It’s all about the stage name.
Country music is a genre that prides itself on authenticity, just real people making music that speaks to the everyday man or woman. But just like every other part of the entertainment industry, there are a lot of artists who choose to go by stage names.
Now, some of them just go by their middle name (which I get, as somebody who also goes by their middle name), but some choose new names altogether. Some of them are headscratchers, but others you can look at their real name and understand why they’d want to go by something else.
There are some surprising names on the list, people you may not know go by stage names at all. But here are ___ country artists and their real names that you may not have known.
1. Hank Williams
The country music pioneer was born Hiram King Williams, though his name was misspelled on his birth certificate (which wasn’t prepared until he was 10 years old). Early in his life, Williams was nicknamed “Harm” by his family, and also went by “Herky” and “Skeets.” It wasn’t until Williams was 14 years old and his family moved to Montgomery, Alabama that he decided to start going by Hank, and the rest, as they say, is history.
2. Hank Williams Jr.
Obviously since there was no “Hank Williams Sr.” there can’t really be a “Hank Williams Jr.” In fact, Hank Jr. is actually the first official “Hank” in his family, though his full name is Randall Hank Williams, and he goes by his middle name for pretty obvious reasons.
3. Patsy Cline
Another country music legend, Patsy Cline was actually born Virginia Patterson Hensley. As is often the case, she was given her middle name from her mother’s maiden name, and went by “Patsy Cline” after marrying her first husband, Gerald Cline, back in 1953, a year before signing her first record deal.
4. Buck Owens
The pioneer of what came to be known as the “Bakersfield Sound,” Buck Owens was born Alvis Edgar Owens Jr. Talk about a mouthful. But Buck got his nickname from a young age – when he decided at 3 or 4 years old that he wanted to go by the same name as a donkey on the family’s farm.
5. John Denver
It’s not hard to see why John Denver decided to change his name after being born Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. He adopted his stage name early in his career when a fellow artist pointed out that his last name was a little too long to fit on a marquee outside of a venue.
6. Conway Twitty
The country crooner was born Harold Lloyd Jenkins, named after silent movie actor Harold Lloyd. And not only did Conway play baseball and get offered a contract with the Philadelphia Phillies while he was still known as Harold Jenkins, but he also recorded several songs at Sun Records with legendary producer Sam Phillips before eventually adopting his stage name.
And how did he come up with “Conway Twitty?” Well he looked at a map and saw “Conway, Arkansas” and “Twitty, Texas,” and that became his name for the rest of his career.
7. Garth Brooks
It’s easy to see why Troyal Garth Brooks goes by his middle name. Garth is actually the third “Troyal” in his family, getting his real first name from both his dad and grandfather.
8. Randy Travis
The country music legend got his start performing at the Nashville Palace while also working as a dishwasher. But his manager thought his real name, Randy Traywick, was too hard to pronounce, so he began to perform under the name Randy Ray. When he signed his first record deal, executives with Warner Bros. thought Randy Ray sounded too “podunk,” and the director of A&R at the label suggested Randy Travis instead.
9. Tammy Wynette
Tammy Wynette was born Virginia Wynette Pugh, and her first stage name was Wynette Byrd after her first marriage to Euple Byrd. But legendary producer Billy Sherrill suggested she change her name once again, choosing Tammy based on the 1957 movie Tammy and the Bachelor after telling Wynette that “You look like a Tammy to me.”
10. Eric Church
Chief is one who goes by his middle name, but he was born Kenneth Eric Church.
11. Jake Owen
Jake was born Joshua Ryan Owen but changed his first name to Jake to avoid confusion with Josh Turner and Josh Gracin, who were popular on country radio around the same time he signed a record deal.
12. Faith Hill
Hill was born Audrey Faith Perry, but instead goes by her middle name and the surname of her first husband, Dan Hill.
13. Gary LeVox
Rascal Flatts frontman Gary Levox was born Gary Wayne Vernon, Jr. “LeVox” actually translates to “the voice” in French. Yes, he changed his name to “Gary the Voice.” A little full of himself?
14. Jason Aldean
The outspoken country singer was born Jason Aldine Williams but dropped his last name to avoid confusion with NBA player Jason Williams, while also changed the spelling of his middle name to make it stand out more.
