The Humorous Story Behind Whoopi Goldberg’s Stage Name as Shared by Her
Whoopi Goldberg has always been known for her comedic talents.
Originally named Caryn Johnson, the comedian revealed that her stage name was inspired by a gag gift. “Whoopi first, and I was whoopie cushion,” she told Seth Meyers on the July 11 episode of Late Night. “And then I was Whoopi Cushión.”
In her 30s, she came up with the name and it was her mother, Emma Harris, who advised her to change “Cushion” to “Goldberg.” “She said, ‘You are diminishing your abilities,'” Whoopi recalled. “‘If you call yourself by Whoopi Cushion, people are not really going to appreciate what you can do.’ And I said, ‘Oh really? Oh, great namer of the star?’ And she said, ‘Yes.'”
When asked where her mother got the name Goldberg, Whoopi explained, “She said, ‘Well, there’s a lot of family names, we’ve got a lot of different people in our family, I like Goldberg.’”