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Macaulay Culkin legally changed his name and now it's completely bizarre

Macaulay Culkin legally changed his name and now it's completely bizarre

The Home Alone actor's real name certainly isn't one you'll forget

Emily Brown

Emily Brown

We all know Macaulay Culkin, right? The actor we all refuse to believe has aged a single day since he first appeared as Kevin McCallister in Home Alone?

Well, in 2018, the actor whose name we all recognize so easily decided to visit a judge and change the title he'd been given on his birth certificate.

Over the course of his career, Culkin has appeared in titles like Richie Rich, Robot Chicken and American Horror Story, all of which offered him characters with different names.

But Culkin hasn't limited the name-changing to his professional life, as in 2018, he started a discussion on his website, Bunny Ears, to reveal that there was part of his name that he wasn't too keen on.

Culkin is best-known for his role in Home Alone (20th Century Fox)
Culkin is best-known for his role in Home Alone (20th Century Fox)

He claimed his middle name was 'something dumb' - so 'dumb', in fact, that he allegedly couldn't even remember it.

The actor wrote: "Larry? Orange? Honestly, I can’t even remember it."

With his original middle name apparently forgotten, Culkin called on the public to send in ideas of what he could change it to.

"I asked you all to send in some better options so I can go down to the court house and explain to a judge why I need to change my middle name to something cool," he said.

Needless to say, the internet had a field day with the opportunity to help one of the most famous child stars in the US come up with a new name.

Culkin had some good options for a new name (Taylor Hill/FilmMagic)
Culkin had some good options for a new name (Taylor Hill/FilmMagic)

The suggestions flooded in, and Culkin narrowed them down to his top five, which were:


  1. TheMcRibIsBack
  2. Kieran
  3. Shark Week
  4. Publicity Stunt
  5. Macaulay Culkin.

They're all winners in my book - especially Kieran, which just so happens to be the name of Culkin's own brother.

Culkin put it to a vote which ran until Christmas Eve, joking: "Sure, I might have gold-plated watercraft, and chrome plated invisibility cloaks, but all I want for Christmas is a new middle name."

And his wish was certainly granted.

On Christmas Day of all days, Culkin went on Twitter to reveal that his legal name would be changed to Macaulay Macaulay Culkin Culkin.

It's a mouthful, but he wrote: "It has a nice ring to it (if you like my name)."

Culkin shared updates of his name change on Twitter (X/@incredibleculk)
Culkin shared updates of his name change on Twitter (X/@incredibleculk)

It sounds too good to be true, but even Culkin's Wikipedia page now refers to him as 'Macaulay Macaulay Culkin Culkin'.

Fans continue to talk about the actor's bizarre but brilliant stunt, with one taking to Twitter to say: "We're watching Home Alone 2 and I just remembered that Macaulay Culkin changed his name to Macaulay Macaulay Culkin Culkin. Magic."

Featured Image Credit: Amy Sussman / Staff/20th Century Studios

Topics: Celebrity, Entertainment, Social Media, Twitter, Viral

Emily Brown
Emily Brown

Emily Brown is UNILAD Editorial Lead at LADbible Group. She first began delivering news when she was just 11 years old - with a paper route - before graduating with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University. Emily joined UNILAD in 2018 to cover breaking news, trending stories and longer form features. She went on to become Community Desk Lead, commissioning and writing human interest stories from across the globe, before moving to the role of Editorial Lead. Emily now works alongside the UNILAD Editor to ensure the page delivers accurate, interesting and high quality content.