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Presidents & World Leaders: Real Names and Birth Names

Many famous heads of state did not use the name they were born with.

Revolutionaries changed names for a different reason: to hide from the police. Joseph Stalin (Ioseb Jughashvili), Vladimir Lenin (Vladimir Ulyanov), Leon Trotsky (Lev Bronstein), Ho Chi Minh (Nguyen Sinh Cung), Tito (Josip Broz) and Kim Il Sung (Kim Song Ju) all ruled under underground aliases. Several of them led regimes responsible for mass repression and millions of deaths, which each profile notes factually.

Some names are titles or official choices. Popes take a new name when elected, so Pope Francis was Jorge Mario Bergoglio and Pope Leo XIV is Robert Francis Prevost. "Mahatma" is an honorific for Mohandas Gandhi, and "Atatürk" was a surname granted by Turkey's parliament.

Every entry below gives the documented birth name, the reason for the change and linked sources.

U.S. Presidents

• Gerald FordLeslie Lynch King Jr.
• Bill ClintonWilliam Jefferson Blythe III
• Ulysses S. GrantHiram Ulysses Grant
• Woodrow WilsonThomas Woodrow Wilson
• Calvin CoolidgeJohn Calvin Coolidge Jr.
• Dwight D. EisenhowerDavid Dwight Eisenhower

Dictators & Revolutionaries

• Joseph StalinIoseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili (Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili)
• Vladimir LeninVladimir Ilyich Ulyanov
• Leon TrotskyLev Davidovich Bronstein
• Ho Chi MinhNguyen Sinh Cung
• Pol PotSaloth Sar
• TitoJosip Broz
• Kim Il SungKim Song Ju

World Leaders

• Golda MeirGolda Mabovitch
• Kemal AtatürkMustafa
• Mahatma GandhiMohandas Karamchand Gandhi

Popes

• Pope FrancisJorge Mario Bergoglio
• Pope Benedict XVIJoseph Aloisius (Alois) Ratzinger
• Pope John Paul IIKarol Józef Wojtyła
• Pope Leo XIVRobert Francis Prevost

FAQ

Which U.S. presidents changed their names?

Gerald Ford (born Leslie Lynch King Jr.) and Bill Clinton (born William Jefferson Blythe III) took stepfathers' surnames. Ulysses S. Grant was born Hiram Ulysses Grant. Woodrow Wilson, Calvin Coolidge and Dwight Eisenhower dropped or reordered their first names.

What was Joseph Stalin's real name?

Ioseb Jughashvili (Russian: Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili). "Stalin" comes from the Russian word for steel.

Why did communist revolutionaries use fake names?

Pseudonyms helped them avoid arrest by police in the Russian Empire, colonial governments and other regimes they opposed. Many kept the aliases after taking power.

Why do popes change their names?

By long tradition, a newly elected pope chooses a papal name, often to honor a saint or earlier pope. Jorge Mario Bergoglio chose Francis after St. Francis of Assisi.

Is "Mahatma" Gandhi's real first name?

No. Gandhi was born Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. "Mahatma" means "great soul" and is an honorific title.

Related: Revolutionaries · Popes · Cult leaders · Quiz

Portraits are public domain via Wikimedia Commons; each entry page links its image source.