Some Katy Perry fans are just finding out name she used at start of her career

Despite Katy Perry's two-decade-long presence in the limelight, some fans were taken aback to discover that it isn't her real name.

Like many other celebrities in the industry, the 40-year-old 'Firework' singer uses a stage name that differs from her birth name.

While many stars use their real names, others opt for more memorable monikers or to maintain a degree of anonymity as their fame grows. However, it can be quite a surprise for fans to find out that their favourite celebrity has an entirely different identity they weren't aware of.

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One such fan expressed their astonishment on a 'Today I learned' forum after discovering that pop sensation had a different name at the start of her career and even released an album under a different identity.

The post read: "TIL in 2001 Katy Perry released a Christian album under the name Katy Hudson, here's one of the songs."

Accompanying the post was a video of a 2001 track titled 'Faith Won't Fail', performed by a then 16 year old Katy Perry, who was known at the time as Katy Hudson.

One fan took to Reddit to praise the singer's savvy name change, posting: "Katy Hudson is not it. Changing her stage name to Perry was probably one of the best decisions she and her team could have ever made. Just the way her name rolls off the tongue, it just sticks."

Another chimed in with their take, saying: "She went by Katy Hudson when she put out Christian music. I think she would have rebranded with a new name for her pop music no matter Kate Hudson, the actress existed or not."

Before hitting the big time with her infectious dance-pop tunes, the singer released a little-known Christian pop album titled 'Katy Hudson'.

Unfortunately, despite delivering heartfelt tracks on childhood, adolescence, and faith, the album only shifted around 200 copies – thanks to a record label bankruptcy that scuppered its promotion before properly hitting shelves.

However, once she began clinching acclaim with her 2008 sophomore effort, 'One of the Boys,' the songstress opted for a major tweak to her moniker.

Rather than stick with her birth-given Katy Hudson, she chose the stage name Katy Perry - adopting her mother's maiden name to skirt any mix-up with the famed actress Kate Hudson.

The Screen Actors Guild–American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), the biggest union for those in the entertainment industry, mandates that all its members must have unique stage names to avoid confusion. The only exception is if you choose to use your legal name.