<p>I looked up each of the <a href="http://www.usagi.org/doi/seiyuu/individual.html">listed "major" and "popular" male and female <em>seiyuu</em></a> at Hitoshi Doi's <a href="http://www.usagi.org/doi/seiyuu"><em>Seiyuu</em> (voice actor) Database</a> (Doi's database has been collecting <em>seiyuu</em> information <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitoshi_Doi">since 1994</a> and hit <a href="http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2001-11-02/seiyuu-database-surpasses-50-000-entries">50,000 entries in 2001</a>).</p>

<p>Although this is not a representative sampling of all <em>seiyuu</em>, out of these 20 individuals recognized as "major" and "popular" by Doi, 4 (or possibly 3) are using a stage name (if 4, that comes out to 20%):</p>

<ul>
<li>水樹奈々 (Mizuki Nana), who you mentioned, born as <a href="http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%B0%B4%E6%A8%B9%E5%A5%88%E3%80%85">近藤奈々</a> (Kondo Nana)</li>
<li>[山口勝平 (Yamaguchi Kappei), born as <a href="http://www.usagi.org/doi/seiyuu/yamaguchi-kappei/">山口光雄</a> (Yamaguchi Mitsuo)</li>
<li>優希比呂 (Yuuki Hiro), born as <a href="http://www.usagi.org/doi/seiyuu/yuuki-hiro/">露崎照久</a> (Tsuyusaki Teruhisa), debuted in 1988 under the name 結城比呂 (Yuuki Hiro = same pronunciation but different <em>kanji</em> for the surname), <a href="http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%84%AA%E5%B8%8C%E6%AF%94%E5%91%82#.E4.BA.BA.E7.89.A9">changed his surname to 優希 in June, 2007</a>.</li>
<li>堀江由衣 (Horie Yui), born as Horie Yoshiko <a href="http://www.usagi.org/doi/seiyuu/horie-yui/">according to Hitoshi Doi</a>, but he does not know her original <em>kanji</em> nor does the <a href="http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%A0%80%E6%B1%9F%E7%94%B1%E8%A1%A3">Japanese Wikipedia page</a> mention a name change</li>
</ul>

<p>Based on this small sample, 1) <em>seiyuu</em> can choose stage names and change stage names after debut, but the majority go by their real name, and 2) those who do adopt a stage name may likely adapt their real name (change only the surname or given name but not both).</p>

<p>To check for more individual cases, the Japanese Wikipedia page of each <em>seiyuu</em> lists the real name under 「本名」 (<em>honmyou</em> = real name) in the profile box on the right side, if the person has a different real name.</p>

<p><a href="https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%8A%B1%E6%BE%A4%E9%A6%99%E8%8F%9C">花澤香菜</a> (Hanazawa Kana) is her real name.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-06-13T02:32:21.853Z
2015-06-13T02:32:21.853Z
seijitsu
<p>What I mean by this is not the alias they use when they do H-Games. What I mean is whether they use a stage-name when doing anime works.</p>

<p>It all started from a little question I had in mind, "Is Hanazawa Kana really Hanazawa Kana?" Usually people in the entertainment industry use a stage-name to avoid mixing up their personal life and their public life. An example for this is the actor Hiro Mizushima, who is not really Hiro Mizushima by birth. His birth name is Saito Tomohiro. Does the same hold true with the seiyuu profession?</p>

<p>I also noted that Mizuki Nana's birth name is Kondo Nana. But is she just a rare case or are most seiyuu like that (that is, using a stage name)?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-06-11T11:15:23.233Z
This is a pretty interesting question indeed, the only one I actually know from the top of my head (Yiu Itsuko) just uses her given name when she does Seiyuu work. I am however curious to see what answers will pop up
Chen Orihara
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-06-12T01:46:31.423Z
I read somewhere (thought it was Wikipedia, but it's not there anymore) that Hanazawa Kana goes by her real name. But other seiyuu (e.g. Horie Yui) go by stage names. It seems like it varies.
Torisuda
<voice-acting>
Do Seiyuu use stage-names for their anime works?
# Do Seiyuu use stage-names for their anime works?
Posted by: username_0 on 2015-06-11
What I mean by this is not the alias they use when they do H-Games. What I mean is whether they use a stage-name when doing anime works.

It all started from a little question I had in mind, "Is Hanazawa Kana really Hanazawa Kana?" Usually people in the entertainment industry use a stage-name to avoid mixing up their personal life and their public life. An example for this is the actor Hiro Mizushima, who is not really Hiro Mizushima by birth. His birth name is Saito Tomohiro. Does the same hold true with the seiyuu profession?

I also noted that Mizuki Nana's birth name is Kondo Nana. But is she just a rare case or are most seiyuu like that (that is, using a stage name)?
**Tags:** voice-acting
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: This is a pretty interesting question indeed, the only one I actually know from the top of my head (Yiu Itsuko) just uses her given name when she does Seiyuu work. I am however curious to see what answers will pop up  
> **username_2**: I read somewhere (thought it was Wikipedia, but it's not there anymore) that Hanazawa Kana goes by her real name. But other seiyuu (e.g. Horie Yui) go by stage names. It seems like it varies.  
---
## 1 answers
### Answer by username_3 on 2015-06-13. Score: 5 | Accepted answer
I looked up each of the [listed "major" and "popular" male and female *seiyuu*](http://www.usagi.org/doi/seiyuu/individual.html) at Hitoshi Doi's [*Seiyuu* (voice actor) Database](http://www.usagi.org/doi/seiyuu) (Doi's database has been collecting *seiyuu* information [since 1994](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitoshi_Doi) and hit [50,000 entries in 2001](http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2001-11-02/seiyuu-database-surpasses-50-000-entries)).

Although this is not a representative sampling of all *seiyuu*, out of these 20 individuals recognized as "major" and "popular" by Doi, 4 (or possibly 3) are using a stage name (if 4, that comes out to 20%):

* 水樹奈々 (Mizuki Nana), who you mentioned, born as [近藤奈々](http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%B0%B4%E6%A8%B9%E5%A5%88%E3%80%85) (Kondo Nana)
* [山口勝平 (Yamaguchi Kappei), born as [山口光雄](http://www.usagi.org/doi/seiyuu/yamaguchi-kappei/) (Yamaguchi Mitsuo)
* 優希比呂 (Yuuki Hiro), born as [露崎照久](http://www.usagi.org/doi/seiyuu/yuuki-hiro/) (Tsuyusaki Teruhisa), debuted in 1988 under the name 結城比呂 (Yuuki Hiro = same pronunciation but different *kanji* for the surname), [changed his surname to 優希 in June, 2007](http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%84%AA%E5%B8%8C%E6%AF%94%E5%91%82#.E4.BA.BA.E7.89.A9).
* 堀江由衣 (Horie Yui), born as Horie Yoshiko [according to Hitoshi Doi](http://www.usagi.org/doi/seiyuu/horie-yui/), but he does not know her original *kanji* nor does the [Japanese Wikipedia page](http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%A0%80%E6%B1%9F%E7%94%B1%E8%A1%A3) mention a name change

Based on this small sample, 1) *seiyuu* can choose stage names and change stage names after debut, but the majority go by their real name, and 2) those who do adopt a stage name may likely adapt their real name (change only the surname or given name but not both).

To check for more individual cases, the Japanese Wikipedia page of each *seiyuu* lists the real name under 「本名」 (*honmyou* = real name) in the profile box on the right side, if the person has a different real name.

[花澤香菜](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%8A%B1%E6%BE%A4%E9%A6%99%E8%8F%9C) (Hanazawa Kana) is her real name.
---
