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Cheryl Burke’s true name exposed: The change of name from “Stephanie” to “Cheryl” — how her family helped her with her name change
Cheryl Burke is returning with her story from afar.
The Dancing with the Stars alum revealed that she changed her name legally before her career launch and her real name has a backstory with several layers.
The dance pro, 41, wrote in an August 2022 TikTok, “My name is Cheryl, but my legal name was Stephanie (until I changed it by myself and my parents were forced to change it).”
In the comments, she was saying that it was her late father, Stephen Burke, who died in March 2018, who named her “Stephanie,” while “Cheryl” – at that time her middle name – is the name of her mother, Sherri Burke.
Why Cheryl changed her legal name — from bullying memories to DWTS stardom
It was a proud moment for Cheryl Burke when she told that her name is the one that honors both parents but she changed it after a not so nice experience during her childhood. “In my middle school, a girl who was bullying me and her name was Stephanie,” she told, “so [I] decided to make my legal name Cheryl Stephanie Burke.”
Without a doubt, her ex-first name is associated with the past that she tried to forget but for the last twenty years, she has been able to take back her power. “Cheryl” was a DWTS trademark during her fierce competition from 2006 to 2022 and now she will be coming back to the ballroom as a guest judge for the Halloween Night episode of the show.
Cheryl Burke returns to DWTS—from dancer to guest judge
“The secret’s out!” Cheryl wrote on her Instagram video on Oct. 21, looking back at her DWTS journey. “I still vividly recall that night even though it’s been 3 years since my last dance and official retirement. So, to come back now, from the judge’s side, is something that I’ll never be able to take for granted.”
She also mentioned that the competition show “has been my home for almost 20 years.”
“The people, the energy, the stories told through movement—it’s where I discovered my voice way before I ever used it off-stage,” she wrote. “I am very lucky to be able to reconnect with so many people whom I spent almost two decades of my life with and am looking forward to meeting the new generation of dancers and celebrities who will be sharing their stories on that legendary floor.”
Austin Richard Post
Congrats to Post Malone for cleverly weaving his surname into his stage name—but close friends still use his real name. At the 2024 MTV VMAs, Taylor Swift called him “Austin” as they accepted Best Collaboration for their duet “Fortnight.”
Aubrey Anderson-Emmons Changes the Name to “Frances” for Her Music Career
Best known as Lilly in the television series Modern Family, the actress has taken on the name “Frances Anderson” to signify her change of direction in music. “Frances is actually my middle name and it is after my mom’s old family friend,” she explained to E! News in 2025. “Firstly, I thought it was a bit shorter than ‘Aubrey Anderson-Emmons.’ I really do have a long, hyphenated last name.”
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William Radke explains the reason behind his use of the name “Carl” on Summer House
At first, the Summer House cast member shocked Bravo fans by admitting that his real first name is not Carl. “Well, my driver’s license and my passport—my first name is William,” he informed the PopViewers in August 2025. “That means my middle name is Carl, but you know, I have always been called Carl from the very first day,” he clarified.
Sterling Brown tells the reason what made him change his name from “Kelby” to “Sterling” in memory of his dad who passed away
Sterling Brown passed as Kelby, his middle name, until he was a teenager. “My father is Sterling Brown Jr., my grandfather is Sterling Brown Sr.,” he said in an interview with The Kelly Clarkson Show, April 2025. “I wanted a different name for myself and it seemed to me that Sterling was a name for an old man.”
However, the One Day at a Time actor decided to go back to his first name after his father died to keep his memory alive. “He died when I was 10, so when I was 16 and I hadn’t spoken to him for five, five-and-a-half years,” he explained. “I was like, ‘I really want to hear that name again.’ So I told people that they have to call me Sterling.”
Andrew Mignogna, Matthew Mignogna, and Joey Mignogna
Essentially, Andrew, Matthew, and Joey Lawrence were the three brothers that originally had the last name Mignogna. When a talent agent gave a negative review to their surname, Joey, whose middle name is Lawrence, was the first one to use it as his stage name and after that, his brothers also changed their last names.
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Why Kat Dennings used her stage name when she was just 9 years old
Kat Dennings changed her name to her stage name at the age of 9, which was long before her debut in the Sex and the City movie in 2000. On the March 13, 2025 episode of Not Gonna Lie With Kylie Kelce, the 2 Broke Girls alum said that she did not think her real name was suitable “to be displayed on a poster”. From the character of Christina Ricci in Casper, she took “Kat” and from Janine Denni, the French wife of The Black Cauldron author Lloyd Alexander—her mother’s best friend, she took “Dennings”.
Cher finds out that her first name given by the law was not “Cherilyn” but “Cheryl,” before she changed it to just “Cher”
Cheryl Sarkisian
It was more than 30 years that Cher thought her first name in the official documents was Cherilyn. When in the late ’70s she went to the office to change her name after getting her birth certificate, she realized that she had been recorded as “Cheryl” not “Cherilyn.”
