Celebrities are known for many things, including their unique talents and glamorous lifestyles. But did you know that some of them also have bizarre middle names? From Billie Eilish to Tina Fey and Leonardo DiCaprio, there are plenty of famous figures with unusual monikers tucked between their first and last names.
Let’s explore 23 celebrities with the most bizarre middle names. Some may surprise you, while others will leave you scratching your head. So, sit back, relax, and prepare to learn more about the strange and wacky world of celebrity middle names.
Adele
Grammy-winner Adele has been topping the charts for the better part of two decades, and despite being one of the most famous people on earth, many do not know that she has two very unique middle names. Her full name is Adele Laurie Blue Adkins.
Billie Eilish
Another extremely popular musician, Billie Eilish, completely reworked her birth name to come up with her stage name. Eilish is actually her middle name, and O’Connell is her real surname. But, wait, there’s even more color! Her full name is Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O’Connell. Pirate Baird!
Macaulay Culkin
After conducting a poll among his fans, Home Alone star Macaulay Culkin, legally changed his name in 2019. The fans wanted even more of this celebrity’s existing name. He is legally named Macaulay Macaulay Culkin Culkin. Yes, his middle names are the same as his first and last!
Elton John
Pop superstar and gay icon Elton John has a larger-than-life middle name that you likely don’t know about. His full name is Elton Hercules John. He was born Reginald Kenneth Dwight but legally changed his name to be more fitting of a musician. He took inspiration from members of Bluesology; saxophonist Elton Dean and vocalist Long John Baldry. And, it wasn’t mythology that the “Candle in the Wind” singer turned to for that middle name. According to National World, he saw a horse called Hercules on the sitcom show Steptoe and Son.
Kate Hudson
Actor Kate Hudson has an odd but meaningful middle name that is more commonly given to baby boys. Her full name is Kate Garry Hudson. Kate’s uncle, Garry, died a week before she was born. Her mother, Goldie Hawn, memorialized him by passing his name to her daughter.
Richard Gere
What about breakfast at Richard Tiffany’s? Yes, Pretty Woman actor Richard Gere has his mother’s maiden name Tiffany as a middle name, making his full name Richard Tiffany Gere.
James Corden
TV personality James Corden also got a family name for his middle. All the boys in his family share the middle name, Kimberly. So, it’s James Kimberly Corden. Apparently, the name has been in the family for generations.
Ralph Fiennes
Celebrated actor Ralph Fiennes has some wild ones! His full name is Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton Wykeham Fiennes. Twisleton! Fiennes has commented that his first name was a family name but has never addressed the more colorful ones he has in the middle.
Dido
Once you learn British singer, Dido‘s full name you’ll understand why she went with a more express choice as a stage name. She was born on Christmas day and burdened with the name Florian Cloud de Bounevialle Armstrong. In an interview with The Guardian, she explained the origin of her name was inspired by the Queen of Carthage in Virgil’s Aeneid. Okay! She also said that her parents called her by the nickname Dido from birth. She was not a fan.
“To be called one thing and christened another is actually very confusing and annoying,” Dido explained. “It’s one of the most irritating things that my parents did to me. I’m still irritated by it. Florian is a German man’s name. That’s just mean. To give your child a whole lot of odd names. They were all so embarrassing.”
Ben Affleck
Actor and filmmaker Ben Affleck has two rather surprising middle names. One of which is a touching tribute. The full name is Ben Geza Boldt Affleck. As a child Affleck was not fond of the name until his mother explained its origin.
“She told me that Geza was a friend of hers who died right around the time I was born, who was a Holocaust survivor in Hungary and the most exceptional person she knew,” Affleck explained in an interview. “He had left from a train during the Holocaust taking Jews to death camps, and he went back and saved several others returning to break them out. She told me six million Jews were murdered and that men like him were brave and selfless. That name has never been short of a tremendous honor to me since that day.”
Tina Fey
Emmy-winner Tina Fey actually goes by her middle name, at least, that’s part of the story. She has gone by the name Tina from a very early age even though her full name is Elizabeth Stamatina Fey. Her middle name is a celebration of her Greek heritage.
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Hugh Grant
Rom-com favorite Hugh Grant has a very Scottish middle name that will likely seem exotic to American ears. His full name is Hugh John Mungo Grant. Mungo is rare as a given name in the UK but it is a very common Scottish nickname that means “my pet.”
Matt Damon
Can you have a list with Ben Affleck and not Matt Damon? His middle name is taken from his mother’s maiden name. His full moniker is Matt Paige Damon.
Hilary Duff
Fan favorite Hilary Duff shares the same middle name with her father, Bob Duff. Her full name is Hilary Erhard Duff.
Courtney Cox
Friends alum Courtney Cox was given a name that honors her mother in more ways than one. Her full name is Courtney Bass Cox. Her mother’s name was Courtney Bass.
