Coolest Stage Name – Readers Poll

Over the years, several pop stars have opted out of using their birth names and have instead adopted stage names. For some people, regular names like Stefani and Peter just didn't possess the oomph they wanted to help jump start their careers. Hence, the development of stage names -- like Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars. So, PopCrush readers, out of the artists we've selected, who do you think has the coolest stage name?

Lady Gaga actually started out performing under her birth name of Stefani Germanotta, but she later combined the commanding title of 'Lady' with 'Gaga,' which she borrowed from Queen's song 'Radio Ga Ga,' to create her stage moniker. Bruno Mars, who was born Peter Hernandez, also didn't really dig his name for performing. The singer-songwriter decided to use his childhood nickname of 'Bruno' -- his dad called him that after a wrestler since lil Peter was on the husky side -- and adopted the surname 'Mars' since it just sounded awesome and because his female admirers thought he was "out of the world."

Meanwhile, Nicki Minaj, aka Onika Tanya Maraj, needed a better rap persona, so she switched up the lettering of her real name to create a sexy surname. Cee Lo Green might not have been going for sexy when he came up with his stage name, but it's still pretty damn cool. 'The Voice' coach was born Thomas DeCarlo Callaway, but adopted Cee Lo Green for his stage time.

Snoop Dogg is another artist whose real name (Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr.) is lesser known than his stage nickname. His mother nicknamed his after the 'Peanuts' character Snoopie, and the name stuck. It has now spawned all sorts of other names, like the Doggfather, Snoop D-O-double-Gizzle, Snoop Doggy Dogg and so on. Like Snoop Dogg, Holly Brook Hafermann wasn't in love with her regular old name, and it didn't really match her bada-- stage presence either, so she changed it to Skylar Grey.

Finally, Christopher Wallace, aka the Notorious B.I.G., has one of the most famous stage names of them all, and also like Snoop, his name has taken on many different forms (Biggie, Biggie Smalls, etc.). And last but not least, Cameron Jibril Thomaz needed a cooler name -- especially because there's already a rapper Cam'Ron. So, this rhyme slinger took his nickname of young Wiz (he was good at lots of things as a kid) and fused it with "Khalifa," which means wisdom or successor in Arabic. And there it is -- Wiz Khalifa, ladies and gentlemen.

Which stage name do you think is the coolest? Vote below!