Macaulay Culkin Confirms He Changed His Legal Name — Here’s What He Goes By Now
At a 35th anniversary Home Alone celebration in Long Beach, Macaulay Culkin reminded fans that his legal name since 2019 is Macaulay Macaulay Culkin Culkin.
Macaulay Culkin is still fully committed to the joke he made legally binding. Over the weekend, he reminded everyone of his real, actual, on-the-books name — and yes, it still sounds like a bit that got out of hand.
He introduced himself by his legal name, and it was a moment
At A Nostalgic Night on Saturday, November 22, at the Long Beach Convention — a fan event celebrating the 35th anniversary of Home Alone — Culkin took the mic and introduced himself, per People, with this:
My name is Macaulay Macaulay Culkin Culkin.
That is not a typo. That is what the DMV, the bank, and presumably the TSA call him now. He even explained why he did it (short version: because it amused him) and walked through how the whole stunt happened.
Quick refresher on how we got here
- November 2018: On The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Culkin says he wants to ditch his original middle name, Carson.
- He narrows it down to five ridiculous options and asks fans to choose the winner.
- The poll goes live on his lifestyle site, BunnyEars.com, and runs until December 24, 2018.
- December 25, 2018: He announces on X (formerly Twitter) that the fans picked 'Macaulay Culkin' as his new middle name, meaning his full name would become 'Macaulay Macaulay Culkin Culkin.'
- In 2019, he makes it official and adopts the name legally.
Yes, he considered other options — including a family flex
Culkin told the crowd he looked back at some of the runners-up, and one fan favorite was 'Macaulay Kieran Culkin,' nodding to his brother. He joked: 'Between me and him, we have exactly one Oscar,' a line delivered with big-brother pride and a wink at Kieran Culkin's 2025 Oscar win for A Real Pain.
He also explained a key perk of the new name: if someone stops him at the airport and asks, 'Are you Macaulay Culkin?' he can deadpan, 'Well, Macaulay Culkin is my middle name.' And in case it was not clear, he said he did the whole thing for that one joke — and, of course, the bit on Fallon.
Meanwhile, on the animation side...
Culkin is part of the starry voice cast for Disney's animated buddy-cop comedy sequel Zootopia 2, which is set to hit theaters on November 26, 2025.
Honestly, if you are going to commit to a gag, this is how you do it: all the way to the birth certificate.