Celebrities With The Weirdest Middle Names
Do you like your middle name? Most people I know have a love-hate relationship with the name that their parents thought was okay, but not good enough to be their first name. Lots of celebrities have similar feelings about their own middle names. Keep reading to find out which celebs have way longer names than you would have guessed.
Also, find out which celebrity is literally named after a piece of meat and a jellybean.
Kobe Bean Bryant
Believe it or not, Kobe Bryant's parents named him after the famous, super tender beef of Kobe, Japan, which they saw on a restaurant menu. His middle name, Bean, is derived from his father's nickname "Jellybean".
Basically, Kobe Bryant is named after food. I hope he likes beef and jellybeans, although he probably doesn't like them together. Beef first and jellybeans for dessert seems like the way to go.
Elton Hercules John
Elton John's birth name is actually Reginald Kenneth Dwight. He changed his name to Elton John in homage to two members of Bluesology: saxophonist Elton Dean and vocalist Long John Baldry. He legally changed his name to Elton Hercules John on 7 January 1972.
He didn't choose the middle name Hercules because of the figure from Greek mythology. He picked it because of a horse named Hercules on the British sitcom Steptoe and Son.
Elizabeth Stamatina Fey
This actress who you know as Tina Fey has a pretty unusual full name. She goes by a shortened version of her middle name, but her full name is Elizabeth Stamatina Fey.
Stamatina is a Greek name derived from the word "stamato" meaning "stop." Maybe Tina's parents wanted people to "stop" and take notice of their daughter, which we totally did. Tina's comedy definitely makes you stop in your tracks.
Benjamin Géza Affleck-Boldt
Ben Affleck's middle name is Géza. He spoke about his unusual middle name with The Boston Herald a few years ago.
Ben said, "My parents named me after a Hungarian friend of theirs named Géza. When I got to be in the fourth or fifth grade I threw a huge fit and I was like, 'You are the worst namer of people in the world!' … Everybody calls me, ‘Ben-Gay’ … This was way before being gay was as cool as it is now."
Kit Catesby Harington
Kit Harington, the man who plays Jon Snow on Game of Thrones, was named Christopher Catesby Harington. His mother named him after Christopher Marlowe, whose first name was shortened to Kit. His parents always called him Kit and he didn't find out what his actual full name was until he was eleven years old.
Catesby was his mother's maiden name. I think it's cute as a middle name.
Quincy Delight Jones
Delight is a pretty odd middle name, but I have to say that I kind of like it. I can tell you that Quincy Delight Jones is named after his father, Quincy Delight Jones Sr. I'm not sure why Quincy Jones' grandparents liked the name Delight so much.
The weird middle name tradition must have stopped with Quincy, because his daughter, Rashida Jones, has a pretty ordinary middle name. It's Leah.
Fred Christ Trump
At first glance, it seems a little bit weird that Donald Trump's father's middle name is Christ. I guess it makes sense that the man who raised Donald Trump would have a god complex.
In reality, Fred Trump's middle name is his mother's maiden name. That's right, Fred was the son of Frederick Trump and Elizabeth Christ. Also, you should probably know that Fred Trump was the son of German Lutheran immigrants.
Willard Carroll Smith II
First of all, can we all take a minute to appreciate that Will Smith's first name is Willard? Who knew? Willard is simultaneously a nerdier and cooler name than William, and for some reason, it feels perfect for Will Smith.
Also, his middle name is Carroll, which is interesting. Will Smith was named after his father, Willard Carroll Smith I. When you have an epic name, it only makes sense to pass it along to your son.
Kate Garry Hudson
First of all, it's important that we note that Kate Hudson's full first name is actually Kate. It's not Katherine. it's not Katelyn. It's just Kate. Kate is named after her mother Goldie Hawn's beloved uncle, who passed away just before Kate was born.
I think Garry is a pretty cute middle name for a little girl. Yeah, it's masculine, but it isn't too masculine. It has a nice ring to it.
Nicolas Kim Cage
Nicolas Cage was born Nicolas Kim Coppola on January 7, 1964. That's right, Nic Cage is part of the famous Coppola family. He changed his last name because he wanted to make it in the business on his own merit.
