Cher Was 'Shocked' Upon Learning Her Legal Name After Hospital Mix-Up

Cher is sharing all the details of her impressive life in her new memoir, titled Cher: The Memoir, Part One, including the truth about her birth name that resulted from a hospital miscommunication.

Fans are learning a lot about the star as they read her new book, which was released on Nov. 19. One particular story recounted a surprising bit of information Cher learned when she tried to legally change her name.

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In the late '70s, after Cher already gained great acclaim for her music and projects like The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour, she decided to legally change her name to just "Cher," only to find out that her real name wasn't what she thought.

She recounted in her memoir, "I believed Cherilyn was my name until the day years later when I decided to legally change my name to simply Cher," stating that she was "shocked" by the discovery.

Cher then told the story of what happened, noting that her mother, Georgia Holt, was only 19 years old when Cher was born, and after the birth, she missed a mix-up with the nurse about her baby's name.

Holt allegedly "had no idea" what to name Cher, but when the nurse "insisted," she stated, "Well, Lana Turner’s my favorite actress and her little girl’s called Cheryl. My mother’s name is Lynda, so how about Cherilyn?” It seems like the nurse only heard the first part and wrote "Cheryl" down on the document.

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Cher then confronted her mother about the situation and reportedly asked her, “Do you even know my real name, Mom?” to which Holt responded, “I was only a teenager, and I was in a lot of pain. Give me a break.”

Thankfully, the mix-up didn't seem to matter much then, as Cher went through with her plan to adopt her famous mononym.

For fans of Cher, there are plenty of other interesting tidbits included in the new book, and the second part is expected to hit shelves sometime next year.

Next, Cher, 78, Addresses Romance With Boyfriend, 38: "We Come From Two Completely Different Worlds"