Celebrity Kids Who Dropped Their Famous Last Names

Suri Cruise: Suri Noelle

While it hardly seems possible, Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise’s daughter Suri is now a high school graduate. 

On the big day, Suri’s name appeared in her New York City high school’s graduation ceremony program as “Suri Noelle” instead of “Suri Cruise.”

Malia Obama: Malia Ann

To avoid any preconceived notions that come with being the daughter of the president (her parents are Barack Obama and Michelle Obama), when Malia Obama, 25, debuted her short film at the Sundance Film Festival back in January, she dropped her recognizable last name and went by Malia Ann — her middle name — instead.

She screened The Heart, which is about a grieving son whose mother left him an unusual request in her will when she died, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

During a June 2025 appearance on the Sibling Revelry podcast, Michelle said that Malia was “trying to make her way” by changing her name.

“I mean, it is very important for my kids to feel like they’ve earned what they are getting in the world, and they don’t want people to assume that they don’t work hard, that they’re just naturally, just handed things,” she said. “They’re very sensitive to that — they want to be their own people.”

Tanner Elle Schneider: Elle King

Elle King, the daughter of comedian Rob Schneider and model London King, changed her name from Tanner Elle Schneider when she decided to pursue music because she wanted to forge a path for herself.

“I wanted to be my own person. I never wanted to borrow money from anybody, and I’ve worked hard for my family and for me,” she told PEOPLE in February 2023. “I want to have a life built for myself, and I want to know that I did it.”

Mamie Gummer: Natalie Stern

Actress Mamie Gummer didn’t exactly have a say in the matter when, while appearing alongside mom Meryl Streep in 1986’s Heartburn at 20 months old, Streep decided to change her daughter’s name to Natalie Stern so as to protect her identity. Once older, Gummer made the decision to go by her given name. (Streep’s youngest daughter, actress Louisa Jacobson, also doesn’t use her given surname, but that’s due to Screen Actors Guild restrictions, not to distance herself from her famous family.)

Micheál Neeson: Micheál Richardson

Liam Neeson’s son Micheál dropped his last name for a heartwarming reason: to honor his mother Natasha Richardson, who died from blunt force trauma following a skiing accident back in 2009.

“I think he did the right thing. It was a lovely homage … Natasha’s family, mother and sisters were very touched by it as indeed I was,” Liam Neeson told Andy Cohen on Radio Andy in 2020.

Emilio Estevez

Emilio Estevez uses his famous dad’s real last name, choosing to forgo the stage name, Martin Sheen, that his dad used for his whole career.

Sheen, born Ramon Estevez, told Closer Weekly that he regrets being influenced to change his last name for Hollywood, and is glad that son Emilio retained it. (One of this other sons, Charlie, uses Sheen professionally.)

“The only influence I had on Emilio was to keep his name,” Sheen said. “When he started out, his agent was advising him to change his name to Sheen and he wouldn’t do it. And I thank God he didn’t.”

Nicolas Coppola: Nicolas Cage

You’d think having an Oscar-nominated director for an uncle would be a welcome leg up in the industry, but as a young actor in the ’80s, Nicolas Cage (pictured with his uncle Francis Ford Coppola and cousin Sofia Coppola) was anxious to distance himself from his famous family.

“People would not stop saying things like ‘I love the smell of Nicolas in the morning,’ ” he recalled to Wired of the reference to his uncle’s film Apocalypse Now. “I decided, I don’t need this, and I changed it to Cage. It’s a combination of Luke Cage from Marvel Comics … and John Cage, the avant-garde composer. Speaks volumes about what I’ve been up to ever since.”