His name change was partially inspired by the Marvel Comics superhero Luke Cage. Interestingly, Nicolas' most recent ex-wife's last name is Kim, so for a while there it may have looked like Nic took his wife's last name as his middle name.
Milton Teagle "Richard" Simmons
I have no idea how the name Milton Teagle turned into the name Richard. I just now that Milton Simmons just doesn't have the same ring to it. Milton doesn't seem like a guy who would be jazzersizing in colorful spandex suits.
Now that I think about it, the name Richard doesn't really scream "fun" either, but at least it's more fun than Milton. I kind of like the middle name Teagle.
Richard Tiffany Gere
This one is a little bit of a copout. Yes Richard Gere's middle name is Tiffany, and yes, he sheepishly revealed this fact on a British talk show as though it was embarrassing to have a female middle name, but Tiffany is actually his mother's maiden name.
What I don't understand is that Gere's parents had three girls. Why not just give one of them the name Tiffany? None of them are named Tiffany.
Crispin Hellion Glover
Crispin Glover is known for playing eccentric characters on screen, such as George McFly in Back to the Future, Layne in River's Edge, and Bobby McBurney in What's Eating Gilbert Grape.
Crispin's middle name is Hellion. His parents named him after the Saint Crispin's Day speech from William Shakespeare's play Henry V. Crispin's father used to use the name "Hellion" as his own fake middle name because he didn't like his real Germanic middle name, Herbert.
Hilary Erhard Duff
Yup, Hilary Duff's middle name is Erhard. Erhard is a masculine Germanic name which is made up of the words for "honor, respect" or "army" combined with "brave" and "hardy."
Erhard is also Hilary Duff's father's middle name. Hilary's older sister, Haylie's middle name is Katherine, which is far more normal than Erhard. I think Hilary got the short end of the stick on that one. Erhard is an okay name, but I don't think it really suits Hilary.
Rain Joan Of Ark Phoenix
Rain Joan of Arc Phoenix (known professionally as Rain Phoenix) is an American actress, musician, and singer. She has two sisters, Liberty and Summer, and two brothers, actors Joaquin and River Phoenix. With names like that you know this entire family just had to go into show business.
Rain's father's last name was originally Bottom, but the whole family changed their surname to Phoenix, which is just way cooler sounding.
Jennifer Shrader Lawrence
Jennifer Lawrence hasn't talked publicly about her unusual middle name, but we can only assume that it's a family name of some sort. I think Shrader is a pretty bomb middle name. It'a way better than something boring like Anne or Josephine. )No offense if your middle name is Anne or Josephine).
I think J-Law wears her middle name well. Somehow it really suits her, even though she doesn't use it as her stage name.
Ciara Princess Harris
American singer, songwriter, dancer, and model Ciara was given the name Ciara Princess Harris. We have very little information as to why Ciara's parents chose to give her the middle name Princess. I guess they just liked the name. At least they didn't choose Princess as her first name.
The name Ciara is very pretty, though. I think it's especially nice spelled with a "C" rather than an "S." It's nice with an "S' too, though.
Mel Colmcille Gerard Gibson
First of all, Mel Gibson's first name is just Mel. Not Melvin, not Melanie, just Mel. His name is derived from Saint Mel, a fifth-century Irish saint, and founder of Gibson's mother's religious district in Ireland.
His second name, Colmcille, is also the name of an Irish saint, and it's the name of the Aughnacliffe parish in County Longford where Gibson's mother was born. That's a lot of names for one person.
Kiefer William Frederick Dempsey George Rufus Sutherland
Well, if you thought Mel Gibson had a lot of names, wait until you hear what Kiefer Sutherland's parents did to their son. This guy has more names than Dumbledore (whose full name is Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, by the way). His full name is Kiefer William Frederick Dempsey George Rufus Sutherland.
Sutherland is named after American writer and director Warren Kiefer, who directed his father, Donald Sutherland in his first feature film, Castle of the Living Dead. I'm not sure what's going on with all those other names.
Matt Paige Damon
Matthew Paige Damon was born to Kent Telfer Damon and Nancy Carlsson-Paige in 1970. His mother is partially Finnish and Swedish. Her original last name was Pajari, but it was changed to Paige when the family moved to America.
