What is Joey Lawrence’s real name? Why the actor regrets changing it as a kid

Unbeknownst to fans, Joey Lawrence has been using a stage name this whole time.

At a ’90s Con panel on March 28, Lawrence, whose full legal name is Joseph Lawrence Mignogna, shared the story behind his middle name and why he started using it as his last name once he got into show business.

“(Lawrence) was my middle name,” the actor told People during a panel they moderated. “So I was named after our dad, and our grandfather on our dad’s side.”

Lawrence explained that once he started acting in the early ’80s, he was told, “No one can pronounce Mignogna. That’s not a name people will say,” so he decided to use Lawrence as his last name instead.

However, the “Blossom” star said he realizes how much times have changed since then.

“Today, things like that are celebrated,” he said. “In the ‘80s, it was like, ‘We’re going to need to water this down. There are silent Gs.’”

After entering Hollywood as Joey Lawrence, Lawrence said it only “made sense” for his brothers Matthew, 45, and Andrew, 37, to change their last names too once they started acting.

One benefit that the trio got from their new names was privacy, Lawrence said.

“There was an insulation factor,” he explained. “Some people might check in old school ways, but it would be very, very hard to find us. That was a great thing.”

But, after realizing there were disadvantages to having two last names, including issues traveling internationally and having to “prove” who you are, Lawrence and his brothers agree that it would have been “easier” just to keep their last names.

“It’s really a pain in the butt, honestly, like having two names. You have to prove you’re both people,” Andrew Lawrence said.

Matthew Lawrence added, “Even for a while there the government only recognized me as Matt Lawrence because I paid taxes from the time I was a toddler to 18 as Matt Lawrence.”

“But really my name is Matthew William Mignogna,” he continued. “So when I grew up and used my real name on my passport, there was absolutely no correlation. I didn’t exist.”