Celebrities often change their names when they get into showbusiness, but whether their names are self-chosen or gifted by parents - many of them have very unusual middle names. From celebrities whose middle names are identical to their first name, to celebrities named after family members of the opposite sex, there are many 'different' choices out there.
One celebrity has a colour for a middle name, another chose his middle name for a TV horse.
Online games site Unscrambled Words has researched some of the most bizarre, unique, and just plain right funny celebrity middle names.
How many of these did you know?
Adele
Full name: Adele Laurie Blue Adkins
It's weird to think that Grammy award-winning singer Adele has any other names at all when in fact, she has two middle names, Laurie and Blue. Adele told British Vogue in 2012 that Blue was almost her first name – could this have inspired Beyonce to name her daughter Blue Ivy Carter?
Billie Eilish
Full name: Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O'Connell
Singer Billie Eilish's last name isn't Eilish; it is O'Connell. The singer adopted her middle name, Eilish, as her stage name. Her middle name, Pirate, was given to her after her brother Finneas called her Pirate while she was still in her mother's womb.
Macauley Culkin
Full name: Macaulay Macaulay Culkin Culkin
Yes, you read that right. Home Alone star Macaulay Culkin is officially called Macaulay Macaulay Culkin Culkin. The actor legally changed his after fans voted in a public poll, beating "Shark Week" and "Kieran".
Elton John
Full name: Elton Hercules John
British singer Elton John was born Reginald Kenneth Dwight, but he felt the name didn't have any star quality. He later changed it to Elton John to pay homage to two members of the blues band Bluesology: saxophonist Elton Dean and vocalist Long John Baldry. He chose the middle name Hercules after he saw a horse called Hercules on the sitcom show Steptoe and Son.
Kate Hudson
Full name: Kate Garry Hudson
American actress Kate Hudson has an unconventional middle name, Garry. However, there is a reason for this. Her mother, Goldie Hawn, gave her this middle name as her late uncle, Garry, passed away just before Kate was born.
Richard Gere
Rull name: Richard Tiffany Gere
Star of Pretty Woman, Sommersby, and Runaway Bride, Richard Gere didn't choose to include his rather unusual middle name, Tiffany, in his professional career. He was given this middle name as it was his mother's maiden name.
James Corden
Full Name: James Kimberley Corden
Actor and TV host James Corden has a surprising middle name, Kimberley. However, the comedian revealed on The Late Late Show in 2019 that his family has a tradition of passing down the middle name to sons born into the family.
Other funny, unique, or bizarre celebrity middle names:
Celebrity |
Full Name |
Ralph Fiennes |
Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton Wykeham Fiennes |
Dido |
Florian Cloud de Bounevialle O'Malley Armstrong |
Ben Affleck |
Ben Geza Affleck |
Tina Fey |
Elizabeth Stamatina Fey |
Hugh Grant |
Hugh John Mungo Grant |
Matt Damon |
Matt Page Damon |
Hilary Duff |
Hilary Erhard Duff |
Courteney Cox |
Courteney Bass Cox |
Jennifer Lawrence |
Jennifer Shrader Lawrence |
Nicolas Cage |
Nicolas Kim Coppola |
Nicholas Hoult |
Nicholas Caradoc Hoult |
Kristen Stewart |
Kristen Jaymes Stewart |
Drew Barrymore |
Drew Blyth Barrymore |
Leonardo DiCaprio |
Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio |
Beyonce |
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter |
Will Smith |
Willard Carroll Smith |
A spokesperson for Unscrambled Words said: "Many celebrities, such as Reese Witherspoon, go by their middle name (her real name is Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon), yet some stars completely ignore their middle names altogether.
"Some middle names pay homage to a close friend or relative, while others are random and creative."
