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Macaulay Culkin explains why he legally changed his name to one that's completely bizarre

Home> Celebrity> News

Published 12:29 24 Nov 2025 GMT

Macaulay Culkin explains why he legally changed his name to one that's completely bizarre

The Home Alone star officially changed his name in 2019

Niamh Shackleton

Niamh Shackleton

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Featured Image Credit: Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images

Topics: Macaulay Culkin, Hollywood, Nostalgia, News, Celebrity

Niamh Shackleton
Niamh Shackleton

Niamh Shackleton is an experienced journalist for UNILAD, specialising in topics including mental health and showbiz, as well as anything Henry Cavill and cat related. She has previously worked for OK! Magazine, Caters and Kennedy.

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Macaulay Culkin has reminded people what his real name is after changing it in 2019.

Culkin, who shot to fame as a child star in movies like Home Alone, Uncle Buck, and Richie Rich, is still a well-known name in Hollywood all these years later.

However, many people might forget what Culkin's full name is (as of six years ago, anyway).

The actor's legal name is Macaulay Macaulay Culkin Culkin, something which he reminded people at 'A Nostalgic Night with Macaulay Culkin' on Saturday (November 22). The event was created to celebrate the 35th anniversary of Christmas classic Home Alone.

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But why on Earth did Culkin actually change his name to the unique moniker?

In 2018, while on Jimmy Fallon's show, Culkin said he was going to create a poll that would allow people to pick what his new middle name would be.

Macaulay Culkin legally changed his name in 2019 (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
Macaulay Culkin legally changed his name in 2019 (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

The hilarious options given in the poll were: Kieran (after his younger brother), TheMcRibIsBack, Shark Week, Publicity Stunt, or Macaulay Culkin.

"Sure, I might have gold-plated watercraft, and chrome plated invisibility cloaks, but all I want for Christmas is a new middle name," he quipped at the time.

He announced the winning name on Christmas Day of that year and then officially became Macaulay Macaulay Culkin Culkin in 2019.

As to why he made the poll in the first place; it was all for a bit of a laugh, basically.

"I did it all for that one joke. And a bit on Fallon," Culkin said.

Another topic that was discussed at the anniversary event was Culkin's kids watching Home Alone. According to the dad-of-two, they've seen it a few times but still have no idea that their dad is Kevin.

Culkin shares his sons with long-term partner Brenda Song (Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)
Culkin shares his sons with long-term partner Brenda Song (Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)

He added that his boys, Dakota, four, and three-year-old Carson, 'really love' the movie.

Culkin shares his kids with long-term partner and Disney star Brenda Song. The pair have been dating for many years and got engaged in 2022, but they're yet to tie the knot.

Explaining why, the Running Point actress said: "We talked about eloping. But I was like, ‘If we eloped, my mom would have a heart attack that she wasn’t going to be there."

Apparently, Culkin has asked if Song doesn't actually want to marry him, something he's supposedly 'fine' with but he 'just wants to know' if that's the case.

Song added that some people aren't even aware that she and Culkin are together. Noting this, she told Cosmopolitan magazine: "That the public is like, ‘Wait, they’re together and they have kids?’ Good. That means we did our job."

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