Bruno Mars is just a name that's too cool to be true, so most people would probably have guessed that it isn't real. The consummate professional entertainer has been singing and putting on shows since he was five years old, and always knew he was destined for fame. He just needed the right name to put on all the billboards, and if there's a better name in showbiz, we haven't heard it.
Would things have turned out quite the same if he'd been plain old Peter Gene Hernandez? We're not sure. Gene Hernandez is good in its own right, but it sounds like it should belong to somebody older. And can you really imagine walking up to Mars for an autograph and calling him 'Peter'? It just doesn't fit! He actually owes his name to the world of professional wrestling; his father gave him the 'Bruno' name after his favorite wrestler, WWE Hall of Famer Bruno Sammartino.