Miley Cyrus’ fans ‘screaming’ after discovering her real name: ‘Who was gonna tell me?’

Miley Cyrus may be a household name today, but if her dad had his way, she would be known by a completely different moniker.

The 33-year-old legally changed her name to ‘Miley Cyrus’ in 2008 when she was just 15, and recently, fans were shocked to discover that that is not the name she was born with.

Miley’s mom, Tish Cyrus, previously revealed that her dad, Billy Ray Cyrus, came up with her nickname, smiley Miley, before she professionally adopted the moniker ‘Miley’.

“Billy Ray [Cyrus] came up with that [the Miley nickname],” she said on the Tea Time with Raven & Miranda podcast. “She always smiled when she was little, so we would call her smiley Miley, and it just stuck.”

Real name

However, before legally changing her name, Miley was born Destiny Hope Cyrus on November 23, 1992.

It appears that Miley’s birth name was not a widely known fact, as recently, fans took to social media to share their disbelief about her birth moniker.

“Screaming, who was gonna tell me Miley Cyrus’ real name is DESTINY HOPE?” one wrote on X. A second said: “Miley Cyrus real name is Destiny Hope Cyrus? Wtf lol.”

A third added: “MILEY CYRUS REAL NAME IS DESTINY HOPE?!? Since when?!?” A fourth said: “I was today years old when I found out Miley Cyrus’s real name used to be Destiny Hope Cyrus before she legally changed it in 2008.”

In 2020, Billy Ray explained the meaning behind Miley’s birth name, telling Us Weekly: “She’s a giver. She believes that we’re all put here for a reason, and that’s to give back to our fellow man.

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“I’m real proud of her. That’s why we named her Destiny Hope. Destiny Hope Cyrus is her name – at least it used to be [before she legally changed it],” he explained.

“But no matter what you call her, she still is Destiny Hope,” he continued. “She is a ray of sunshine. She is a special human being. She’s got a great heart.”

Just one year before she legally adopted her new moniker, Billy Ray said on Ellen in 2007: “Destiny Hope is her real name, but from the time she was born, she just smiled all the time, so we called her smiley, and that evolved into Miley.”

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He added: “Even before she was born, I just felt like it was her destiny to bring hope to the world.”

Meanwhile, Miley and Billy Ray reconciled in 2025 after being estranged for several years following his 2022 divorce from Tish.

That year, Miley told The New York Times that she had “taken on some of my mom’s hurt” amid the divorce, which added to the rift between her and her dad.

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However, last year Miley wrote Billy Ray a peace offering called “Secrets,” which featured Lindsey Buckingham and of Fleetwood Mac, her dad’s favorite band.

Discussing their rift on Instagram in May 2025, she said: “My dad and I have had our challenges over the years. Now, in my thirties, family is my priority above all else. I’m at peace knowing bridges have been built and time has done a lot of healing.”