The “Invite” director noted she’s always been in on the joke: “I thought it was funny too. I was like, ‘Oh, I get it. That’s funny.’”

Olivia Wilde clarifies how to pronounce her real last name

The "Invite" director noted she's always been in on the joke: "I thought it was funny too. I was like, ‘Oh, I get it. That’s funny.’”

By Emlyn Travis

Emlyn Travis

Emlyn Travis is a news writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2022. Her work has previously appeared on MTV News, Teen Vogue, and NME.

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June 29, 2026 3:53 p.m. ET

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Olivia Wilde. Credit:

Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty

- Olivia Wilde is educating Dax Shepard on the correct pronunciation of her last name.

- The filmmaker and actress was born Olivia Cockburn, which is pronounced "co-burn."

- "I thought it was funny too. I was like, ‘Oh, I get it. That’s funny,'" she said.

Olivia Wilde is setting the record straight on how to pronounce her real last name.

The actress, who was born Olivia Cockburn, interrupted *Armchair Expert* host Dax Shepard to correct his pronunciation of her surname on a recent episode of the podcast.

“I'll tell you something — and there's no way you would know this — it's pronounced ‘Coburn,’” Wilde told him. “Which I want you to imagine being a kid, when you’re… Because it’s spelled ‘Cockburn!’”

Olivia Wilde at "The Invite" premiere.

Kevin Winter/Getty

It’s a Scottish surname, according to Wilde. She ended up changing her name as a tribute to legendary Irish author and poet, Oscar Wilde.

“It is very much like ‘[A] Boy Named Sue,’ you know what I mean? Like, it’s character building,” she added. “I think it's important — we should all give our kids devastating middle names just so that you can grow up with like something to be totally bullied for.”

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When asked by Shepard if kids poked fun at her because of her last name, Wilde responded, “Oh yeah, but I think it was an early important lesson in laughing along — not in a way that was, like, giving into the bullies in a way. I don't know. I thought it was funny too. I was like, ‘Oh, I get it. That’s funny.’”

To this day, the *Booksmart* director admitted she isn’t quite sure if navigating the last name was worse for her or her brother, Charlie, who is nine years younger than her.

“Life was nicer nine years later, a little bit, right? We've gotten marginally better,” Shepard said, to which Wilde fired back, “I don’t know, have we?”

Wilde wasn’t too sure. “I think having the last name looks like Cockburn in any city in any decade…” she began. Shepard responded, “It's too easy.”

He continued, “In fact, it's kind of comforting, too. It's like no matter how evolved we get, if your last name is Cockburn, you're going to take it on [the chin].”

Wilde quipped back, “You’re always gonna learn to laugh early.”

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