Will Ferrell Shares an 'Excruciating' Memory About His Real Name (Which Isn't Will)

Will Ferrell opened up about an “embarrassing” and “excruciating” memory that has to do with his birth name.

While the 56-year-old Elf actor is obviously known by Will, it was not the name that his parents gave him at birth.

During a recent interview, he opened up about an awkward moment that happened every year in school. While it wasn’t that bad, he still remembers it to this day.

Keep reading to find out more…

Will has previously revealed that his birthday name was John William Ferrell. While on the MeSsy podcast, the star explained that his parents decided to call him by his middle name, which led to an awkward moment every year when he had to tell his teachers.

“This is like a minor thing — it’s not really even trauma. I remember being so embarrassed because my real name is John. John William Ferrell,” he recalled, via The Hollywood Reporter. “The first day of school, it’d be ‘John.’ Like, John Farrell. It was so embarrassing to me to have to say, ‘Here, but I go by Will. I don’t go by John.”

He added that he could not figure out why it was “so embarrassing” to him, but that it was in fact “excruciating” for him.

Did you know that Will is one of the wealthiest Saturday Night Live alums?