Fans of Miley Cyrus are just now discovering that the popular ‘Flowers’ singer legally changed her name while she was still part of Disney Channel.
Miley, who is the daughter of famous country singer Billy Ray Cyrus and his ex-wife Tish Cyrus-Purcell, gained fame playing Miley Stewart and her pop star alter-ego Hannah Montana in the Disney Channel show of the same name.
After wrapping up her time on the show, the now 31-year-old artist has collected two Grammy Awards, three MTV VMAs, and several notable Spotify Plaques.
Even though she grew up in the limelight, there are still many aspects of the ‘Party in the USA’ singer’s life that fans are unaware of.
Interestingly, one such detail is that Miley changed her legal name at the age of 16.
In a 2008 interview clip, Miley discusses her name change with Entertainment Tonight.
Entertainment Tonight interviewed the singer backstage at one of her concerts, asking her about her new legal name. Miley responded: “Miley. What I’ve always been called, yeah.”
She then pretended to gag before revealing her birth name was Destiny Hope Cyrus.
She joked: “Never again, it doesn’t technically legally count!”
This revelation continues to surprise fans, as seen when a user on X commented: “Welp. At trivia, I learned that the mustang came out before the Camaro….and Miley Cyrus’s real name is Destiny. WTF.”
Another user was astonished: “You’re telling me Miley Cyrus’s real name is Destiny Hope and not Miley?!?!”
Someone else added: “Yeah Destiny Hope…Miley comes from the nickname Smiley she had as a kid. no idea why I know that,” while another said: “Miley Cyrus’s real name being Destiny still tickles me. She looks nothing like a Destiny.”
A fan expressed: “Miley Cyrus’ real name is Destiny Hope and she’s also a Sagittarius and I wanna hug her someday.”
In the interview, Cyrus also mentioned her middle name was Ray, ‘just like her dad’.
It turns out, however, that ‘Ray’ isn’t a tribute to the ‘Achy Breaky Heart’ singer.
Instead, it was chosen to honor her grandfather and late Democratic politician Ronald Ray Cyrus, who passed away in 2006, two years before Miley changed her name officially.
Earlier this year, the former child star was recognized as the youngest person to receive Disney Legend status at the D23 fan convention.
In her acceptance speech, she remarked: “I stand here still proud to have been Hannah Montana.”
“This award is dedicated to Hannah and all of her amazing, loyal fans, and to everyone who has made my dream a reality.”