Fans of Miley Cyrus may recall she played a character with a double life in the Disney series Hannah Montana. Funnily enough, however, many fans are just now discovering that Miley Cyrus isn’t actually her birth name.
A 2008 interview from Entertainment Tonight has been brought back into the spotlight. The interview features a 16-year-old Miley Cyrus as she discusses her newly-changed name and why she wasn’t a fan of her original birth name.
The interviewer begins by asking the following:
“You’ve officially, legally changed your name, to what?”
Miley Cyrus replies:
“To Miley. What I’ve always been called, yeah.”
After revealing that her middle name is Ray, “just like her dad,” Billy Ray Cyrus, she spoke about her original name. As it turns out, Miley Cyrus was originally named “Destiny Hope Cyrus.” Though she made a vomiting gesture while discussing the name and what it meant to her. “Never again,” she said, “it doesn’t technically legally count!”
This was followed by the following interview on The Ellen DeGeneres Show which resurfaced via TikTok. As you can see below, Billy Ray Cyrus spoke about the meaning behind Miley’s original name:
“Before she was born you know I had this vision that her name should be – this is going to be long,” he began. “Destiny Hope Cyrus is her real name but from the time she was born she just smiled all the time, we started calling her Smiley and that evolved into Miley.” He also “felt it was her destiny to bring hope to the world.”
@unholyloz Replying to @L A Y the story behind mileys name is so precious 🥺 #mileycyrus #miley #cyrus #fyp #viral #destinyhopecyrus ♬ original sound – loz cyrus
Here are some of the comments on the video from fans that are expressing their shock at learning Miley’s birth name:
“I never knew her real name was Destiny Hope.”
“Not me forgetting Miley isn’t her real name.”
“I NEVER KNEW HER NAME WAS DESTINY.”
“I keep forgetting Miley isn’t her real name, she just looks so much like a Miley.”
Stay tuned to ScreenGeek for any additional Miley Cyrus updates as we have them. For now, it’s a great reminder of the Wrecking Ball singer’s early career.