Jennifer Lawrence
Academy Award winner Jennifer Lawrence has never spoken about her middle name and its origin but it is public knowledge. Her full name is Jennifer Shrader Lawrence. We imagine this is a family name that’s been passed down.
Nicolas Cage
Before 1982, he was called Nicolas Coppola. Before he changed it, his full name was Nicolas Kim Coppola. While he has never addressed the middle name Kim, he has commented on why he changed his surname to Cage.
“I changed my name because I was doing a little movie called Fast Times at Ridgemont High and I was still Nicolas Coppola, and people would not stop saying things like, ‘I love the smell of Nicolas in the morning,’ because of Apocalypse Now, and Robert Duvall saying, ‘I love the smell of napalm in the morning,’ and it made it hard to work and I said, ‘I don’t need this,’ and changed it to Cage,” the actor explained to Wired in 2022. “It’s a combination of Luke Cage from Marvel comics, who was a character I liked, also named Power Man, and John Cage, the avant-garde composer.”
Nicholas Hoult
The Great‘s Nicholas Hoult told Graham Norton that he dropped his middle name because it is so tricky for many folks to pronounce. His full name is Nicholas Caradoc Hoult. As with so many Welsh names pinning down its pronunciation is tricky. Different sources tell us different things. It could be said like KAA-Raa-DahK or kuh-rak-tuh-kuh. Either way, Hoult shared that the name means “the beloved one.”
Kristen Stewart
Kristen Jaymes Stewart is Stewart’s full name. Jaymes is both unique and also traditionally masculine. She has never commented on the origin of the name but we think it’s the right kind of offbeat.
Drew Barrymore
Everyone’s favorite, Drew Barrymore, was looked at funny in the early days of her career because of the name Drew which had traditionally gone to boys. Drew Blyth Barrymore is her full name and it holds tons of meaning to her family. Drew was the maiden name of her paternal great-grandmother, Georgie Drew. Blythe was the surname of the family first used by her great-grandfather, Maurice Barrymore.
Leonardo DiCaprio
In an interview with News 24, Leonardo DiCaprio revealed that he had been pressured early in his career to change his very Italian name to something that sounded more American. The name suggested for him was Lenny Williams… We’d say he dodged a bullet there. In the same interview his middle name was revealed for the first time. His full name is Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio. According to the actor, Wilhelm comes from his mother’s side of the family.
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter
Most of us know her by her iconic first name alone but her full name is Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter. In 2020, Tina Knowles-Lawson revealed the origin of her daughter’s name for the first time. She explained that it was her mother’s maiden name. Apparently, Giselle was chosen by Beyoncé’s father.
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Will Smith
You may not know that Will Smith‘s first name is actually Willard but his middle name is even more colorful. The multi-hyphenate’s full name is Willard Carroll Smith Junior. Smith has never explained the origin of Carroll but it must be important to him and his family as he passed the middle name down to his first son, whom he had with then-wife Sheree Zampino in 1992, Willard Carroll “Trey” Smith III.
These 23 celebrities with the most bizarre middle names prove that even the rich and famous have quirks and oddities. While some may embrace their unique monikers, others may cringe at the thought of them. Nonetheless, it’s always fascinating to learn more about the lives and backgrounds of our favorite stars.
Who knows what other weird and wonderful things we’ll discover about them in the future? Until then, let’s appreciate that they’re just like us, with middle names that are sometimes just as strange.
For even more naming fun, keep reading. We’ve got some genuinely odd baby names that parents, unfortunately, chose for their children to share with you.
Thanos Skywalker
We understand that many people love movies from the Marvel and Star Wars franchises but we think things have been taken too far here. Thanos? Skywalker? One is bad enough but a double hit of nerdy pop culture references will not serve this baby well.
Wednesdaigh Adams
The Wednesdaigh spelling of Wednesday is infuriating. Why do new parents love to misspell everything. This name has been inspired by Wednesday Addams (two D’s not one) and the person who chose this name missed on both tries.
Mckelteigh Rayeleighanne and Drawsonne Lintleighmaye
“Love this beautiful portrait of our angles,” a social media caption reads. Then the parent drops these twins unholy names, Mckelteigh Rayeleighanne and Drawsonne Lintleighmaye. These two will be 16-years-old before they learn to spell them correctly. Yikes!
K-VIII-lyn
We are screaming over this one! According to this clipping, these parents always loved the name Kaitlyn but “hated how popular it was.” So, they decided to go with a unique spelling replacing “ait” with Roman numerals to form the number eight. Not gr-VIII!
Jizelle
Gisele is a French name from German “pledge.” The name was made famous by model Gisele Bündchen. We suppose this child’s parents failed to look up how it is spelled as their solution is going to cause a lot of problems when their daughter enters middle school. Giselle is another popular spelling of this name but it was Jizelle that landed on this cursed child’s birth certificate.
Nickalass
Here’s a screen grab of a Domino’s tracker that shows the employee’s name. We certainly hope Nickalass was homeschooled because the teasing would be relentless. What were his parents thinking?
