People are baffled after discovering Tom Cruise’s real name and the reason why he changed it

People are only just realizing Tom Cruise’s real name and the reason why he changed it.

The 63-year-old veteran Hollywood actor is considered an icon for his lengthy commitment to showbiz, famously performing his own risky stunts in the many sci-fi and action movies we know and love.

However, what many apparently don't know is that Cruise was given a wildly different name when he was born.

His parents, electrical engineer Thomas Cruise Mapother III and his mom, Mary Lee Pfeiffer, a special education teacher, welcomed their son into the world in 1962 alongside his three sisters.

The family reportedly grew up in near poverty and under a strict Catholic household before the then 18-year-old star decided to leave his past behind and pursue a career in acting - which ultimately rocketed him to becoming one of the world's most famous and wealthiest celebs.

Part and parcel of his big move to New York City was dropping his birth name, Thomas Cruise Mapother IV, for the name we recognise him as today.

Tom Cruise's real name is quite a mouthful (Mike Marsland/WireImage)

The revelation has stunned fans who say his name makes him sound 'like royalty' while others jibed it sounds 'horrific'.

Another joked on Twitter: "Rolls off the tongue."

A third said they were 'mind blown' when they learned of Cruise's real name.

"No way, that's wild!", a fourth chimed in, while dozens more admitted they didn't know.

The Mission: Impossible star allegedly decided to abbreviate his name, not only as his new moniker has a Hollywood-friendly ring to it, but to distance himself from his father, whom he described as a violent 'bully', 'coward' and 'merchant of chaos'.

Speaking to Parade magazine in 2006, Cruise said: "[My father] was the kind of person where, if something goes wrong, they kick you. It was a great lesson in my life - how he'd lull you in, make you feel safe and then, bang!

"For me, it was like, 'There's something wrong with this guy. Don't trust him. Be careful around him.' There's that anxiety."

His mom, who passed away from cancer in 1984, had divorced his father 10 years earlier when Cruise as 12 years old.

A decade later, the Scientologist reacquainted with his dad by his hospital bed before his death and recalled the moment with sadness.

The actor has famously performed many of his own stunts (Eric Robert/Sygma/Sygma via Getty Images)

He said: "When I saw him in pain, I thought, 'Wow, what a lonely life.' He was in his late 40s. It was sad."

Meanwhile, some of the father-of-three's extended relatives have kept the familial name, such as his cousin, William Mapother, who is also a successful actor whose credits include TV series Lost and the movie Zodiac.

Cruise isn't the only celeb to have dropped his name. The Duchess of Sussex was born Rachel Meghan Markle before deciding to go with her middle name.

Shania Twain was also born Eilleen Regina Edwards and changed her last name to Twain when she was formally adopted by her stepfather at four years old, and then changing her first name to Shania simply because she thought it was 'beautiful' and more well-suited to the music industry.

Saturday Night Live writer Elizabeth Stamatina Fey likewise switched her name up, settling on the middle half of her name, Tina, since elementary school.

Somewhat similarly to Cruise, Ricky Martin decided to abandon his name, being born Enrique Morales after his dad, Enrique, after things reportedly became tense with his parent.