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Rihanna revealed why she likes fans calling her by her real name instead of 'Rihanna'
Home>Celebrity
Published 12:36 17 May 2026 GMT+1

Rihanna revealed why she likes fans calling her by her real name instead of 'Rihanna'

Those who want a selfie should address the star by her real name...

Kiesha Dosanjh

Kiesha Dosanjh

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Featured Image Credit: (Photo by Theo Wargo/FilmMagic)

Topics: Rihanna, Music, Jenna Ortega, Celebrity

Kiesha Dosanjh
Kiesha Dosanjh

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Many singers have a 'stage name' they prefer to go by with fans, including Drake, A$AP Rocky and Rihanna. However, the Umbrella singer actually prefers it when her fans call her by her first name.

Rihanna isn't a complete stage name however, it's actually the star's middle name. Her birth name is actually Robyn Rihanna Fenty - hence the beauty brand name.

Fans, of course, refer to the music icon as Rihanna, but if you want to grab her attention for a selfie, you might want to stop doing this...

Rihanna, or Robyn, shall we say, began her music career in 2005, almost two decades ago! Being in the industry that long, the mother of three once revealed she'd become 'numb' to the stage name that's constantly chanted at her.

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In a 2013 interview with Glamour, when the star was still making music for us, she said: " When people call me Robyn, my head just flies around because I feel like that person knows me.

Rihanna said she had become 'numb' to her 'stage name' over the years  (Photo by Michael Loccisano/FilmMagic)
Rihanna said she had become 'numb' to her 'stage name' over the years (Photo by Michael Loccisano/FilmMagic)

"But Rihanna, that tends to be people's own [creation]. Robyn is who I am. Rihanna—that's an idea of who I am."

It wasn't the first time she'd spoken about the topic, telling Rolling Stone years prior: "I'm kind of numb to hearing Rihanna, Rihanna, Rihanna," she told the publication. "When I hear Robyn, I pay attention."

Aside from chanting Rihanna at Robyn, fans may also have been pronouncing it wrong this whole time! What?

Yep, you heard that right, although you probably didn't say it right.

In 2024, Wednesday star Jenna Oretga turned heads when she said the star's name at the Golden Globes.

Many had been pronouncing the singer's name as 'Ree-awh-na,' before realizing it was actually 'Ree-an-nah'.

Fans recently realized they had been saying Rihanna's name wrong for years (Photo by Gilbert Flores/WWD via Getty Images)
Fans recently realized they had been saying Rihanna's name wrong for years (Photo by Gilbert Flores/WWD via Getty Images)

The moment happened as Ortega presented the award for Best Song in a Motion Picture, who was up for her song 'Lift Me Up' from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

The video then circulated around TikTok, with fans going wild debating in the comments. Was Ortega the one pronouncing her name wrong, or the fans?

Fortunately, Rihanna's make-up brand's official account, Fenty Beauty, responded in the comments to settle the debate once and for all.

“Miss Wednesday understood the assignment," they confirmed.

Well know we know! All we need to know now is when Robyn Rihanna Fenty will drop a new album...


  • Rihanna welcomes third child with A$AP Rocky and reveals newborn's name
  • Rihanna's blunt five-word response to bodyguard after he left her to get hit by a door
  • Anne Hathaway asks fans to stop calling her 'Anne' and explained why she doesn't like it
  • Kim Kardashian reveals real reason she changed her name 18 years ago

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