Joseph Stalin's real name was Ioseb Bessarionis dze Dzugashvili.

The story behind the answer

True. Joseph Stalin was born in Gori, Georgia, as Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili—literally “Joseph, son of Besarion, of the Jughashvili family” in Georgian. The spelling varies in English (Dzhugashvili/Jughashvili), but it refers to the same name.

He adopted the revolutionary alias “Stalin” in the early 1900s, from the Russian word for “steel” (stal), projecting toughness and unbreakable will.