Fans are just realizing the real reason behind Bruno Mars' stage name

Bruno Mars isn't actually called Bruno Mars and some people are only just realising the reason he decided on that stage name.

If you grew up in the noughties, there's a high chance you spent a portion of your childhood hopping around your bedroom with your speaker plugged into your CD rom listening to Now That's What I Call Music top CDs and screaming along to tracks such as 'Just The Way You Are' at the top of your lungs until your mom called you down for dinner. If you didn't because you weren't born until after the 2000s, then educate yourself on the golden age of music.

However, while singing into your hairbrush and putting up posters of Bruno, Britney and the Backstreet Boys in your bedroom, did you realise that when you were singing to your poster of Bruno specifically, you probably didn't even know his real name?

Mars was born in October 1986 in Honululu, Hawaii and was named Peter Gene Hernández. However, in the early days of his career, he made the swift decision to go by a stage name instead.

At the age of 17, Mars graduated from high school and moved to Los Angeles, California and it was around then he made the change. But why Bruno? And why Mars?

Well, he told Blues and Soul: "Oh, my dad nicknamed me 'Bruno' when I was two years old! You know, I guess I was this chubby kid, and at the time there was this chubby (Italian) wrestler called Bruno Sammartino! So my name has been Bruno ever since I can remember!

"My mom always called me Bruno, my sisters always called me Bruno… In fact, the only place I was ever Peter was in school - because that was my government name! So in that way I guess I grew up like two different people! Which may be why my music is all over the place - I’m just a confused person!.."

And Mars? Well, it wasn't just because of his dad's nickname for him when he was a kid which led Mars to not go by Hernández.

Bruno Mars' real name is Peter Gene Hernandez (Christopher Polk/Getty Images for NARAS)

Bruno explained he also didn't want to be stereotyped by the industry as a result of his surname, Popsugar reporting the singer expected to be told: "Your last name's Hernandez, maybe you should do this Latin music, this Spanish music . . . Enrique's so hot right now."

Mars added: "And then the ‘Mars’ came about through a joke in the studio. One day I was in there messing around and just telling people ‘Hey, I’m outta this world! I’m Bruno Mars!’!... And from that it just stuck!"

And it's not taken long for social media users to weigh in.

One Twitter user said: "Interesting!"

"He has a nice name what's he doing on Mars... hahahh," another added.

A third wrote: "Are u f**king kidding me bruno mars’ real name is peter?"

And to everyone who was surprised, another simply wrote: "Your clearly not a day one fan lmaooo."

Fairs.