15. LeAnn Rimes
LeAnn Rimes dropped her first name, Margaret, and goes instead by LeAnn, her middle name.
16. Luke Bryan
Luke Bryan was born Thomas Luther Bryan, but goes by (a shortened) version of his middle name.
17. Shania Twain
Shania Twain, born Eilleen Regina Edwards, took the surname Twain from her stepfather. Where did Shania come from? Nobody knows for sure…
18. Tim McGraw
Samuel Timothy McGraw was raised as Samuel Timothy Smith until the age of 11, when he learned the identity of his real father, major league pitcher “Tug” McGraw. He eventually shortened his name to Tim McGraw.
19. Toby Keith
The late, great Toby Keith was born Toby Keith Covel.
20. Dierks Bentley
The “What Was I Thinking” singer was born Frederick Dierks Bentley, which is just a power name all around. But Dierks opted to drop his first name in place of his middle name, which honestly just sounds way cooler.
21. Thomas Rhett
As we know, Thomas Rhett Akins is the son of songwriter and country star Rhett Akins. But Thomas Rhett dropped the last name to avoid any confusion with his famous father.
22. Kix Brooks
Kix is a great name, but it’s not real. Leon Eric Brooks III is his real name.
23. Kid Rock
Mr. Rock was born Robert James Ritchie. Ol’ Bob Ritchie.
24. Gary Allan
Gary Allan Herzberg… shortened it, and you can probably see why.
25. Cody Jinks
Cody was born Meredith Cody Jinks.
26. Carly Pearce
Carly Cristyne Slusser is the Kentucky native’s real name.
27. Koe Wetzel
His real name is Ropyr Madison Koe Wetzel, and back in the day, he went by Ropyr.
28. HARDY
The multi-genre artist and songwriter was born Michael Wilson Hardy. Doesn’t really take a rocket scientist to figure out where he got his stage name…
29. Cole Swindell
The “She Had Me At Head Carolina” singer’s was born Colden Rainey Swindell.
30. Wynonna Judd
Wynonna Judd, born Christina Claire Ciminella actually credits the song “Route 66” and the town of Wynona, Arizona for her stage name. She also took her mother’s name because her real last name sounded like “salmonella.”
31. Randy Houser
Randy was born Shawn Randolph Houser, and I think we can all agree that “Randy” has a little more grit to it.
32. Oliver Anthony
Oliver’s real name is Christopher Anthony Lunsford, however Oliver is a tribute to his grandfather.
33. Colt Ford
Before becoming a pioneer of “hick hop,” Colt Ford was actually a professional golfer under his real name, Jason Farris Brown. But when he decided to pursue a career in music, he opted for a stage name instead.
34. Jelly Roll
I think everybody just assumed that “Jelly Roll” wasn’t his real name. But Jason DeFord actually got his nickname at a young age, with his mother calling him Jelly Roll because he was overweight as a child. These days, of course, he’s lost quite a bit of weight, so the nickname might become outdated very soon…
35. Johnny PayCheck
Born Donald Eugene Lytle, the “Take This Job and Shove It” singer legally changed his name to Johnny PayCheck after the boxer who used the same name in the ring.
36. Keith Whitley
The legendary country singer was born Jackie Keith Whitley, but like many others, chose to drop his first name.
37. Terri Clark
The Canadian country singer was born Terri Lynn Sauson, but decided to adopt a stage name before she released her first album after she thought her last name was too difficult to pronounce.
38. Trace Adkins
If you’ve ever been around Trace Adkins, you know that he’s a mountain of a man, standing at 6’6″ with his deep baritone voice. So it makes sense that he decided to slightly change his birth name, Tracy Darrell Adkins, at a time when there were already two other country artists named Tracy with both Tracy Lawrence and Tracy Byrd.
39. Travis Tritt
The “Great Day To Be Alive” singer is another one that goes by his middle name, after being born James Travis Tritt. Personally I think Travis just works better for somebody with that majestic of a mullet anyway.
40. Walker Hayes
The man behind the “Applebee’s song” was born Charles Edgar Walker Hayes, so he had plenty of names to choose from.
