Raven-Symoné has been a household name for decades, but she says there is one part of her moniker that “triggers” her when fans use it.
The 39-year-actor recently revealed on an episode of her “Tea Time w/ Raven & Miranda” podcast, which she co-hosts with wife Miranda Maday, that she doesn’t enjoy when fans shorten her first name.
During the couple’s conversation with guest Tish Cyrus, Maday asked the former Disney Channel star if she is a fan of her full name: Raven-Symoné Christina Pearman-Maday.
Raven-Symoné laughed before replying, “Yes and no.”
She then switched to a more serious tone and continued, “I’m going to be honest. Sometimes I have a problem when people call me Raven. (That) tends to, like, trigger me a little bit from my time being called Raven.”
Raven-Symoné played the beloved character Raven Baxter on the sitcom “That’s So Raven” from 2003 to 2007. She then reprised the role for the spinoff “Raven’s Home,” which ran from 2017 to 2023.
The actor said that people in her life sometimes shorten her middle name and just call her Chris.
“My friends will do that,” she shared. “If we’re in a big, open area and there’s a lot of people, I’ll be like, ‘Do not call me Raven in public. Call me Chris.’”
She said she has other nicknames that those closest to her use, as well.
“My name has been so used that I just kind of disassociate from my name,” she added.
She recalled when she was younger that people referred to her by her first name, Raven-Symoné, but her family never did. She said her parents called her Ray and her brother called her Reva.
Raven-Symoné has clarified the confusion over her full name before. In 2023, she posted a TikTok in which she confirmed that fans have been mispronouncing her name for years. “It’s pronounced See-mon-ye,” text in the video read, emphasizing the accent on the e.
In the caption, she added, “Those who know…KNOW…”
A few days later, she explained in another video why she never used the correct pronunciation when she introduced herself as a child on the Disney Channel.
“Now, I didn’t do that because at a very young age I was told to tell everyone that my name was Raven-Symoné and it just never left my body, except when I go to French-speaking countries. I’m like, ‘Yeah, it is spelled that way and that’s how it should be pronounced,’” she shared.
But she didn’t seem bothered by how the public continues to say her name.
“Coming here to where I’m living, Raven-Symone is just fine,” she assured fans. “I don’t trip over it. I don’t correct people. But the correct spelling of my name is pronounced ‘Raven-Symoné,’ but you can call me Raven-Symone.”
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