In her 2024 memoir, Cher: The Memoir, Part One, the superstar talked about her mom Georgia Holt’s reaction. Holt—who gave birth at 19—grabbed the paper saying, “Let me see that!” and, recalling her confusion after the birth, said, “I was only a teenager, and I was in a lot of pain. Give me a break.”
Why Collins Obinna Chibueze is known as “Shaboozey”
Collins Obinna Chibueze
The lowdown on how Shaboozey got his name is that the first time he used “Shaboozey” informally was when it was a nickname given to him by a Virginia high school in a situation where they mistyped his last name and he later made it his official artist moniker.
Why Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson changed her name to “Katy Perry”
Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson
After the initial release of a 2001 Christian album under her real name, the artist has changed her name to the stage name Katy Perry—taking the name from her mother’s side—in order to suit her pop image more.
How Belcalis Almanzar became “Cardi B”
When relatives and friends gave her sister the nickname “Hennessy,” she decided to call herself “Bacardi,” and later she just kept the first part of the name, which is the famous “Cardi B.”
Why Rachel Meghan Markle used to be known just as “Rachel”
Rachel Meghan Markle
Meghan Markle, a.k.a. the Duchess of Sussex, for a very short time, in the early days of her career, dropped her last two names and just went by her first name, Rachel—which happens to be the name of her character in Suits.
How Eilleen Regina Edward transformed that to “Shania Twain”
Eilleen Regina Edwards
On Apple Music’s Home Now Radio, Shania Twain shared the story: “My birth name is Eilleen Regina Edwards and after being adopted I became Eilleen Regina Twain. As soon as I decided to make a career out of singing, I thought it would be nice to have a stage name that wouldn’t remind people of my grandmothers’ names which are Eilleen and Regina and by the way, I am named after them. I met someone named Shania, fell in love with the name and it was Shania Twain that I came up with.”
Why Kayleigh Rose Amstutz performs as “Chappell Roan”
Kayleigh Rose Amstutz
Through her character called Chappell Roan, the artist of the album “Good Luck, Babe!” exploits this persona as a ‘drag project’ which helped her to create limits and live her personal life apart from the business world.
How Jelena Noura Hadid became “Gigi Hadid”
Gigi’s nickname was born at school, when a teacher who always mixed up the names of Gigi and a classmate named Helena decided to call her by a new name which didn’t resemble either of the two, i.e. Gigi. As her mother was calling her “Gigi” at home, she told the teacher to call her “Gigi” and from then on it was a permanent name.
Why Destiny Hope Cyrus was called “Miley Cyrus”
Destiny Hope Cyrus
The original family nickname of Miley, “Smiley,” that was her bright grin, was shortened to “Miley” and that was the name she kept.
How Peter Gene Hernandez became the stage name “Bruno Mars”
His father believed that his son resembled a “Bruno” more than a Peter and consequently began referring to him as Bruno— a name that remained with him as he went on to be known as Bruno Mars.
Why Daniel Sudeikis is known as “Jason”
Jason Sudeikis revealed on Today that he was named Daniel after his dad, but because there was a lot of confusion, his mother started calling him by his middle name, Jason—and that’s how it stayed.
Why Laura Jeanne Witherspoon was known as “Reese Witherspoon”
Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon
It was not “Reese” that was given to her as a middle name. To pay homage to her mom, she made use of her mother’s maiden name—Reese is her mom’s maiden name.
Why Christopher Edwin Breaux changed his name to “Frank Ocean” legally
Christopher Edwin Breaux
However, in 2014, the vocalist went on to make the change permanent and legally adopted the name he had been using in his career, Frank Ocean.
Why Elizabeth Stamatina Fey performs as “Tina Fey”
Elizabeth Stamatina Fey
Not many people know that the real name of Tina Fey is Elizabeth. Her character on 30 Rock, Liz Lemon, was kind of a direct way of saying “hello” to the real world from her fictional one.”
How Enrique Morales became “Ricky Martin”
Enrique Morales
The man who would later to be the music hero and did his “Bon Bon” shake for the masses, was initially known by his birth name, Enrique Morales, and after that, he changed his stage name to Ricky Martin.
Why Adam Richard Wiles performs as “Calvin Harris”
Adam Richard Wiles
When Taylor Swift, in her speech of acceptance, thanked “Adam,” fans could not figure out who it was. It was the time when the real name of Calvin Harris was revealed. In an interview with ShortList, the DJ explained that he made a choice of the name “Calvin Harris” because his very first single was soulful and he wanted a name that sounded more “racially ambiguous” to fit the style.
How Jennifer Anastassakis changed her name to “Jennifer Aniston”
Jennifer Anastassakis
Jennifer Aniston was known to the world when she decided to use the less complicated version of her birth name i.e. she first went by the name Jennifer Aniston and then later she just kept the last name “Aniston” for her acting career.
