Julian Lennon Explains Why He Changed His Name

Julian Lennon has been a part of the music scene almost since his birth in 1963. He was a source of inspiration for the Beatles songs like “Hey Jude” and “Good Night.”

On the other side, he also kept his father’s memory alive by carrying his name until it started to create difficulties and obstacles for him. Julian recently appeared in an interview and opened up about his decision to change his name from John Charles Julian Lennon.

He initially faced these hardships while trying to enter the music industry. According to him, people only wanted to meet and collaborate with him due to his father. The musician complained about not being taken seriously as himself.

He wanted to be known as Julian, not “John’s son.” He also did not think the name John defined him as his relatives always called him “Julian.” Eventually, the singer changed his name from John Charles Julian Lennon to Julian Charles John Lennon in 2020.

When the singer opened up more about it, he stated that he had to do it to feel like himself. He said that he had felt far from himself as people had usually used his first name, John. As he mentioned, this change relieved him because he was bored of the constant questions he received and of not feeling like Julian. He said:

“My name was originally John Charles Julian Lennon, and I changed it in 2020 to Julian Charles John Lennon. So for first, I always wanted to be me, and I never was. When I changed my name to Julian Lennon, I finally felt I was me. I’ve got to tell you, the weight that came off my shoulders was significant. Obviously, being Julian, Jules, Jude, it was about owning it. It was about stating and saying, ‘What are you going to ask me now? I think we’ve reached the point now.’ I’m Jude, and where are we going from here? For me, the only way is up, it’s hopeful, it’s forward, and I’m trying to take people on the same journey in that respect.”