Bored Panda works better on our iPhone app
Continue in app Continue in browser

Add post form topAdd Post
Tooltip close

The Bored Panda iOS app is live! Fight boredom with iPhones and iPads here.

“It Was So Embarrassing”: Will Ferrell Opens Up About His Childhood Name Confusion At School
14

“It Was So Embarrassing”: Will Ferrell Opens Up About His Childhood Name Confusion At School

ADVERTISEMENT

Will Ferrell had a serious bone to pick with his own name as a kid.

In a candid chat on Christina Applegate and Jamie-Lynn Sigler’s MeSsy podcast, the 56-year-old actor revealed that he would feel “so embarrassed” to tell people his real name: John William Ferrell.

The comedy king spilled the beans on his childhood name drama and recalled having to constantly correct people to call him “Will.”

He also said it was “excruciating” to wait for teachers to finally remember how he preferred to be called.

RELATED:

    Will Ferrell would feel “so embarrassed” dealing with a lot of drama surrounding his real name: John William Ferrell

    Image credits: Image Credits: Presley Ann/Getty Images for SeeHer

    “This is a minor thing in terms of — it’s not really even trauma — but I remember feeling so embarrassed because my real name is John, John William Ferrell, so [on the] first day of school, I’d be John,” he shared in the Tuesday episode. “The teacher would be like ‘John Ferrell?’ and it was so embarrassing to me to have to say, ‘Here, but I go by Will. I don’t go by John.’”

    ADVERTISEMENT

    The Saturday Night Live veteran made it clear to the podcast hosts that the name mix-up wasn’t his doing.

    It “wasn’t my choice,” he said, explaining his parents’ role in it.

    On an episode of the MeSsy podcast, the actor spoke about being called “John” in school as well as his dream job of being on Saturday Night Live

    “My parents named [me] John, but they called me Will. I grew up as Will, but on a roll sheet, my legal name is John Ferrell,” he went on to say.

    “I don’t know why that was so embarrassing to me to have to explain, ‘I’m actually Will,’” he added. “I think maybe for that reason, other kids, new kids, [on the] first day of school [were] like, ‘Why don’t you go by John?’ It’s a long story.”

    He then joked, “People are probably going to be listening to this going, ‘That is the lamest thing ever.’”

    ADVERTISEMENT

    The Elf star explained, “My parents named [me] John, but they called me Will. I grew up as Will, but on a roll sheet, my legal name is John Ferrell”

     

    View this post on Instagram

     

    A post shared by @interestingash.ck

    “We just lost anyone named John,” said Christina, who shared the screen with him for Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.

    Will shares three sons—Magnus, Mattias, and Axel—with his wife of more than two decades, Viveca Paulin. His own parents, Roy Lee Ferrell and Betty Kay Overman, got divorced when he was 8 years old.

    The Elf star was raised in California with his younger brother, Patrick, and was known as the “conscientious class clown” in school.

    Christina Applegate and the comedy king shared the screen for the 2004 movie Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy

    Ten-year-old Will, fourth grade Will, would have been like really into sports, very conscientious student,” he said on the podcast. “But at an early age, [I] still liked trying to make my friends laugh. I was like a conscientious class clown.”

    He continued, “I would goof around to a point [that] if the teacher said, ‘Please stop,’ I’m like, ‘You got it.’”

    ADVERTISEMENT
    Share on Facebook
    Binitha Jacob

    Binitha Jacob

    Author, BoredPanda staff

    Read more »

    Working as a writer for Bored Panda offers an added layer of excitement. By afternoon, I'm fully immersed in the whirlwind of celebrity drama, and by evening, I'm navigating through the bustling universe of likes, shares, and clicks. This role not only allows me to delve into the fascinating world of pop culture but also lets me do what I love: weave words together and tell other people's captivating stories to the world

    Read less »
    Binitha Jacob

    Binitha Jacob

    Author, BoredPanda staff

    Working as a writer for Bored Panda offers an added layer of excitement. By afternoon, I'm fully immersed in the whirlwind of celebrity drama, and by evening, I'm navigating through the bustling universe of likes, shares, and clicks. This role not only allows me to delve into the fascinating world of pop culture but also lets me do what I love: weave words together and tell other people's captivating stories to the world

    What do you think ?
    Add photo comments
    POST
    A girl
    Community Member
    5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Slow news day. If that's the most embarrassing thing he can think of, he's obviously never seen himself acting.

    Albert
    Community Member
    5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I'm so glad I didn't have a drink in my mouth when I read this... :)

    Load More Replies...
    SirWriteALot
    Community Member
    5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    So he has two first names and prefers the second one ... what is so embarassing? Is there a john ferrell that he does not want to be associated with?

    Epona
    Community Member
    5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    His middle name is William, and his first name is John. I agree that John is not an embarrassing name. Generic, yes, but not embarrassing. Why didn't his parents give the name Will when they registered him at school, then he might not have had to deal with this.

    Load More Replies...
    Ervin Conn
    Community Member
    5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Just legally change it to Will. Of all the things to worry about in the world, this is the concern?

    Load More Comments
    A girl
    Community Member
    5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Slow news day. If that's the most embarrassing thing he can think of, he's obviously never seen himself acting.

    Albert
    Community Member
    5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I'm so glad I didn't have a drink in my mouth when I read this... :)

    Load More Replies...
    SirWriteALot
    Community Member
    5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    So he has two first names and prefers the second one ... what is so embarassing? Is there a john ferrell that he does not want to be associated with?

    Epona
    Community Member
    5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    His middle name is William, and his first name is John. I agree that John is not an embarrassing name. Generic, yes, but not embarrassing. Why didn't his parents give the name Will when they registered him at school, then he might not have had to deal with this.

    Load More Replies...
    Ervin Conn
    Community Member
    5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Just legally change it to Will. Of all the things to worry about in the world, this is the concern?

    Load More Comments
    You May Like
    Related on Bored Panda
    Related on Bored Panda
    Trending on Bored Panda
    Also on Bored Panda