Cher finally confirms real name after ‘unexpected’ birth certificate mix-up

Celine Dion sings along to Cher at the Billboard Music Awards

Cher disclosed her shock after discovering her real name was completely different from what she had initially thought. 

The iconic singer revealed that she grew up thinking her birth name was Cherilyn after a huge birth certificate mix-up. 

However, after landing her life-changing hit, the 78-year-old discovered that Cherilyn wasn’t her real name at all. 

In her new book, Cher: The Memoir, Part One, the Believe star detailed how she found her actual birth name when legally changing it in the late 70s. 

After digging out her birth certificate to make the switch, the hitmaker discovered that she was actually born Cheryl, instead of Cherylin. 

Cher changed her name in the late 70s (Image: Getty)

In her memoir, Cher explains that her mother Georgia Holt was just 19 when she had given birth to her and blamed it on the long and painful delivery. 

She detailed that a nurse had approached the weary new mum once her daughter had been born and asked for her baby's name.

“My mother had no idea, but the woman insisted so she replied, ‘Well, Lana Turner‘s my favourite actress and her little girl’s called Cheryl. My mother’s name is Lynda, so how about Cherilyn?’”

Cher wrote: “I believed Cherilyn was my name until the day years later when I decided to legally change my name to simply Cher.”

Cher recently released a new memoir (Image: Getty)

The star added that she was “shocked” to look at her birth certificate and find the nurse had actually registered her as “Cheryl.”

After Cher quizzed her mother on the mix-up, she said that Georgia responded: “I was only a teenager, and I was in a lot of pain. Give me a break.”

The If I Could Turn Back Time hitmaker legally changed her name to Cher in 1979. 

In addition to dropping her birth name, the singer also removed her four last names, including her birth surname, Sarkisian, the surname of her stepfather, LaPiere, and those of her ex-husbands, Sonny Bono and Gregg Allman.