Cher was born Cherilyn Sarkisian, though, as she told CNBC, "To my family, I've always been Cher." She decided to embrace her nickname once she became famous, eventually joining other mononymous celebrities of the time like Elvis and Twiggy. But the reason for her short name was just as personal as it was professional.
In her CNBC interview, Cher explains, "I had two children by two different fathers, so I took both last names. And then I thought, 'I don't like either one of these.' So I ... went to court, and I just said, 'I want to change my name to Cher.'" Cher ditched her old last names, and the relationship history that went with them. Because she's so recognizable by her first name, she's even allowed to have just "Cher" listed on her passport. When you're an icon as powerful as her, one four-letter name is all you need.
