Cher uncovered a surprising detail about her identity when she began the process of legally changing her name.
The 78-year-old music legend, who to her knowledge was born Cherilyn Sarkisian, revealed in her memoir, "Cher: The Memoir, Part One," that she was "shocked" to see her name registered as Cheryl on a copy of her birth certificate she had applied for in 1979.
"I believed Cherilyn was my name until the day years later when I decided to legally change my name to simply Cher," she wrote, according to People.
In 1946, Cher’s mother, Georgia Holt, was just 19 years old when she went into early labor, a month ahead of schedule, at a small hospital in El Centro, California. She endured a long labor without any medication.
"She was exhausted by the time I arrived at around 7:30 a.m. on Monday, May 20," Cher wrote.
After the birth, as Cher's mother was resting, a nurse visited to ask what name she chose for her baby.
"My mother had no idea, but the woman insisted so she replied, 'Well, Lana Turner's my favorite actress and her little girl's called Cheryl. My mother's name is Lynda, so how about Cherilyn?'" Cher recounted in her book.
After learning of the birth certificate error, Cher confronted her mother, asking, "Do you even know my real name, Mom?"
Cher recalled her mother, upon seeing the document, simply shrugging and said, "I was only a teenager, and I was in a lot of pain. Give me a break."
In 1979, the Grammy-winning singer officially changed her name to Cher. She removed the four last names she had used over the years: Sarkisian, her birth name; LaPiere, from her stepfather who adopted her in 1961; and Bono and Allman, from her marriages to Sonny Bono and Gregg Allman.