Macaulay Culkin had fans cracking up when he recently reminded everyone of his unusual, legally changed name.
The 45-year-old Home Alone alum addressed a question about his “actual name” during a special anniversary event on Saturday, November 22.
“The newest name suits him perfectly!” joked one amused social media user after the reveal.
Highlights
- Macaulay Culkin recently reminded fans of his legally changed name during a ‘Home Alone‘ anniversary event.
- He explained that his fan-selected middle name originated from a 2018 public poll announced on ‘The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.‘
- Both the live audience and fans online erupted with laughter over the quirky name reveal, with many calling it “hilarious.”
Six years after legally changing his name in 2019, Macaulay Culkin finally cleared up the ongoing confusion about his real name
Image credits: Rodin Eckenroth/WireImage
Macaulay was at an event called A Nostalgic Night with Macaulay Culkin, celebrating the 35th anniversary of his iconic 1990 film Home Alone.
The event was hosted at the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center in Long Beach, California.
It featured a special screening of the film for fans of all ages and even offered an extra-special experience for VIP attendees, including early access to autographed merchandise, the best seats in the house, and an exclusive post-show Q&A with the actor.
Image credits: standingovationslive
The anniversary event is taking place across several major cities in the United States and will conclude with a final show on December 12 in Brooklyn, New York City.
It was during the special Q&A segment that Macaulay was asked what his real name was after his legal name change in 2019.
He changed his name based on advice from his fans through a public poll and ultimately picked the fan favorite
Image credits: standingovationslive
Macaulay told the audience, “My name is Macaulay Macaulay Culkin Culkin.”
Reportedly, his answer lit up the room and had everyone bursting into laughter.
Explaining how this unconventional combination came to be, the Richie Rich star credited his fans.
He revealed that nearly a year before officially changing his name, he had announced a public poll on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon during an interview in November 2018.
Image credits: The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
At the time, while revealing his decision to change his name, the actor explained, “I was staring at my passport recently and stuff, and I was looking over my middle name. And I felt like, you know, I should probably spruce up my name a little bit.”
“My name is Macaulay Macaulay Culkin Culkin,” revealed the 45-year-old star, earning a wave of hilarious reactions from the crowd
Image credits: The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
He had given fans five options to choose from: Macaulay Culkin, Shark Week, The McRib Is Back, Publicity Stunt, and Kieran.
Fans ultimately chose ‘Macaulay Culkin’ to replace his old middle name, Carson, and that’s how his new name came to be.
One of the options, Kieran, is also the name of Macaulay’s younger brother, Kieran Culkin.
Image credits: IGN
Image credits: IncredibleCulk
Reflecting on how things would have unfolded if fans had voted for that option, the elder Culkin brother told the convention crowd, “Macaulay Kieran Culkin. That would be great. I love my brother. Between me and him we have exactly one Oscar.”
Kieran won the Academy Award at the 2025 ceremony for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the 2024 film A Real Pain.
Macaulay first announced the poll to change his middle name during a 2018 appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
Image credits: Andrew Lipovsky/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal
He went on to say that the final choice still amuses him to this day, “The final vote was Macaulay Culkin…”
“If somebody comes up to me at the airport and says, 'Excuse me, are you Macaulay Culkin?' I can say, 'Well, Macaulay Culkin is my middle name.'"
The My Girl star, however, admitted that the entire name-change saga was intentionally lighthearted and meant as a “joke.”
“I did it all for that one joke. And a bit on Fallon.”
Jimmy Fallon had also voted in support of the fan-favorite middle name during the actor’s public poll
Image credits: Home Instead
“That’s stupid stupid dumb dumb,” one social media user sarcastically mocked.
Macaulay has also participated in a recent project titled Home But Not Alone for Home Instead, a company that provides in-home care for older adults.
Ads from the campaign will air during screenings of the iconic 1990 film, other holiday programming, and even during college football games through January 11.
Image credits: The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
During the original poll reveal, the popular talk-show host Fallon had enthusiastically backed ‘Macaulay Culkin’ as well, and even urged viewers to vote for it.
To this, Culkin jokingly responded, “You have good taste in names!”
“Sounds like you visited the grand canyon and yelled your name,” joked one fan of the actor
