Joey Lawrence Reveals His Real Name and Whoa, It May Surprise You

This revelation may make you go, “Whoa!”

Joey Lawrence is not Joey Lawrence’s real name. The actor, best known for roles on ’90s sitcoms Blossom and Brotherly Love, spoke out about how he has been using his middle name as a last name throughout his career, while his brothers, Matthew Lawrence and Andrew Lawrence, have followed suit.

Joey was born Joseph Lawrence Mignogna III. He was named after the siblings’ dad and paternal grandfather. Speaking at a panel at 90s Con at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford, Conn. March 28, the 48-year old noted that in the ’80s, when he began acting, he was told, “No one can pronounce Mignogna. That’s not a name people will say.”

“Today, things like that are celebrated,” he added, per Parade. “But in the ’80s, it was like, ‘We need to water this down.’ The silent Gs…They were like, ‘We need to go with something a little more bland.’ So they’re like, ‘Let’s call him Joey Lawrence,’ and then that’s just what we did. It just made sense.”