It’s hard to dissociate a famous person from the name they’re known by, but when you look at these 10 historical figures you’ll discover that many were born under completely different monikers. Names were altered for all sorts of reasons—clerical blunders, a desire to evade prejudice, or even a prayer for divine favor.
10 Historical Figures: The Stories Behind Their Name Changes
10. Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela gathered a bouquet of names over his lifetime, each reflecting a different facet of his character or the reverence of his people. Among them were Dalibhunga, meaning “creator or founder of the council,” Madiba—the name of his clan—plus affectionate titles like Tata (“father”) and Khulu, a shortened form of “grandfather” that also conveys greatness. His birth name, Rolihlahla, literally translates to “pulling the branch of a tree,” but it’s more widely understood as “troublemaker,” a label his father bestowed upon him.
The name most of the world knows—Nelson—entered his life when he first stepped into school. Colonial teachers often replaced African names with easier‑to‑pronounce Christian ones, and Miss Mdingane, seeking to simplify his identity for British officials, christened him Nelson. The change stuck, and it’s the name that echoed across history.
9. Ulysses S. Grant
Young Hiram Ulysses Grant was known by his middle name, a circumstance that earned him teasing nicknames like “useless” from local boys who noted his quiet, slight stature. Determined to rise above the mockery, he set his sights on West Point, spurred on by his father’s encouragement.
When a congressman filed his appointment, a clerical slip turned his first name into Ulysses and mistakenly attached his mother’s maiden name, Simpson, as a middle name. Thus, he entered the academy as Ulysses Simpson Grant. Rather than contest the error and risk rejection, he simply embraced it, signing every document thereafter as Ulysses S. Grant, a name that would later crown a president.
8. Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky’s revolutionary fervor was forged during a four‑year exile in Siberia, where he was arrested for his agitational activities. While there, he married Aleksandra Sokolovskaya and fathered two children, all the while deepening his ideological convictions about overthrowing the monarchy and building a disciplined party.
Born Lev Davidovich Bronstein, he used several pen names before the exile forced a decisive shift. After escaping Siberia, he assumed the name Leon Trotsky—a “nom de guerre” taken from the passport of a jailer named Leon Trotsky in Odessa, which he had stolen to continue his clandestine work.
7. Haile Selassie
Haile Selassie’s imperial title read “Haile Selassie I, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Lion of the tribe of Judah.” Many Jamaicans saw him as the living fulfillment of two prophecies: one from Revelation 19:16, proclaiming a “King of Kings and Lord of Lords,” and another from Marcus Garvey, who urged his followers to look to Africa for a black king who would be a redeemer.
The biblical promise dovetailed with the meaning of his name—“the power of the Trinity”—while Garvey’s call resonated with the Ethiopian emperor’s regal stature. Rastafarians, whose name derives from his pre‑imperial title Ras Tafari Makonnen, embraced him as a divine figure.
6. Geronimo
Before the name Geronimo entered legend, the Apache warrior was called Goyahlka, “the one who yawns.” The murder of his family by Mexican soldiers turned his gentle demeanor into a fierce, vengeful fury, as described by museum specialist Mark Megehee, who noted his sudden shift from mild to violent.
Driven by grief, Goyahlka led brutal raids against his foes, famously fighting off a hail of bullets with only a knife. The nickname “Geronimo” emerged from a prayer to St. Jerome—known in Spanish as San Jerónimo—by those who called upon the patron saint of death for aid, eventually morphing into the name we know today.
5. Caligula
The moniker Caligula instantly conjures images of decadence, but it began as a childhood nickname meaning “little boots.” The future emperor was born Gaius, son of the celebrated general Germanicus. His father’s troops outfitted the boy in a miniature soldier’s uniform, complete with tiny boots—caliagae—earning him the affectionate nickname.
Although the nickname stuck, Gaius reportedly despised it. His step‑father Tiberius, suspecting foul play in his father’s death, warned that he was “nursing a viper for the Roman people,” hinting at the dark future that the nickname would foreshadow.
4. Ho Chi Minh
The Vietnamese revolutionary most associated with the name Ho Chi Minh was originally Nguyen Sinh Con. Throughout his life he adopted a parade of aliases—Nguyen Tat Thanh, Nguyen Ai Quoc, and roughly ten others—each serving a strategic purpose.
The name Ho Chi Minh translates to “bringer of light,” a fitting epithet for someone who envisioned illuminating his nation. Some scholars argue the name was simply borrowed from a recently deceased beggar—a common practice among outlaws—when he was detained by the Chinese Kuomintang and handed over the stolen identity.
3. Amor De Cosmos
William Alexander Smith, the second premier of British Columbia, struggled to stand out among a sea of Smiths. To keep his mail from being misdelivered, he petitioned the legislature for a dramatic name change, eventually landing on Amor de Cosmos.
The road to that name was riddled with misunderstandings. A senator misheard “amor” as “armor,” sending the proposal to the military department, where it was further mangled into variations like “Armor Debosmos,” “Amor de Bosmas,” and “Amor de Cashmos.”
Legislators, amused by the chaos, debated adding aristocratic flair—suggesting “de” be swapped for “Muggins” or tacking on “Caesar.” Ultimately, Smith’s heartfelt letter clarified his motive: the name expressed his love for order, beauty, and the universe, and the bill finally passed.
2. Vladimir Lenin
Born Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, the architect of the Russian Communist Party adopted the pseudonym Lenin during a Siberian exile. Unlike Trotsky’s stolen passport, Lenin’s moniker likely sprang from the nearby Lena River, offering him a discreet identity against the tsarist secret police.
Lenin’s revolutionary fire was inherited. His older brother participated in a plot to assassinate Alexander III, leading to his execution. With his father and brother gone, Vladimir shouldered family responsibilities while embracing the cause his brother had died for.
1. Pancho Villa
Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa earned a reputation akin to a Robin Hood of the north, stealing from the wealthy elite and redistributing to the impoverished masses under President Porfirio Díaz. Yet his outlaw path was not a choice but a forced exile.
At sixteen, still known as Doroteo Arango, he witnessed a member of the powerful López Negrete family attempt to rape his twelve‑year‑old sister. Arango shot the assailant, fled to the mountains, and adopted the name Pancho Villa—taken from his paternal grandfather—to evade capture.
His time as a fugitive forged a legendary guerrilla force that eventually helped topple Díaz. Controlling northern Mexico, Villa’s army complemented Emiliano Zapata’s southern forces, sealing the dictator’s downfall.