From Pirate and Hercules: Can you guess these celebrity middle names?

From Cloud de Bounevialle to Pirate and Hercules: Can you guess which celebrities these VERY unusual middle names belong to?

In the world of celebrity, it’s not uncommon for stars to change their names when they hit the big time.

From names handed down through generations to rocking a completely self-chosen moniker, often a person’s name can get people talking just as much as what they do.

And it’s not just their first and surnames, as several famous faces are the owners of some rather unusual and quirky middle names.

One famous singer has the very grand middle name of Cloud de Bounevialle.

Another is the proud owner of the moniker Hercules while a huge chart-topper rocks the middle name Pirate. But can you guess who these names belong to?

From colours to family members and even an appellation identical to their first name, MailOnline takes a look at the surprising middle names of celebrities…

Dido

Now that’s a mouthful: Dido’s full name is in fact Florian Cloud de Bounevialle O’Malley Armstrong

The White Flag singer, 51, already rocks an unusual moniker, but Dido is actually just a nickname.

Dido’s full name is in fact Florian Cloud de Bounevialle O’Malley Armstrong.

The star has told how she considers this her real name, named after the Queen of Carthage in Virgil’s Aeneid, and has gone by Dido since childhood after being bullied over her name.

Dido, daughter of Clare – a poet of French ancestry – and Irish publisher William O’Malley Armstrong previously told how her her name was one of the most ‘irritating’ things her parents ever did to her, admitting she was ’embarrassed’ by it growing up.

In an interview with The Guardian back in 2001, she said of her name: ‘To be called one thing and christened another is actually very confusing and annoying. It’s one of the most irritating things that my parents did to me. 

‘I’m still irritated by it. Florian is a German man’s name. That’s just mean. To give your child a whole lot of odd names. They were all so embarrassing.’

Despite going by Dido these days, the star told how she also hated this when she was younger, noting how it was ‘cruel’ to call her that and that when she was younger, she even pretended to be called Claire. 

Elton John

Change: Like Dido, Elton, 75, sports a completely different name to the one he was born with, his real name being Reginald Kenneth Dwight – however, it’s said the singer didn’t feel it had star quality

Like Dido, Elton, 75, sports a completely different name to the one he was born with, his real name being Reginald Kenneth Dwight – however, it’s said the singer didn’t feel it had star quality.

He also said the name held ‘unhappy memories’, stating in a 1987 interview: ‘When I became Elton John, it was like a new lease on life. I didn’t particularly like being Reg Dwight. It had too many unhappy memories.’

He legally changed his name to Elton John in 1972, paying homage to two members of the blues band Bluesology: saxophonist Elton Dean and vocalist Long John Baldry. 

Meanwhile, his middle name wasn’t named after the mythical hero as many might guess, but it was after a horse featured in British sitcom Steptoe and Son.

Billie Eilish

Cool: While Billie Eilish is a pretty cool name in itself, the 21-year-old Ocean Eyes hitmaker’s full name is actually Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O’Connell

While Billie Eilish is a pretty cool name in itself, the 21-year-old Ocean Eyes hitmaker’s full name is actually Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O’Connell.

The star uses her middle name as her surname, while her other two names are Pirate and Baird – with Baird being her mother’s last name. 

Pirate meanwhile was the nickname her older brother Finneas gave her while she was still in her mother’s womb, with Billie later stating that the moniker was ‘pretty weird’.

In a 2017 BBC interview, Billie spoke about her name, explaining: ‘Pretty weird, right? Pirate was going to be my middle name but then my uncle had a problem with it because pirates are bad. Then Baird is my mother’s name.’

Kate Hudson

Heartbreaking history: The glamorous Hollywood star, 43, has a middle name that many would ever expect – Garry

The glamorous Hollywood star, 43, has a middle name that many would ever expect – Garry.

While many may raise eyebrows at the name, there is actually a heartbreaking story behind it.

Kate’s mother – the actress Goldie Hawn – decided to name her girl in tribute to her beloved late uncle Garry, who died shortly before Kate’s birth. 

James Corden 

Not what you’d expect: TV star James Corden has the rather surprising middle name, Kimberley

TV star James Corden has the rather surprising middle name, Kimberley. 

However, it’s not unusual in his own family as the comedian previously 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.

He said of the name: ‘Every man in my family has it – it’s a tradition. For ages I pretended it was Karl, but my sister was going out with one of my mates and told him, then he told the whole school. It wasn’t great.’

Macaulay Culkin

Genius: Believe it or not, Macaulay’s real name is Macaulay Macaulay Culkin Culkin

Believe it or not, Macaulay’s real name is Macaulay Macaulay Culkin Culkin.

His given middle name was actually Carson, but Macaulay wasn’t a fan of it, tweeting in 2018: ‘My middle name is something dumb. Larry? Orange? Honestly, I can’t even remember it.’ 

That same year, the Home Alone actor, 42, conducted a fan poll to legally change his middle name, with the star revealing he’d choose from the top five names, which were: ‘Publicity Stunt, TheMcRibIsBack, Kieran, Shark Week and Macaulay Culkin.’ 

On Christmas Day, he tweeted his new official name, writing: ‘Merry Christmas to me, from all of you! My new middle name has been chosen. You voted and the winner is clear. In 2019 my new legal name will be: Macaulay Macaulay Culkin Culkin. It has a nice ring to it (if you like my name).’

Adele

Mixing it up: While Adele is such a megastar that just one name will suffice, her full moniker is in fact Adele Laurie Blue Adkins

While Adele is such a megastar that just one name will suffice, her full moniker is in fact Adele Laurie Blue Adkins.

The Grammy-winning singer previously Adele told British Vogue in 2012 that Blue was almost her first name.

Richard Gere

Like James Corden, Hollywood heartthrob Richard Gere was given a middle name traditionally used by the opposite sex, with his name being Tiffany.

The Pretty Woman star doesn’t use his middle name in his professional career, with the moniker actually being his mother’s maiden name.

Different: Like James Corden, Hollywood heartthrob Richard Gere was given a middle name traditionally used by the opposite sex, with his name being Tiffany

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