WHY PAUL MCCARTNEY DOESN´T GO BY HIS BIRTH NAME

 

 

Plenty of celebrities — and, for that matter, plenty of non-celebrities — go by names other than the ones they were given. Stage names are nothing new, and many entertainers simply pick names that are flashier, easier to remember, or more unique than their given names.

Some actors have to change their names to meet Screen Actors Guild requirements. Only one actor with a given name can be registered with the prestigious group, so Michael Andrew Fox became Michael J. Fox and Emily Stone became Emma Stone to avoid duplications.

McCartney’s meteoric rise to fame is a fascinating combination of hard work, born in 1942 in Liverpool, England to a nurse and a cotton salesman, there was nothing in McCartney’s early childhood that would suggest the trapping of greatness that were ahead of him.

 
Paul McCartney is a name known around the world. He was born as James Paul McCartney. He didn’t change his name for the stage, however. “Paul” is the name his parents called him.

As reported on Paul McCartney.com, even McCartney himself is unsure of why his parents named him one thing and called him another. Early on, the explanation was that his father’s name was James, and they didn’t want mail addressed to “James McCartney” to be confusing.

That theory didn’t hold up, however, when McCartney’s younger brother was born.

“[T]hat worked until they called my brother – whose name was Peter Michael McCartney... – Michael!? And there was no Peter in the house to confuse him with! So I’ve ended up thinking it was rather Irish! I’ve no idea! My mum was Irish – and I don’t know, maybe there’s just some old thing where they call you by your second name. Nobody ever called me James, it was always Paul!” Paul explained.