Cher has shared a shocking discovery about her name. In her new memoir, Cher: The Memoir, Part One, the 78-year-old icon reveals a mix-up on her birth certificate. For years, she believed her name was Cherilyn Sarkisian. But in 1979, she learned her real name was officially “Cheryl.”
Cher made the discovery when applying to legally change her name to “Cher.” She was stunned when she saw the name “Cheryl” on the document. “I believed Cherilyn was my name,” she wrote.
The confusion started at her birth in 1946. Her 19-year-old mother, Georgia Holt, had a difficult labor. Exhausted, she wasn’t ready when a nurse asked for the baby’s name. “She didn’t know,” Cher explained. “The nurse pushed her for an answer, so she said, ‘How about Cherilyn?’”
When Cher told her mother about the mix-up, Holt laughed. “I was a teenager in pain,” she said. “Give me a break.”
In 1979, Cher officially changed her name. She also dropped her last names, Sarkisian, Bono, and Allman. She told The Tonight Show: “I like being Cher. It’s simple and just me.”
Cher’s memoir also honors her late mother. Holt passed away in 2022 at 96. Cher recalls learning life lessons from her mom, who shared stories of her own mistakes and successes.
Cher: The Memoir, Part One is available now. Fans can learn more about the singer’s remarkable life in her own words.
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