Cher Reveals She Was Shocked to Learn What Her Real Name Was

Cher is revealing what her real birth name was.

The 78-year-old entertainer has been very open in her new memoir, “Cher: The Memoir, Part One,” and that includes a story about her name.

For many years, Cher was under the impression her name was Cherilyn, but when she went to legally change it to just Cher, she learned that her legal name was a little bit different.

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“I believed Cherilyn was my name until the day years later when I decided to legally change my name to simply Cher,” she wrote in her book, recalling she felt “shocked” at her discovery that it was Cheryl.

She went on to explain that her 19-year-old mother went into labor with her a month early and had a long, unmedicated labor.

“She was exhausted by the time I arrived at around 7:30 a.m. on Monday, May 20,” Cher said in her book.

The actress and singer added that while her mother was recovering from the birth, a nurse visited, asking for a name.

“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?’” Cher recalled.

However, when she learned that legally her name was wrong on her birth certificate, she asked her mom about it, to which she replied, “I was only a teenager, and I was in a lot of pain. Give me a break.”

Other tidbits Cher has revealed in her book include the one celebrity who broke up with her, and why she divorced her ex Gregg Allman after just nine days.