Oaklyn, Lennyx, Lextyn, and Everyx
Come. sweet. death. This person shared her kids’ baby names on social media and they are so terrible that a person responded, “In my country you can’t choose every name for your child for this reason.” What prompted this response? The names Oaklyn, Lennyx, Lextyn, and Everyx. How does each name get even more horrific than the last?
Analiyah
This commenter on social media tried to save a life after stumbling across an’ intended baby name for a daughter. On a onesie, you will find the name Analiyah. “Just check the first 4 letters of her name before she’s born,” the commenter said. We hope the parent(s) heeded this warning.
Joshula
Someone was minding their own business one day, just watching an episode of Say Yes to the Dress when this name jumped out and committed an assault. Joshula Bunch is her name. We hope she takes her partner’s surname.
Rexalyn
This is a screenshot of a file with a person’s client’s name on it. Rexalyn. The parents who chose this baby name ought to be ashamed of themselves. Parents today are slapping Lyn or Lynn after any jumble of letters and calling them names. It’s not right and it’s not okay.
Malibu Barbie
If you’re not an extremely online person you might not know about the character that is Trisha Paytas. To be clear, she is a real person but has a really odd way of navigating the world. She chose the name Malibu Barbie for her daughter. Thoughts and prayers.
Blazeleigh Dayze
We could understand this name being used for a drag queen, in the same style as Laganja Estranja, but as a baby name, it’s not so hot. Do you think the parent(s) might have been enjoying the wacky tobacky when they cooked up this name?
Kharringtyn McKhynleigh Khaybryn
This graduating pre-schooler should have a bright future to look forward to. Sadly, her parent(s) ruined her life by naming her Kharringtyn McKhynleigh Khaybryn. Have mercy!
Pampas, Portabella, Incisor, and… Harold
Make it stop! This mom chose the names Pampas, a type of grass; Portabella, a type of mushroom; Incisor, a tooth; and Harold. Harold really dodged a bullet. This person clearly has a talent for choosing horrible baby names. Unbelievable.
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16 and Counting…
Crimes against humanity have been committed by these two parents with seven biological kids and nine adopted ones. There are som pretty normal names in the mix, we assume they were chosen by the adopted children’s biological parents? Of the more “colorful,” uh, ones are PaisLee, NayVee, SaiDee, LiLee, KassaDee, JourNee, and ElleCee. These parents have condemned many souls to hell.
Syrynyty
“Straight from my high school yearbook. not pictured: her older sister named trynyty (not a joke),” a person captioned this image. Syrynyty and Trynyty? Who in this family has a kink for the letter Y? These baby names are wyld!
Kynlieghy
This celebratory birthday sign has been marred by one of the worst baby names on this list. How do you even say the name Kynlieghy? Ken-lye-guy? Ken-lee-ee? People are probably honking for all the wrong reasons.
Mahreahannah
The compound baby name Marianna has been in use since ancient Roman times. This abomination tries but fails to improve on the classic. Mahreahannah just doesn’t roll off the tongue. We feel bad for the name tag the appellation is printed on.
Idea
They must have been fresh out of them. Can you imagine having the name Idea? “What a dumb Idea,” and “Bird-brained Idea,” are two phrases I hope this innocent child never hears.
DeBruh
In case you think that stupid names are a modern trend, we ask you to look at the name DeBruh that belongs to a middle-aged woman from the upper midwest. You good, Bruh?
Kern-Leigh
Meet Kern-Leigh’s Barbie birthday cake. We wish he a happy birthday and that her name never existed. It’s too close to kernel for comfort. Do better, parents.
Mandalorian Michael
No, this Michael is not from Mandalore. At least he is not named Baby Yoda or Grogu. We do however appreciate a bit of alliteration, so there’s that.
Sthefany
We have seen the name Stephanie spelled many ways. There’s Stephani, Stephany, Stephanni, Steffani, etc. Sthefany takes the cake as the dumbest possible option. We hope this Instacart shopper is okay. If you ever book a shopper with a name that is this unfortunate, please tip them well. They need all the help they can get.
Rebel Wilson Et Al.
You might have thought that Rebel Wilson was chosen as the stage name for the Australian actor. It turns out there’s much more to it. Rebel is actually her birth name and her siblings are named Ryot, Annachi, and Liberty. Now we know why she has such an incredible sense of humor!
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Loeealtee
Our final bad baby name on this list is Loeealtee which is such a mystery to us we don’t even know how to touch it. Is it supposed to be an elaboration of Loyalty? If so, shame on you, parents. Is it pronounced Low-ee-all-tee? Steeped in stupidity by any metric.
In conclusion, it’s clear that parents are becoming more creative when it comes to naming their children. While some of these names may be seen as odd or even ridiculous, it’s important to remember that the most important thing is that the child is loved and cared for. And who knows, perhaps one day we’ll see some of these strange monikers become the new “normal”. Until then, we’ll be keeping an eye out for any new bizarre baby names that come our way.