Editing Ring name (section)

==Professional wrestling==
Ring names are much more common in professional wrestling than any other sport; famous examples include Terry Bollea becoming [[Hulk Hogan]],  Shawn Hickenbottom becoming [[Shawn Michaels]], Roderick Toombs becoming [[Roddy Piper]], Dwayne Johnson becoming [[Dwayne Johnson|The Rock]], Christopher Irvine becoming [[Chris Jericho]], and Phillip Jack Brooks becoming [[CM Punk]]. A number of wrestlers adopted their real name or a variation of it, sometimes modifying the spelling to better fit their [[Gimmick (professional wrestling)|gimmick]], such as Dave Bautista becoming [[Dave Bautista|Batista]] (later reverting to his real name for his Hollywood acting career), Patricia Stratigeas becoming [[Trish Stratus]], [[Bryan Danielson]] becoming Daniel Bryan (when he wrestled in WWE), and Richard Fliehr becoming [[Ric Flair]]. Others simply use part of their name, such as Bill Goldberg using [[Goldberg (wrestler)|Goldberg]], Mike Mizanin using [[The Miz]], and Michael Wardlow using [[Wardlow (wrestler)|Wardlow]]. Many female wrestlers go solely by their first name. It is also common for wrestlers of all genders to use a nickname in addition to their real name for marketability and other reasons. [[Ricky Steamboat]] is an atypical instance of a wrestler adopting a ring name to sound less intimidating, as his legal name of Richard Blood was considered unfitting for his [[face (professional wrestling)|babyface]] persona.<ref name="Steamboat">{{cite web|url=http://www.pwinsider.com/article/88052/ricky-steamboat-discusses-his-favorite-ric-flair-match-the-wwe-talent-hes-most-proud-of-returning-to-the-ring-vs-chris-jericho-and-much-more.html?p=1|title=Ricky Steamboat Discusses His Favorite Ric Flair Match, the WWE Talent He's Most Proud of, Returning to the Ring Vs. Chris Jericho and Much More - PWInsider.com|access-date=August 6, 2016}}</ref>

Some (mostly [[Independent circuit|independent]]) wrestlers still go to great lengths to ensure that their real names are not publicly known. It is a highly respected tradition in Mexican [[lucha libre]] for performers to hide their true identities, usually wrestling under masks, and revealing a luchador's identity without their permission is considered a serious offence with real-life consequences. Professional wrestlers are often referred to by their contemporaries by their ring name. In interviews, [[Bret Hart]] regularly referred to Mark Calaway, Curt Hennig, and Kevin Nash by their ring names ([[The Undertaker]], [[Curt Hennig|Mr. Perfect]], and [[Kevin Nash|Diesel]]). Ring names are often trademarked by the [[Professional wrestling promotion|promotion]] that creates a character or gimmick for a performer. It is common to see one performer use a variety of ring names throughout their career, even if their overall persona remains similar.

This is especially true in [[WWE]], which has largely forced most wrestlers that have debuted since 2006 to use a WWE-owned ring name instead of a ring name that they used on the independent circuit or, such as with [[Bryan Danielson|Daniel Bryan]] and a few others, their real name. One notable exception was made for [[David Otunga]] because of his real marriage to singer [[Jennifer Hudson]] at the time, which gave WWE some mainstream exposure.

[[Low Ki]] used the alias "Senshi" during his second [[TNA Wrestling|TNA]] stint to reserve his primary ring name for other use. A similar example is the team known as [[The Dudley Boyz]] in [[Extreme Championship Wrestling|ECW]] and WWE and Team 3D elsewhere. WWE trademarked the "Dudley Boyz" name, leading them to have to change their name when they went to TNA. The members' individual names were also trademarked by WWE, forcing them to have to change their names. WWE partially repealed the policy in 2015, allowing wrestlers who were well known in other promotions such as [[Samoa Joe]], [[A.J. Styles]], [[Shinsuke Nakamura]], [[Austin Aries]], [[Bobby Roode]], and [[Eric Young (wrestler)|Eric Young]] to use their long-standing ring names (or, in Nakamura's and Roode's cases, their real names) as well as wrestlers who sign "Tier 2" [[WWE NXT|NXT]] brand contracts such as [[Johnny Gargano]] and [[Tommaso Ciampa]], who wrestle both on NXT and the independent circuit to keep their ring names (or, in Gargano's case, his real name). Gargano and Ciampa have since signed exclusive WWE contracts. "In-house" WWE wrestlers still use WWE-owned ring names.

In rare cases, the rights to a wrestler's ring name may be owned by a company with little or no connection to professional wrestling, such as [[Marvel Comics]]' ownership of the name [[Hulk Hogan]] until early 2003, which was due to Hogan being advertised as "[[The Incredible Hulk]] Hogan" early in his career, while Marvel owned the trademark for their comic book character. Sometimes, a wrestler will buy the rights to their own ring name; for example, Steve Borden owns the rights to the name [[Sting (wrestler)|Sting]] and licenses it to the [[Sting (musician)|musician of the same name]].{{cn|date=March 2023}} The wrestler formerly known as [[Test (wrestler)|Test]] took this one step further and legally changed his name to "Andrew Test Martin". Jim Hellwig, known as [[The Ultimate Warrior]], had his name legally changed to simply "Warrior".

In many cases, ring names evolve over time as the wrestler's gimmick changes, either subtly or dramatically. After debuting in WWE as the "[[Connecticut]] [[Nobility|Blueblood]]" Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Paul Levesque's character later morphed into [[Triple H]]. A more drastic change sometimes occurs when a wrestler turns [[Face (professional wrestling)|heroic]] or [[Heel (professional wrestling)|villainous]], such as when Hulk Hogan joined the villainous [[New World Order (professional wrestling)|nWo]] (New World Order) and became "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan. His new attitude was enhanced by changing his costume color scheme from his famous red and yellow to nWo's black and white. Steve Williams adopted the ring name [[Stone Cold Steve Austin|Steve Austin]] to avoid confusion with the then-more established performer [["Dr. Death" Steve Williams]]. Austin would wrestle under that name for several years before signing with the WWF and being given the name "the Ringmaster". This gimmick failed to catch on, and Austin reverted to his established name, reaching his greatest level of success with the prefix "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.