Keke Palmer Reveals Why She'd Prefer To Go By Her Real First Name—And We Totally Get It

Since 2017 with the release of her part-memoir and part-personal-development-guide I Don't Belong to You: Quiet the Noise and Find Your Voice, Keke Palmer has been getting real about embracing your identity, your personal story, and your voice.

Now in 2025, after the release of her second book, Master of Me: The Secret to Controlling Your Narrative, and her latest film role in One of Them Days, Palmer is voicing the importance of also embracing your name.

While on tour for One of Them Days, all sorts of personal and thought-provoking questions have been thrown Palmer's way, but one question, and especially Palmer's response, left fans with their eyebrows raised.

One of the questions came from a rapid-fire question-answering session Palmer participated in with Glamour:

"Why do you prefer to go by Keke instead of Lauren?"

The actress responded that she actually did not prefer to be called Keke by the general public.

"This is a good question, because I actually don't prefer to go by Keke instead of Lauren."

"Keke was my family name, and only people that called me Keke were people in my family."

"Then one day, my manager at that time heard my mom call me 'Keke,' because I wasn't listening. So she was like, 'Keke! Keke!'"

"And he said, 'That's, that should be your stage name!'"

"So it went from being just something that my family called me to being something that the whole world called me."

"More than anything, I would love to go back to Lauren."

You can watch the moment here:

Fans were quick to embrace Palmer's wish and blew up the comments, calling her "Lauren Palmer."

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Others empathized with Palmer about how awkward and hurtful it can be to be called an intimate name, like a special nickname or a family name, by people you don't know.

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"Keke Palmer" might have a special ring to it for the stage, but it's important for Palmer to be able to reclaim both of her names on and off the stage.

Especially given the nature of the books she's written that involve controlling your own story, it makes sense that she would reclaim her name, as well.