9 People Who Changed Their Names for the Strangest Reasons

 

1

Tim Pppppppppprice: changed just to make it difficult for telemarketers to pronounce

Sick of cold-callers, Tim Price has put them off by changing his name to a virtually unpronounceable list of consonants. According to him, it's pronounced "Tim Per-per-per-per-per-per-per-per-per-per-rice."

The 49-year-old from Leicester hopes his name will make people think twice about contacting him. He said he has no regrets over the name change and will now refer to himself as Tim "10p" Price.

2

King Arthur Uther Pendragon: changed because he believes he is a reincarnation of King Arthur

"I'm the only person in the UK, other than the Queen, who is allowed to wear a crown in their passport picture," says the man formerly known as John Rothwell. He changed his name in 1986 and said even his family no longer call him by his birth name.

Passport control officials always do a double take when they see his name and picture, which shows him wearing a crown.

3

Adam West: changed because it was cheaper than changing his flight booking

In May 2015, 19-year-old Adam Armstrong, a student from Manchester, England, changed his name to "Adam West" because it was cheaper than changing his Ryanair flight booking.

The ticket was booked under the name "Adam West" and the airline wanted to charge him $337 to change it. His girlfriend's stepfather accidentally booked him with that name because that's what he called himself on his Facebook page. "I had put it as Adam West as a joke because he was the actor who played Batman on TV," West said.

Instead of giving in, Adam changed his name for free to fly with his new name at no charge. However, he did have to pay about $157 to change his passport, which is still cheaper.

4

None of The Above Knox: changed to protest the lack of candidate choices

Luther Divine Knox, a rather colorful politician from Winnsboro, attracted national media attention in 1979 when he legally changed his name to "None of the Above" Knox to protest the lack of candidate choices. Knox claimed that the absence of choices led to the selection of the "lesser of two evils." He proposed that voters be given the "None of the Above" option if they reject the declared candidates for office.

Though he never won an election, Knox forcefully crusaded to include "None of the Above" on ballots to enhance voter choice.

5

StopFortnumAndMasonFoieGrasCruelty.com: changed to raise awareness of foie gras

As a campaigner for animal rights charity PETA, she changed it from Abi Izzard to StopFortnumAndMasonFoieGrasCruelty.com in August to do her bit to raise awareness of the force feeding of geese to produce foie gras. She refuses to change her name back until London department store Fortnum & Mason stops selling it.

“I've never been embarrassed or regretted my new name. It's Fortnum & Mason that should be embarrassed and ashamed to be peddling a product so cruel that it's illegal to produce it in the UK," said the young girl.

6

Beezow Doo-doo Zopittybop-bop-bop: changed to reflect the infinite love in the universe

It took Jeffrey Wilschke a while to save $300 to change his name, but he accomplished it on Nov. 28, 2011 — he's now known as Beezow Doo-doo Zopittybop-bop-bop.

In an interview, Beezow said his first name represents "the explosion of awareness of the interconnectedness of the infinite love in the universe."

Doo-doo "is the struggle of our daily lives with that awareness, which with love comes chaos."

Finally, Zopittybop-bop-bop "is the outcome of that struggle, which is often ironic, especially because all life ends in death."

He was arrested several times for possessing marijuana and other charges.

7

Emperor Spiderman Gandalf Wolverine Skywalker Optimus Prime Goku Sonic Xavier Ryu Cloud Superman Heman Batman Thrash: changed to "become" a superhero

In 2013, a then 23-year-old Daniel Knox-Hewson from the UK changed his legal name to "Emperor Spiderman Gandalf Wolverine Skywalker Optimus Prime Goku Sonic Xavier Ryu Cloud Superman Heman Batman Thrash."

He did it along with a friend, Kelvin Borbidge, who's now known as Baron Venom Balrog Sabretooth Vader Megatron Vegeta Robotnik Magneto Bison Sephiroth Lex Luthor Skeletor Joker Grind.

When asked why they did it, Daniel said: "we decided to change our names because we were bored of our day-to-day lives and wanted to do something that reflected our true personalities. We couldn't believe how easy it was to do, we just had to fill in a few forms and we were granted superhero status."

8

Rebel Wolf: changed because she loves wolves

The artist formerly known as Tracie Koziura changed her name to "Rebel Wolf." The reason behind her name change 18 months ago is simple: "I love wolves," she says.

"Rebel Wolf suits me more than my birth name. It feels right. I was always a bit of a rebel as a teenager and have been fascinated by wolves since I can remember. People who know me well still call me Tracie and that's the name I go by for business purposes."

9

Ralph Lauren: changed his last name because it has the word "shit" in it

Fashion designer Ralph Lauren's original name is actually Ralph Lifshitz.

When asked by Oprah where did the name Lauren come from, Ralph explained: "My given name has the word shit in it. When I was a kid, the other kids would make a lot of fun of me."

Oh, come on, it was a good name. It would have worked fine, and we wouldn't give a Lifshitz.