwidge Dodgson.

* Music/WynonnaJudd, born Christina Ciminella

* Moe Howard of Film/TheThreeStooges (Moses Hurwitz).

* Talent agent William Morris, born Zelman Moses.

* Butch Patrick (Eddie Munster) (born Patrick Caples).

* [[[Music/{{KISS}} Paul Stanley]] (born Stanley Eisen).

* Creator/TonyCurtis (born Bernard Schwartz).
* Creator/KirkDouglas (born Issur Danielovitch).