Whoopi Goldberg Reveals Name Change Inspired by Her ‘Farting’ Habits

Virgin Radio

May 8, 2024, 3:19 p.m.

Whoopi Goldberg has revealed the origins of her unusual name – and it all has to do with her old habit of “sometimes letting out a fart.”

The Oscar winnerOriginally born Caryn Johnson, detailed the decision behind changing her name new memoryBits and Pieces: My mother, my brother and me.

THE See the star wrote: “Once I started getting roles in plays, I wanted a more interesting sounding name. It wasn’t Caryn Johnson.

“Some people at Rep. called me Whoopi because I sometimes let loose with a fart. I added ‘Cush-ione’, with a French pronunciation.

“Then I got a review written by journalist Welton Jones. It was good, so I sent it to my mother. Later, when we spoke on the phone, she said, ‘What That’s Whoopi Cushione?”

“Well, that’s kind of my nickname. It’s like a whoopee cushion with a little French accent.

“She said, ‘Well, I get that. But why? Why Whoopi?’ So I explained the whole farting thing to him.”

His mother then suggested adding the “Goldberg” in place of the Cushione.

“’Well, if you want to change your name and you want people to take you seriously, you need a more substantial name,’ she pointed out.

“I said, ‘Oh, really, big name of the stars? What do you think it should be?’

“She said, ‘Well, you should take one of the names from the family tree. And Goldberg? That sounds good.”

“That became my name. Only my family and a few people who knew me early in life still called me Caryn.”

Besides Whoopi, other famous faces who changed their names before becoming famous include singer Katy Perry (Katheryn Hudson), Sir David Jason (David White) and actress Emma Stone (Emily Stone), while Jurassic Park’s Sam Neill was born Nigel Neill.