Cher left stunned after finding out her own real name after years of confusion

Cher was left "shocked" to discover her real name was not what she believed it to be. The iconic 78-year-old star, known internationally as Cherilyn Sarkisian, found out through a jaw-dropping revelation when she sought her birth certificate in 1979.

As she geared up to officially change her name to match her stage persona, Cher learned she was actually registered as Cheryl, reports the Mirror. Revealing all in an excerpt from her book 'Cher: The Memoir, Part One' previewed by People magazine, Cher said: "I believed Cherilyn was my name until the day years later when I decided to legally change my name to simply Cher."

The unexpected twist in her identity came after her mother, Georgia Holt, gave birth to Cher a month prematurely and emerged from a gruelling labour, utterly "exhausted". As Georgia recuperated, still reeling from the pain of childbirth without any relief, a nurse enquired about the baby girl's future name.

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A weary Georgia, who was 19 at the time, had no name in mind, but under pressure she made a spontaneous choice inspired by her admiration for Lana Turner and a nod to family names, as recounted by Cher: "My mother had no idea, but the woman insisted so she replied, 'Well, Lana Turner's my favorite actress and her little girl's called Cheryl. My mother's name is Lynda, so how about Cherilyn?'"

Upon her first glance at the birth certificate, decades later, the Believe singer questioned her mother: "Do you even know my real name, Mom?"

Cher described how her mother, who died aged 96 in December 2022, seized the document, perused it, and merely shrugged off the perplexity with a candid response that encapsulated her human vulnerability: "I was only a teenager, and I was in a lot of pain. Give me a break."

Despite the surprises and challenges, Cher has often expressed pride in how her mother managed their festive celebrations, celebrating her for doing such a "good job" over the Christmases they shared. Speaking to OK! magazine, Cher said: "We were really poor. But my mom always managed to do a good job. She saved her money and mostly that went into Christmas time for my sister and myself. You don't have to have a lot of money to have a fun time at Christmas."

The iconic singer and actress also shared tales of her childhood escapades, including a daring adventure at the age of nine. "When I was nine years old, I decided was going to run away from school. I talked my friend into going on a journey, like going on an adventure, and we hopped on a freight train," she said. "I had no idea where was going. l'd thrown my lunchbox away, which my mom was more angry about than anything else, and then we just rode this train until my friend started crying because it got dark.

"So I called my mom and she was like, 'Cher! What? You're where? What have you done? Oh my God. I wasn't running away, I was going to come home but just wanted to have the adventure. I was a wild child."

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