Miley Cyrus appears to be entering a bold new era after making a striking change to her official website.
In a move associated with pop icons such as Adele, Beyoncé, Kylie and Cher, the singer appears to have dropped her surname. Her website, previously hosted at mileycyrus.com, has been replaced by mileyofficial.com.
The updated site features a red background and a close-up image of the Disney Legend, with ‘MILEY’ displayed prominently across the home screen. Cyrus has not yet changed her social media profiles to match, and the new branding could potentially be connected to an upcoming album. Either way, it marks a significant change.
Why Miley Cyrus previously considered dropping her surname
The ‘Wrecking Ball’ singer inherited the Cyrus surname from her father, ‘Achy Breaky Heart’ star Billy Ray Cyrus. In 2013, she revealed that she had considered removing it as part of an effort to move beyond her past.
“I was thinking about dropping the Cyrus and just being Miley but there’s something powerful about the fact that my name now is like a household name,” the then-20-year-old singer told Notion magazine.
“People have this misconception of me that I’m just one of these kids on TV and that now I go off and party and I’m just this ratchet white girl, and I’m not.”
She continued: “I’m young and living and in LA which is everyone’s dream, you know. I’m living it to the fullest. Rather than taking a blessing and making it a curse, it’s just like this is what this name is now.”
Fans react to Miley Cyrus website rebrand
Now that Cyrus appears to have made the change in some form, fans have welcomed the first glimpse of her new branding.
“Miley dropping Cyrus from her website feels like the most Miley move ever, she rebrands every era and it always ends up being the right call,” one fan wrote on X.
Another agreed: “The way Miley rebrands every era and somehow makes every new version of herself work will never not impress me.”
Other fans suggested that her surname has ‘officially clocked off’ and said they ‘can’t wait to see what she has cooked up’ for the ‘MILEY’ era.
The website change could simply indicate that Cyrus is preparing a self-titled album, although it appears to be self-titled without her surname. For now, fans will have to wait to see what the new MILEY era brings.
The LADbible Group has contacted representatives for Miley Cyrus for comment on the change.
What is Miley Cyrus’ real name?
Fans of Hannah Montana and the singer’s long career will know that Miley was not her original name.
Born in November 1992 to Billy Ray and Tish Cyrus, she was named ‘Destiny Hope’. Her family soon began calling her Miley.
During an appearance on the Tea Time with Raven & Miranda podcast, her mother explained: “Billy Ray came up with that.”
She always smiled when she was little, so we would call her smiley Miley, and it just stuck.”
Cyrus legally changed her name in 2008 to officially become Miley.
Billy Ray told US Weekly that she will always be Destiny Hope to him as he shared the explanation: “She’s a giver. She believes that we’re all put here for a reason, and that’s to give back to our fellow man. I’m real proud of her.”
That’s why we named her Destiny Hope. Destiny Hope Cyrus is her name – at least it used to be.”
But no matter what you call her, she still is Destiny Hope. She is a ray of sunshine. She is a special human being. She’s got a great heart.”
