15+ Famous names translated into Portuguese that make us see them differently

Every human being’s name is personal and gives meaning to their personality, so many celebrities often choose stage names to replace their original names. While there’s a rule that people’s proper names shouldn’t be translated, sometimes it’s fun to do this just to know how they would sound in our language. And there are celebrity names that would sound so crazy that we certainly wouldn’t see them the same way.

O awesome.club decided to bring you a compilation of 18 famous names that, when translated into Portuguese, are quite funny. In the end, we also brought a bonus which suggests that name translations from English to Portuguese are not only fun, but can also be done in reverse and even for fictional characters.

This is what the American actor Michael Fox would be called, since Michael would be Miguel, and Fox, in English, means fox. Will the protagonist of the saga Back to the future do you have the cunning of this beast? We don’t know, but we can say that his name in Portuguese could easily represent an imaginary superhero.

If we translated the name of the American actor Tom Cruise, we would come to Tomas (because of Tom) and Cruzeiro (for Cruise). Possibly, with that name in Portuguese, reaching the height of success would have been an “impossible mission”.

Possibly, the career of American actor Will Smith had not been so successful with his name translated into Portuguese, which would be Guilherme (because of Will) Ferreiro (by Smith).

The name of American actor Nicolas Cage could be translated into Portuguese as Nicolau (because of Nicolas) and Cela (from Cage). Let’s hope this famous artist doesn’t suffer from claustrophobia.

This name is very funny when we try to translate it into Portuguese giving it a more “stripped” touch. The talented American actor Robert Redford would be none other than Roberto, the one in the Red Ford (“Red” means red). Possibly this artist (now retired) is not a Chevrolet lover.

Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters would simply be Rogério Águas if his name were translated into Portuguese. Roger, which could have given rise to the nickname Roger, and Waters could be translated as waters. Can you imagine someone inviting you to a Mr. waters?

American singer Justin Timberlake probably would not have developed his prominent career if he had used his name translated into Portuguese: Justino (for Justin) Lago de Madeira (“Timber” — wood; “Lake” — lake).

The name of the American singer Bruce Springsteen translated into Portuguese would be none other than Bruno Primaveras Adolescents. Bruno would be the translation of Bruce, Primaveras the translation of “Springs” and Adolescent(s) would be the translation of “teen”.

The beautiful actress Sandra Bullock wouldn’t look so glamorous with her name translated into Portuguese, would she? Sandra Boi (“Bullock” – ox). What is your favorite Sandra Boi movie?

Bill Gates, Microsoft mogul and co-founder, might have had many closed doors for him if his name had been Conta Portões, translated into Portuguese (“Bill” — account; “Gates” — gates).

Have you ever imagined the movies Forrest Gump or castaway starring Tomas Novelos? That would be the name of Tom Hanks if translated into Portuguese (Tom — Tomas; “Hanks” — balls).

In Portuguese, the British actor Benedict Cumberbatch could be called Blessed Batch of Obstacles (Benedict — Blessed; “Cumber” — obstacles; “batch” — batch). Perhaps he had to overcome several obstacles to become famous with that name in Portuguese.

In Portuguese, Jeremy Irons would be called Jeremias Ferros (Jeremy — Jeremias; “Irons” — Ferros). As he is an actor who seems to be quite serious, his translated name, which denotes toughness or strength, would even suit him well.

Who has never been fascinated by watching a movie starring Natalia Porto Homem? That would be the name of the actress translated into Portuguese, since the real name is Natalie Portman (Natalie — Natalia; “Port” — porto; “man” — man).

As crazy and ambiguous as it may seem, Nicole Criança Homem would be the name translated into Portuguese of Australian actress Nicole Kidman (“Kid” – child; “man” – man).

In Spanish, the name of American actor Michael Berryman would be translated as Miguel Homem Baga (Michael — Miguel; “Berry” — berry; “man” — man), sounding like a strange type of superhero with the power to transform into blueberries or currants.

The “queen of rock”, Tina Turner, in Portuguese would be called Tina Giratória (“Turner” could be translated as rotary). Her name would probably remind us more of a fancy device we might find in a spa than a singer.

The name of the American horror and science fiction writer Stephen King could be translated into Portuguese as Estêvão Rei (Stephen – Estêvão; “King” – Rei). We just wondered if he would sell so many books with that Latin singer name.

The fictional character James Bond (agent 007) would certainly not have intimidated anyone if his name had been translated into Portuguese as Jaime Vínculo (James — Jaime; “Bond” — bond).

And it’s not just from English to Portuguese that it’s fun to translate, but also from Portuguese (or names known to Brazilians, like this one in our example) into English. What do you think of Michael Pretty Speech? Sounds like a great international speaker, doesn’t it? That would be the name of actor Miguel Falabella. We are not sure if he would have been very successful in soap operas with that name, but with his talent, we imagine he would.

Can you think of any other famous names that would be cool to include on our list? Tell us in the comments section! 🇧🇷