Joey Lawrence reveals real name

‘Melissa and Joey’ star Joey Lawrence had to choose a “bland” name at the start of his career, as did his famous brothers.

Joey Lawrence had to choose a “bland” name at the start of his career.

The 48-year-old actor was born Joseph Lawrence Mignogna III, but when he, along with his brothers Matthew and Andrew, began appearing on screen, they decided to drop their surname and simplify everything

Speaking live on stage as part of a 90s Con panel, he said: “It was my middle name. I was named after our dad and our grandfather on my dad’s side. And then, in the early 80s, no one could pronounce Mignogna. That’s not a name people will say. Today, things like that are celebrated. But in the 80s, it was like, ‘We need to water this down.’ The silent Gs. … They were like, ‘We need to go with something a little more bland.’ So they’re like, ‘Let’s call him Joey Lawrence,’ and then that’s just what we did. It just made sense.”

The former ‘Melissa and Joey star was joined by his siblings and Matthew – who is known for his roles in ‘Boy Meets World’ and ‘Mrs. Doubtfire’ – added that it was easier to “hide behind” their original monikers in the days before information was so accessible online.

He said: “There was [also] an insulation factor. Before the internet, you could hide a little bit behind that. It would be very, very hard to find us!”

Matthew added that his stage name was the only way the government would recognise him for a period of time, so there was “no correlation” between his pseudonym and his real name.

He added: “For a while there, the government only recognised 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. So when I grew up and used my real name on my passport, there was absolutely no correlation. I didn’t exist.”

Meanwhile, Andrew explained that it is a “pain in the butt” having to go by two names and admitted that things would have been “easier” had they just become known under what they were called at birth.

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