| Well Known as | Real Name |
|---|---|
| Valmiki | Ratnakar, Agni Sharma |
| Chaitanya Mahaprabhu | Visvambhar |
| Guru Angad Dev | Bhai Lehna |
| Ramakrishna Paramhansa | Gadadhar Chattopadhyay |
| Swami Vivekananda | Narendra Nath Datta |
| Nana Phadanvis | Balaji Janardan Bhanu |
| Tatiya Tope | Ramachandra Pandurang Yewalkar |
| Rani Lakshmibai | Manikarnika (Manu) |
| Tansen | Ramtanu Pandey |
| Birbal | Maheshdas |
| Mother Teresa | Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu |
| Sister Nivedita | Margaret Elizabeth Noble |
| Mirabehn | Madeleine Slade |
| Munshi Premchand | Dhanpat Rai |
| Swami Agnivesh | Shyam Vepa Rao |
| Satya Sai Baba | Satyanarayana Raju |
| Baba Amte | Murlidhar Devidas Amte |
| Mirza Ghalib | Mirza Asadullah Baig Khan |
| Vinoba Bhave | Vinayak Narahari Bhave |
| Amir Khusro | Ab'ul Hasan Yamīn ud-Dīn Khusrow |
| Firaq Gorakhpuri | Raghupati Sahay |
| Gulzar | Sampooran Singh Kalra |
| Ravi Shankar | Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury |
| Bismillah Khan | Kamruddin Khan |
| Maulana Abul Kalam Azad | Muhiyuddin Ahmed |
| Naqsh Lyallpuri | Jaswant Rai Sharma |
| Birju Maharaj | Brijmohan Mishra |
| Baba Ramdev | Ramkrishna Yadav |
| Yogi Adityanath | Ajay Singh Bisht |
Valmiki: As per legends, Ratnakar (or Agni Sharma) was a dacoit who looted people travelling through forests. He started performing penance on the advice of Sage Narada and he sat in meditation for so long that ant-hills formed around his body. He derived his name from ant-hills or Valmikas.
Guru Angad Dev: Bhai Lehna was an ardent devotee of Guru Nanak. Guru Nanak Dev Ji renamed Bhai Lehna as Angad and installed him as his successor. The name Angad comes from Ang, or one's own body part.
Swami Vivekanand: Narendranth accepted the suggestion of Ajit Singh, the Raja of Khetri to adopt Vivekanand as his name. Narendranath shared a lasting bond of friendship and mutual respect with the Raja.
Nana Phadnavis: In the Maratha kingdom, Phad was a clerical account and Phadnavis was the person who wrote the account. Later the name was used to address the minister who held the portfolio of finance minister. Balaji Janardan Bhanu was fondly known as Nana in his childhood and he came to be known as Nana Phadnavis as he was the finance minister in the Peshwa empire.
Rani Lakshmibai: Manikarnika was married to the Maharaja of Jhansi, Gangadhar Rao Newalkar, and was afterwards called Lakshmibai in honour of the Hindu goddess Devi Lakshmi and according to the Maharashtrian tradition of women being given a new name after marriage.
Sister Nivedita: Margaret Elizabeth Noble met Swami Vivekananda in 1895 in London and travelled to Kolkata in 1898. Swami Vivekananda gave her the name Nivedita (meaning "Dedicated to God") when he initiated her into the vow of Brahmacharya.