Many country music superstars choose their middle names over their given first names. It is hard to imagine country music superstar Sam Smith (Tim McGraw’s given name) and his superstar wife, Audrey Faith Perry (Faith Hill). Or how about sold-out stadium shows from a guy named Troyal (Garth Brooks)? And instead of two Lukes (Bryan and Combs), there would be two Thomas’ (Rhett and Bryan).
Many celebrities change their name to fit who they have become, but in country music, the go-to name change for a superstar is to simply go with your middle name.
We take a look at five country superstars that go by their given middle names.
RELATED: Top Five Most Fit Stars In Country Music
Kenneth Eric Church
Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Can you image Kenny Church? Eric, born in n Granite Falls, North Carolina, was named after his father, Ken. Church worked with his dad at Clayton Marcus, a furniture upholstery company where his father was president.
Thomas Luther Bryan
Rick Diamond/Getty Images
Luke was named after his father, Tommy, who was a peanut farmer in Leesburg, Georgia.
Troyal Garth Brooks
Chris Weeks/Liaison
Garth was named for his father, Troyal Raymond Brooks Jr. He is the elder Troyal’s youngest child. His mother, Colleen McElroy Carroll (who passed away in 1999), was a 1950s-era country singer who recorded on Capitol Records, the same label that Garth recorded on.
Frederick Dierks Bentley
Jason Kempin/Getty Images
Dierks has used his middle name publically since his music career began. The name Dierks is his maternal great-grandmother’s surname. His parents’ names are Leon Fife Bentley (who passed away in 2012) and Catherine Childs.
Samuel Timothy Smith
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images
Tim McGraw was not born as a McGraw, and Timothy was his middle name. He changed his last name at age 11 when he learned the identity of his real father, major league baseball pitcher “Tug” McGraw, who passed away in 2004.
