Cher was “shocked” to find out her real name. The 78-year-old singer was raised as Cherilyn Sarkisian, but in 1979, she applied for a copy of her birth certificate so she could officially change her moniker to reflect the one she used as a performer – and discovered she had actually been registered as Cheryl.

Cher recalled finding out her legal first name when she was in her 30s. The singer believed that she was named Cherilyn but discovered an error was made on her birth certificate.

Cher recalls a curious interlude from her rich and many-chaptered history in her new book “Cher: The Memoir, Part One.”

Cher has revealed the painful discovery that her legal birth name was not what she thought it was, due to a mix-up on her birth certificate. The pop icon recently released her memoir, Cher: the Memoir,

Cher has revealed what her actual legal birth name after an incident with her birth certificate. The pop icon discussed finding out her legal name in her new new memoir, Cher: The Memoir, Part One. The memoir was recently released on Nov.