People are just realising Miley Cyrus' birth name – it's not what you think

Fans have been left stunned after learning Grammy-winning singer legally changed her in 2008 when she was just 16.

The revelation came when a clip of the 31-year-old actress expressing her distaste for her birth name resurfaced on . The 2008 interview with sees the Wrecking Ball singer address what made her decide to change her moniker. While backstage with Miley at one of her concerts, the interviewer asked her what she had legally changed her name to. The Hannah Montana star replied: "Miley. What I've always been called, yeah."

She can then be seen making a sick gesture before explaining her parents originally named her Destiny Hope Cyrus. She joked: "Never again, it doesn't technically legally count!"

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Miley opened up about the inspiration behind her original name on an episode of Netflix's ‘My Next Guest Needs No Introduction With David Letterman’ in 2024. Letterman said to the Flowers vocalist: "Let me ask you: Destiny Hope Cyrus. What was going on there?"

Miley joked in response: "It's a big shoe to fill.” Going into more detail, the pop icon revealed how her mum, Tish Cyrus, and her dad, country music star , chose the name for her because they believed her destiny was to bring hope to the .

Letterman replied: "That's lovely but a lot to load on a kid." Miley agreed, telling the host: "It is lovely. It is a lot but I do think that from the beginning it set an intention, which we don't always have."

Miley chose her new moniker thanks to a nickname given by her family. She explained that her parents called her Smiley because of her sunny disposition, which turned into Miley. The singer filed a petition in the Los Angeles Superior Court to have her name legally changed to Miley Ray Cyrus in March 2008 when she was 15, according to court documents obtained by . Her request was granted in May the same year.

The short clip of Miley’s scorn over her previous name caused surprise as fans raced to share their surprise that the singer once went by a different name.

One viewer commented: “I never even knew that was her name before." Another user added: "I never knew this." Someone else penned: “Why am I just finding this out."

Miley isn't the only actor and musician to go by a different name to the one they were given at birth. Take Marshal Mathers for instance, better known as , or , who was actually born Winona Laura Horowitz.

Sometimes it's because celebs don’t think their name has enough ‘star appeal’ to stand out among the crowd, while others really don’t like their given moniker and are keen to change it the first chance they get.

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