90s teen idol Joey Lawrence shares real last name, regrets he and his brothers changed it as child stars

Joey Lawrence and brothers Matthew Lawrence and Andrew Lawrence surprised fans when they revealed their real last name.On Friday, Joey, 48, Matthew, 45, and Andrew, 37, whose legal last name is Mignogna, appeared on a panel at 90s Con, where they recalled why they all adopted “Lawrence” as their stage name when they rose to fame as child stars.“It was my middle name,” Joey, who was born Joseph Lawrence Mignogna, said via Entertainment Weekly. “So, I was named after our dad, and our grandfather on our dad’s side.And in the early ’80s, it was like, ‘No one can pronounce Mignogna.

That’s not a name people will say.'”“Today, things like that are celebrated,” the “Blossom” star continued.“In the ’80s, it was like, ‘We’re going to need to water this down.

There are silent Gs.’“Because you spell our last name [Mignogna] like filet mignon,'” Joey added.“So, they were like, ‘Let’s call him Joey Lawrence.’ So that’s just what they did.”Joey noted that “it just made sense” for Matthew and Andrew to use their brother’s fake surname when they followed in his footsteps and began working as child actors in Hollywood.Matthew shared his view that the trio’s parents, Joseph and Donna Mignogna, also saw the advantage that using a different last name would provide their children.“I also think my parents, and wisely so, [knew] there was an insulation factor, where, before the internet, you could hide behind that at, you know, at school,” Matthew said. “Some people might check in old-school ways, but it would be very, very hard to find us,” he added.

“That was a great thing.”However, the brothers agreed they now wish they hadn’t used Lawrence as their last name instead of Mignogna.“It would have made it easier,” Andrew said.“It’s really a pain in the butt, honestly, having two names.

You have to prove you’re both people.”Matthew explained that he had also encountered difficulties due to t...