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Liverpool Echo

Entertainment

Beth Ure

Unusual and little-known middle names of celebs including Adele and Billie Eilish

Billie Eilish Kate Hudson Blue Ivy Carter Elton Hercules John Elton John Hilary Duff James Corden Macaulay Culkin Matt Damon Richard Gere

Did you know Kate Hudson's middle name is Garry or that Hilary Duff's is Erhard?

Middle names can sometimes be a bit odd, with more and more parents using them to express their creativity and follow their favourite celebs and their unusual naming habits. But did you know, a lot of celebs have unusual middles names themselves!

From the weird to the wonderful, online games site Unscrambled Words has researched some of the most bizarre, unique, and just plain funny celebrity middle names. Some were given to them at birth and some were even chosen themselves when they changed their names, but how many of these did you already know?

Adele

Full name: Adele Laurie Blue Adkins

Very few people know Adele's surname, and even fewer will be aware of her 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?

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Billie Eilish

Full name: Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O'Connell

Yep, Eilish is actually one of her middle names, not her surname. 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 mum's womb.

Macaulay 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 name after fans voted in a public poll, beating "Shark Week" and "Kieran" - which is his brother's name.

Elton John

Full name: Elton Hercules John

Fans of the film Rocketman will know that Elton John was actually 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 sentimental 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

Full name: Richard Tiffany Gere

Star of Pretty Woman, Sommersby, and Runaway Bride, among many others, 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."

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