Kit Harington only learned his real name during a school exam at age 11

I guess Jon Snow really did know nothing...

It is not uncommon for actors who are propelled to Hollywood fame to go by a stage name.

You would be surprised at just how many stars don’t use their actual name despite this.

Thought Fast and Furious’ Vin Diesel was his actually name? Nope, Mark Sinclair.

Singer Lana Del Rey? Nope, try Elizabeth Woolridge Grant. Bruce Willis? Naa, more like Walter Bruce Willis and the list goes on.

But the actors and musicians are normally well aware they are trading off a slightly different name, but Kit Harington might be the first to realize his real name a decade later.

The Game of Thrones star hilariously found out his birth name just before he sat an exam when he was 11 years old.

Speaking to Candis Magazine in 2023, the actor retold the bizarre story and explained how he found out.

(HBO)

"I actually didn't know my name until I was 11 years old. I found out at school,” he said.

"You know how you have to fill out those exam form things to find out how clever you are? Well, there was the space for my name and I put down Kit Harington, because that's what my parents had called me from day one, and the guy came up to me and said, 'No, your name's Christopher.

"I was like, 'I think I know,' and they all went, 'No, no, no, it's Christopher!'

"And that's how I found out! I love the name now – it's certainly served me well."

And the internet certainly wasn’t going to let this story go unnoticed without throwing in a handle of jokes.

“Kit Harrington didn't know his real first name till he was 11 and which is super fitting because Jon Snow still doesn't know his real name,” one social media user wrote.

"Kit Harrington didn't know that his real name was Christopher until he was 11 years old. Talk about knowing nothing."

(Phillip Faraone/Getty Images)

"I didn't know my own name until I was 11." Joked another.

When he went home that day I can imagine the 11-year-old Kit probably would have had a bit of a go at his parents but who can blame him, even if it does make for a funny story several years later!