Why did Pamela Anderson want to change her name? what did she reveal

Pamela Anderson is one of the most recognizable names in Hollywood, but the star admits she thought a lot about changing her name.

“Sometimes I don’t want to be Pamela Anderson,” naked gun The actress admitted in an interview in December 2025 “Vogue” Scandinavia. “I wanted to be Pamela Hyytiäinen. I wanted to change my name, but they wouldn’t let me.”

The admission shocked some fans, who have come to know and love the character. baywatch Named after her. But the name Hyytiäinen is deeply rooted in her family history and holds emotional significance for Anderson that she wanted to embrace and share more details about.

Scroll below to see everything Anderson had to say about wanting to change her name.

Why did Pamela Anderson want to change her name?

Anderson’s grandfather was Finnish; Hermann Hetiainenas a person who finds happiness in nature and folklore, his whimsical personality brought great inspiration to her growing up. “He’s the closest person to me in my life,” she told me “Vogue” Scandinavia Their bonds in December 2025.

The actress explained that when her family immigrated to Canada from Finland more than a century ago, they changed their last name from Hyytiäinen to Anderson. They have used the surname Anderson ever since.

Pamela Anderson learned Finnish as a child

Pamela was born in Ladysmith, British Columbia, Canada to parents barry and Carol Anderson 1967. Her grandfather taught her Finnish, and she carried a Finnish dictionary with her as a child. Herman always encouraged her to express her creative side.

“My imagination has been running wild for years. I’ve been trying on different people’s sizes,” Pamela says in her book. Fashion spread. “You have to peel it all back, a lot of times, and start over and over again.”

Herman died when Pamela was 11, and she felt her connection to her roots disappear. “It was like leaving him,” she reflected.

Pamela Anderson visits Finland

In 2007, Pamela was inspired to travel to Finland with her father to spend time with relatives.

“I just wanted to feel that connection. I would have loved to go back to Finland, maybe with my sons,” she recalls. “Learning more about myself, exploring another side of me. Maybe we’ll change my name and go back and answer my roots. It feels so far away, but it’s a part of me.”

Pamela shares sons Brandon and Dylan with her ex-husband Tommy Leesaid she “had always been proud to tell people I was Finn, even before I knew what that really meant.”

Years after this unforgettable visit, she spoke briefly again about her Finnish roots.

“My grandfather was a healer from Finland,” Pamela told Esquire April 2015. “My real last name is Hyytiäinen. He changed it to Anderson when he came to Canada. All his brothers also changed their names, so I had a feeling that maybe something bad was happening in Finland.”