Maika Monroe Explains Why She Changed Her Own Name at Age 7
Maika Monroe Explains Why She Changed Her Own Name at Age 7
Bailey RichardsMon, March 9, 2026 at 7:13 PM UTC
0
Maika Monroe in February 2026Credit: Daniel Boczarski/Getty -
Maika Monroe changed her first name when she was about 7 years old
The Reminders of Him actress discussed the name change on the March 9 episode of the Happy Sad Confused podcast
Monroe was born with the first name Dillon, which she has since made her middle name
Maika Monroe is looking back on what inspired her name change.
During the Monday, March 9 episode of Josh Horowitz’s Happy Sad Confused podcast, the Reminders of Him and Longlegs actress, 32, explained that in elementary school she changed her own first name — and refused to answer to anything else.
Asked about the “relationship” she had with her name growing up, Monroe told host Horowitz that her first name at birth was actually Dillon, not Maika.
“My mom was deciding between naming me Maika or Dillon if it was going to be a girl. She was like, ‘If I have a girl, it's Maika or Dillon.’ A week before I was born, she had some dream and it was like, ‘It's going to be Dillon.’ So, I came out a girl and she named me Dillon.”
For the first seven years of her life, that name stuck, Monroe said. But everything changed when she found out what her alternate name was.
Said the actress, “Around 7 years old, which I think is like first grade, I was just curious, like, ‘What other names were you going to name me? What were you thinking?’ And she said, ‘Maika.’ And I was like, ‘Oh my God, I love that name.’ ”
“I also think at that age there were boy Dillons and other Dillons, and I think Maika felt very unique,” she continued. “So I was like, ‘I'm gonna be named Maika. I'm not gonna listen if you call me Dillon. I won't pay attention.’ And I have literally been Maika since then.”
Monroe — who was born to parents Dixie and Jack Monroe and raised in Santa Barbara, Calif. — did not ditch Dillon altogether, however, instead adopting it as a middle name. Her full name, as it is stated on her Instagram account, is Maika Dillon Monroe.
Advertisement
Maika Monroe in October 2025Credit: Karwai Tang/WireImage/Getty
— sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
The actress previously opened up about her childhood name swap, explaining to The Hollywood Reporter in June 2016 that when she first heard Maika, the moniker fit like a glove.
After her mother revealed that Maika “was her second choice” name, the actress told THR, “I was like, 'That’s my name!' "
She continued, "So I went around to all my neighbors and my teachers and said, 'I’m no longer going to respond to Dillon. My name is Maika.' And it stuck."
Elsewhere in her Happy Sad Confused appearance, the star discussed several of her roles, from starring alongside a young Timothée Chalamet in Hot Summer Nights to her latest role in the Colleen Hoover book adaptation Reminders of Him.
Maika Monroe (left) and costar Tyriq Withers in 'Reminders of Him'Credit: Universal Studios
The pair also discussed several of Monroe’s horror roles, as she has made a name for herself in the genre since her breakout in 2014's It Follows — which is getting a sequel, They Follow, that is set to begin filming soon, according to the actress.
“That’s the next job,” Monroe confirmed of the follow-up, teasing that “it's very dark.”
Reminders of Him is in theaters March 13.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
