Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has revealed his surprising middle name… Rodney.
The politician shares the moniker with the Only Fools and Horses character known for being a “plonker”.
Keir is actually named after his dad, but he said on Tuesday night’s Piers Morgan’s Life Stories: “I don’t like it. I have not used it for a long time,” adding he’d had it removed from his wedding certificate.
And he’s not the only famous face with an unusual middle name, as Daily Star reports.
From names usually associated with the opposite sex, to touching family tributes, these celebrities have very interesting names.
Elton John
(Image: Getty Images for iHeartMedia)
Originally called Reginald Kenneth Dwight, Elton John, 74, legally changed his name in 1972.
And he also gave himself a new middle name – Hercules.
But this wasn’t after the legendary Greek god… Elton later admitted he got the idea from the horse in comedy Steptoe and Son.
He has two children with his husband David Furnish – Elijah Joseph Daniel, and Zachary Jackson Levon.
Billie Piper
(Image: Dave Benett/Getty Images)
The former Doctor Who actress, 38, was born Leian Paul Piper but her parents legally changed Leian to Billie when she was less than a year old.
They kept Paul though which is the name of her builder dad.
She now has three children of her own – Eugene Pip and Winston James from her marriage to Laurence Fox, and Tallulah with her partner Johnny Lloyd.
Uma Thurman
(Image: Daniele Venturelli/ Getty Images)
The star’s middle name is Karuna, which means “compassion” in Buddhism.
Her father Robert is a professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist studies and even lived as a monk for three years.
Uma, 51, also was brought up in the faith and the family lived in Almora, India, for two years.
The actress has three children, called Maya, Luna and Levon Roan.
Lyra Sheeran
(Image: Getty Images)
When Ed Sheeran’s wife Cherry Seaborn gave birth to their daughter Lyra last year, the star also revealed that they had given their child the middle name Antarctica.
There’s a fan theory that Lyra was named after the continent she was conceived in, as nine months before she was born Ed was pictured travelling in the icy and remote location.
James Corden
(Image: Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions)
The Gavin and Stacey star and talk show presenter’s middle name Kimberley may sound feminine, but it’s actually a family tradition for all Corden men that stems back over many generations.
James Corden has revealed he used to pretend to school friends that his middle name was Karl, but his sister later blabbed the truth.
The 42-year-old has three children with his wife Julia – Max, Carey and Charlotte.
Kate Hudson
(Image: Getty Images)
Almost Famous actress Kate has previously stated that her middle name Garry is in memory of her uncle of the same name, who died just before she was born.
But Kate has said she is a fan of her surprising middle name, adding: “I like how androgynous it is.”
The star has three children of her own – Ryder, Rani Rose and Bingham Hawn.
Dido
(Image: Dave J Hogan/Getty Images)
The singer’s full name is actually Dido Florian Cloud de Bounevialle O’Malley Armstrong.
At school, the White Flag songstress says she was bullied and even pretended to have an ordinary name, saying: “It’s one of the most irritating things that my parents did to me… to give your child a whole lot of odd names. They were all so embarrassing.”
Ben Affleck
(Image: Getty Images for Global Citizen)
Although he isn’t of Hungarian descent himself, the actor’s middle name, Géza, is traditionally from the Eastern European country.
His father – Timothy – named him after one of his friends who was a Hungarian Holocaust survivor.
Ben, 48, – whose full name is Benjamin Géza Affleck-Boldt – now has three children of his own – Violet, Seraphina Rose Elizabeth, and Samuel.
Tina Fey
(Image: NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)
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Comedian and writer of Mean Girls Tina is actually called Elizabeth, and she took her stage name from her unusual middle name Stamatina.
It’s a female Greek name, and Tina’s mum Zenobia was born in the country.
Her 30 Rock character Liz Lemon was a nod to her real name.
Tina’s own children have interesting names too, as she called them Alice Zenobia, and Penelope Athena.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