Matt Damon's middle name is really just his mother's maiden name. Yeah, it's kind of a girls' name, but I think Matt Damon wears it well. It would have been cool if he named his daughter Paige.
Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods
Tiger Woods was born in 1975 to parents named Kultida and Earl Woods. Kultida is originally from Thailand, and Earl met her there when he was on a tour of duty.
Woods' first name—Eldrick—was chosen by his mother because it began with "E" (for Earl) and ended with "K" (for Kultida). His middle name, Tont, is a traditional Thai name. He was given the nickname Tiger in honor of his father's friend Col. Vuong Dang Phong, who had also been known as Tiger.
Courteney Bass Cox
Courteney Cox is the daughter of Richard Lewis Cox and Courteney Copeland (née Bass). Even though Cox has two older sisters, she was the lucky one who got to be named after her own mother. She also got to keep her mother's maiden name as her middle name.
What I want to know is why both Courteney Cox and her mother insist on spelling their first name with an extra "e."
Drew Allison Carey
I'm not sure why Drew Carey's parents decided to give him the middle name Allison. Once upon a time, the name Allison was a boy's name, but now it's a name that's mostly reserved for girls and women.
I think Drew Carey pulls off the middle name Allison pretty well. It seems like a very high class middle name. It's a middle name a New Yorker editor would have.
Martin Hayter Short
Comedian Martin Short's middle name is literally "Hayter,' but I don't think Martin Short has ever been a hater in his whole life.
I don't think he's ever met a hater either. Who doesn't love Martin Short? Hayter was actually Martin Short's mother's maiden name. I'm starting to see a trend here. I don't know if the name "Hayter" is worth passing on, though. I guess that's why Short didn't include it in his stage name.
Hugh John Mungo Grant
I don't know how you feel about the middle name "Mungo," but I can tell you that Hugh Grant absolutely loves it. He loves it so much that he passed it along to his own son. It looks like Mungo is going to be a family name now. Or maybe it always was.
I hope there are lots more Mungo Grants for years to come. You have to admit, it's a pretty cool name.
Pharrell Lanscilo Williams
I'm not sure what the story is behind Pharrell Williams' unique middle name. I kind of like it. It's not much more unusual than "Pharrell." If we can get used to "Pharrell" we can get used to Lanscilo.
Pharrell's father's name is Pharaoh, which is also a very cool name (that is just a little too similar to "Pharrell"). Pharrell's gotten this far with his weird middle name, so I really don't think that it's holding him back.
Joseph Robinette Biden Jr.
I have never ever heard the name "Robinette" before. The name was actually passed down from Biden's father, Joseph Robinette Biden Sr. The name "Robinette" was Biden's grandmother's maiden name. I kind of like it.
I don't think I'd like it as a first name, but as a middle name or a last name, it kind of works. It sounds like a little version of Batman's sidekick or a tiny little bird.
Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton Wykeham Fiennes
Ralph Fiennes, AKA Lord Voldemort, has three middle names, and two of them are downright crazy. Twisleton? Wykeham? Weird middle names seem to be a thing in the Fiennes family because Ralph's brother, Joseph Fiennes' full name is Joseph Alberic Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes.
I think this name is more of a super long last name than a middle name, but it's pretty unusual, so it's staying on this list.
Uma Karuna Thurman
Uma Karuna Thurman's first name literally means splendor and light in Sanskrit. It's also an epithet of one of the Hindu goddesses. Her middle name, Karuna, means compassion or empathy in Sanskrit. Her father is a professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies, so that's where all the Sanskrit came from. He lived as an ordained Buddhist monk for three years.
When Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke were marred, Hawke dedicated his book Ash Wednesday to "Karuna."
Nicholas Caradoc Hoult
Nicholas Hoult's middle name "Caradoc" is a Welsh name that means "the beloved one." The name is actually pronounced more like "kerawdik." Sometimes the names you think are weird are totally normal names in a different language.
I think Nicholas Caradoc Hoult wears his name well. His first name and his last name are pretty normal, so it's nice that his middle name can spice things up (even though Welsh names aren't very spicy).
