To me, it seems as though stage names did not become very common until recently. Maybe I am wrong, but either way, this got me wondering what the first recorded instance of a stage name is. I am curious to see how far back in time it is and which culture it was in.
2 Answers
What is the first recorded instance of a stage name?
First I used Google Ngram Viewer
This gave the earliest use of "stage name" as around 1800.
Then I searched Google Books using "stage name" 1800 - Google Search
This returned English Literature and Books Printed in England Prior to 1800 books.google.co.uk › books
with the following extract:
Found inside – Page 47 ... designed to commemorate the personality and distinguished acting career of M.-E. Joly ( 1761-1798 ) , was edited by Du Lomboy whom she married in 1781 ; she had insisted in continuing to use her maiden name as a stage name.
(emphasis mine)
So the earliest usage I can find is somewhere between 1761-1798 probably around 1781 by Marie Elisabeth Joly (a French Actress):
Marie Elisabeth Joly
Also known as
Marie Elisabeth Joly primary name: Joly, Marie Elisabeth other name: Joly, Marie
Details
individual; actor/entertainer; French; Female
Life dates
1761-1798
Biography
Actress; performed from an early age; debut at the Comédie-Française in 1781. Married cavalry officer Nicolas Fouquet Dulomboy.
Not sure, whether actors are also asked for, given that this is Music Fans; if so Turlupin (French Wikipedia) was a stage name of Henri Legrand, 1587-1637, so stage names seem not exactly to be a new appearance.
