Fact Check: Rumors Have Claimed Madonna's Birth Name Is Something Other Than Madonna for Years. Here's the Truth

Nikki Dobrin
·4 min read
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Michael McDonnell Getty Images
Michael McDonnell Getty Images
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Claim:

Pop singer Madonna's birth name is Madonna.

Rating:

Rating: True
Rating: True

Over the years, debates have emerged on various online platforms, including Reddit, regarding the true birth name of the iconic singer Madonna, with some suggesting it is Marie, Marie-Louise or Maria.

I asked my friend who's a huge Madonna fan what her birth name is and he said with absolute conviction : "Marie Louise Veronica Ciccone". And I Found out that France's most important newspaper Le Monde called Madonna "Marie Louise Ciccone" in 1988.
by u/BookwormJane in MandelaEffect

In April 2024, a reader asked Snopes whether the pop star really was named Madonna. A thorough investigation reveals that her birth name is indeed Madonna Ciccone.

Despite the prevalence of Madonna's birth name in historical records, rumors have persisted that Madonna was a stage name she bestowed upon herself, fueled by mistranslations and misinterpretations of international sources.

For instance, a story published by French outlet Le Monde in 1988 twice referred to the "Like a Prayer" singer, who at the time was starring in playwright David Mamet's "Speed-the-Plow" on Broadway, as Marie-Louise. A report from Brazilian outlet Extra, published in 2012, erroneously referred to Madonna as Marie Louise Ciccone.

In addition, the 2015 book "The History of Italo Disco" by Francesco Cataldo Verrina contains the following passage: "In 1987 I won in Germany the music prize organized by magazine Bravo ahead of Michael Jackson and Bruce Springsteen and the equal my, as female character, there was Marie Louise Veronica Ciccone, Madonna!"

However, despite various sources referring to Madonna by different names over the years, historical evidence overwhelmingly shows Madonna Ciccone is her birth name. Any claims suggesting otherwise are unfounded. 

Madonna has affirmed this fact. In a 1991 Vanity Fair interview, she expressed herself thusly: 

"I sometimes think I was born to live up to my name," continues Madonna, who was named after her mother. "How could I be anything else but what I am having been named Madonna? I would either have ended up a nun or this."

Born on August 16, 1958, in Bay City, Michigan, Madonna was named after her mother, Madonna Louise Fortin Ciccone, and her confirmation name was Veronica. "Madonna" is an Italian term meaning "my lady," traditionally associated with the Virgin Mary, reflecting Madonna's Catholic upbringing and heritage. Madonna's mother died of breast cancer in 1963 at age 30 when the future pop icon was 5 years old. Her gravestone can be viewed online.

Madonna's high school yearbook from 1975, a copy of which which sold at auction in 2023, unequivocally lists her as Madonna Ciccone, confirming her birth name. 

In 2004, news reports revealed she also was claiming the Hebrew name Esther as part of her newfound devotion to Kabbalah, an esoteric branch of Jewish mysticism. At the time, she said on ABC's "20/20," "I was named after my mother. My mother died when she was very young, of cancer, and in the metaphysical world, I wanted to attach myself to another name. So this is no way a negation of who my mother is."

Madonna's true birth name is Madonna Ciccone. Despite occasional references to other names in some sources, historical records and Madonna's own statements overwhelmingly support this fact.

Snopes has reported previously on Madonna, including a false claim about an early encounter with Elvis Presley, rumors of her past endorsement of Donald Trump and her opinion of Britney Spears' conservatorship.

Sources:

CNN Programs - People in the News. https://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/people/shows/madonna/timeline.html. Accessed 4 Apr. 2024.

Desborough, Jenny. "Madonna Name Meaning: What Does Madonna Mean? Is It Her Real Name?" Express.Co.Uk, 20 Aug. 2020, https://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/music/1324617/Madonna-name-meaning-What-does-Madonna-mean-Madonna-real-name.

"Look Back at Madonna in Speed-the-Plow on Broadway." Playbill, https://playbill.com/article/look-back-at-madonna-in-speed-the-plow-on-broadway. Accessed 4 Apr. 2024.

"Madonna." Madonnapedia, https://madonna.fandom.com/wiki/Madonna. Accessed 4 Apr. 2024.

Madonna | Biography, Songs, & Facts | Britannica. 27 Mar. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Madonna-American-singer-and-actress.

"Madonna - Age, Children & Life." Biography, 26 Mar. 2021, https://www.biography.com/musicians/madonna.

"Madonna à Broadway Les grands requins selon David Mamet." Le Monde.fr, 30 Apr. 1988. Le Monde, https://www.lemonde.fr/archives/article/1988/04/30/madonna-a-broadway-les-grands-requins-selon-david-mamet_4096038_1819218.html.

Madonna Chooses A New Name - CBS News. 15 June 2004, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/madonna-chooses-a-new-name/.

Madonna Louise Ciccone - Ancestry.Com. https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1030/?name=Madonna+Louise_Ciccone. Accessed 4 Apr. 2024.

Madonna Yearbook | RR Auction. https://www.rrauction.com/auctions/lot-detail/333583904577165-madonna-yearbook. Accessed 4 Apr. 2024.

Pitts, Jacob. "What Is Madonna's Real Name?" Nicki Swift, 25 June 2022, https://www.nickiswift.com/907402/what-is-madonnas-real-name/.

U.S., Find a Grave® Index, 1600s-Current - Ancestry.Com. https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/7526497:60525. Accessed 4 Apr. 2024.