A source close to Katie explains that she’s been calling Suri “Sara” in public “so as not to attract attention.”

The 6-year-old with the unique — and internationally recognizable — moniker is trying to avoid “privacy issues,” the source further tells In Touch. “Everyone in the world knows Suri Cruise, so if Katie or a babysitter says, ‘Suri,’ people immediately look to find her.”

Katie was recently overheard referring to her daughter as “Sara” to her "Dead Accounts" co-stars at rehearsals and luckily, the first-grader seems to love her other name! In August, Suri was seen at a Build-A-Bear Workshop requesting that her stuffed animal be named “Sara” — and she even specified no h so she and the doll would have the same number of letters in their names.

The source says the high-security measure taken to shelter Suri is “no different than celebrities checking into hotels under a different name."

For more on Katie and Suri and their new life in NYC, pick up this week's issue of In Touch Weekly, on newsstands now.