Olivia Wilde explains correct pronunciation of birth surname Cockburn

Olivia Wilde explains correct pronunciation of birth surname Cockburn

Director and actress Olivia Wilde has clarified the pronunciation of her birth surname, Cockburn, after the name was mispronounced during a recent interview. Appearing on the Armchair Expert podcast with hosts Dax Shepard and Monica Padman, Wilde corrected Shepard on the Scottish family name.

"I’ll tell you something. And there’s no way you would know this. It’s pronounced Coburn (KOH-burn),"

Olivia Wilde, director, via Page Six

The 42-year-old explained that while the name is spelled Cockburn, the pronunciation is significantly different. She compared the experience of growing up with the name to the song Boy Named Sue, describing the resulting childhood teasing as character building.

Wilde noted that being made fun of for her surname served as an early important lesson in resilience. She told Shepard and Padman that she learned to laugh along with the jokes, stating, I thought it was funny, too. I was like, ‘Oh, I get it,’ and clarified that this was not the same as giving in to the bullies.

The conversation shifted to the impact of the name on her family. Wilde expressed uncertainty regarding whether the experience was more difficult for her or her brother, Charlie, who is nine years younger than she is. Shepard suggested that life might have been nicer nine years later, but Wilde questioned if society had actually improved, noting that the spelling of the name remains an easy target in any city in any decade.

Wilde eventually adopted the surname Wilde during her high school years. She stated the choice was a tribute to the Irish author and poet Oscar Wilde. Beyond her literary idol, Wilde told Playboy that she wanted to honor a family tradition of writers using pen names.

This creative lineage is evident in her immediate family. Her father, Andrew Cockburn, is a British journalist, author, and magazine editor who produced documentaries for PBS and served as the Washington DC editor at Harper's Magazine. Her mother, Leslie Cockburn (born Leslie Redlich), is an author, documentary filmmaker, and award-winning investigative journalist who produced for 60 Minutes and worked for NBC, CBS, and PBS Frontline.

Wilde's paternal grandfather also used a pseudonym, changing his name to James Helvick to write the novel Beat the Devil, which was later adapted into a movie starring Humphrey Bogart. Wilde described the concept of a pen name as romantic.

Despite the literary motivations behind her name change, Wilde admitted she did not anticipate the public perception of her adopted surname. She noted that she did not foresee people viewing Wilde as a sexy name or the frequency with which media outlets would use puns in headlines, such as Born to Be Wilde or Take a Walk on the Wilde Side. She stated that she does not mind the wordplay, though it was not a factor in her decision.

Wilde joked about the utility of unusual names for children, suggesting that parents should give their children devastating middle names specifically so they have something to be totally bullied for as they grow up.