'I wanna be me now': Why John Lennon's son Julian changed his name

Julian Lennon has revealed why he changed his name in 2020. Photo / Getty Images

John Lennon's son has changed his name.

The Beatles legend's oldest son changed his name in 2020 and is now revealing the reason.

Speaking on the podcast Word in Your Ear, the 59-year-old son of the popular artist admitted that the pandemic played a big role in changing his name from John Charles Julian Lennon to Julian Charles John Lennon.

"It was in 2020, just before we all got locked in a cage, that I finally actually decided to legally change my name by default. Because originally my name was John Charles Julian Lennon, and the crap that I had to deal with when travelling and security companies and this and that and the other."

He went on to explain that when he had to "present" himself, especially when he was travelling, he found his first and last name were only used, so he was constantly referred to as "John Lennon".

"So I became quite fearful and anxious about those scenarios because there would always be wise cracks or jokes, and most of the time, people didn't even recognise me. So it became really uncomfortable over the years,"

John Lennon and his son Julian in 1968. Photo / Getty Images

He added, "I've always been known as Julian, and so it [being called John] never felt like it was me. So finally, I just decided in 2020, 'Yeah, I wanna be me now. This is it, it's time for a change.'"

Despite the change, the singer-songwriter said he is still making sure to honour his parents, "I want to respect the legacy and the wishes of my parents, but all I did was switch the 'John' and 'Julian' so I'm Julian Charles John Lennon. It's as simple as that, but for me, it's a whole other world, it really is."

He later said he is not ashamed of his name, but he "needed to be me" and not "John's son".

Lennon is the only child of the late Beatles star and his first wife, Cynthia Powell.