People are only just realising Ken’s real name – and he even has a star sign

Have you ever wondered if Ken has a surname?

Well it turns out the famous doll actually has a middle and last name.

Now Barbie fans might be shocked to learn he's also been named after a real person.

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Ken's full name is Kenneth Sean Carson, and he was named after the son of Barbie creator Ruth Handler.

The creator also co-founded Mattel with her husband Elliot.

It first hit shelves in March 1961 – making him a Pisces – just two years after Mattel first realised the Barbie doll.

The creation of Ken came after complaints written to Mattel that Barbie was a single woman.

Barbie director Greta Gerwig told Vogue: "Ken was invented after Barbie, to burnish Barbie's position in our eyes and in the world.

"That kind of creation myth is the opposite of the creation myth in Genesis."

The first Ken doll wore a red bathing suit and cork sandals, looking ready to hit the beach.

But the original Ken claimed to be nothing like the beach-bum doll named after him.

He told Los Angeles Times in 1989: "Ken doll is Malibu.

"He goes to the beach and surfs. He is all these perfect American things."

Meanwhile Kenneth Handler didn't do those things, he enjoyed playing the piano and went to movies with subtitles.

Ken is sold 12inches tall, half an inch taller than his girlfriend. The pair are from the fictional town of Willows, Wisconsin.

Although Barbie and Ken have been recognised as lovers, their namesakes are actually siblings.

And Barbie, whose full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts, was named after Handler's daughter Barbara, Kenneth Handler's sister.

The plastic doll made her debut on March 9, 1959, and that also makes her a Pisces.

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