That used to be true for many years, but nowadays that practice is not as common as it used to be.
Interestingly, famous athletes and other celebrities born in Latin America almost by definition have to change their name or drastically shorten their birth names for easier public recognition. Perhaps the best example of this is Edison Arantes do Nascimento, better known the world over as Pelé, perhaps the most famous soccer star of all time.
I liked the line in the movie La Bamba when the promoter changed the name from Richie Valenzuela to Richie Valens. The older brother said, “You can’t go cutting his name in half, man.”