Gabrielle Mayor, 24, recently went viral on TikTok with a video revealing a surprising twist about her name. In the video, Gabrielle describes how she discovered at age 15 that her legal name was misspelled “Gabrielle” instead of “Gabrielle” on her birth certificate.
The video, featuring Gabrielle’s deadpan narration paired with white text, has captured the attention of over 3.4 million viewers.
In the clip, Gabrielle reflects on the mix-up: “I just found out that my real name is Gabrielle because of a typo on my birth certificate. I didn’t know until I was 15.” Astonishingly, such an uncommon name slipped unnoticed by hospital staff.
Gabrielle later shared more details with Today.com. She recalled the moment at the DMV when she was trying to get her learner’s permit. “I was thrilled about learning to drive,” she said. However, when she provided her social security number, the DMV employee couldn’t find her name in the system. Instead, the computer showed “Babrielle Mayor.”
Her mother, Ellyn, was visibly distressed. “I was so excited to drive, but I ended up learning that I’d been living with a mistake for 15 years,” Gabrielle told The New York Post. Ellyn later explained that the error occurred because she was heavily medicated after giving birth and mistakenly wrote “Babrielle” instead of “Gabrielle.”
Ellyn recounted, “I was so shaky that my G must have looked like a B. I corrected the birth certificate as soon as I received it but didn’t think to update the social security card until it was time for Gabby’s permit.”
The mix-up turned into a term of endearment for Gabrielle. “My friends call me ‘Babby’ or ‘Babs,’ and even strangers who hear the story use it. It’s become a fun fact about me,” she shared.
Gabrielle’s video prompted others to share their similar experiences.
Vanessa commented, “It happened to me. My name is Vanessa, but it was listed as Banesa on my birth certificate.”
Another user, oversold, said, “Try registering for college and discovering that your legal name is Baby, and your middle name is Girl—a big mistake by my parents!”
Car123 mentioned, “One girl I know was named Angel, but it was misspelled as Angle on her birth certificate!”
Ashley revealed, “My name was misspelled as Aslhey instead of Ashley for 20 years.”
In September, another viral TikTok video featured Chloe, who revealed her father’s error, leading to an awkward name. “My dad accidentally wrote ‘Chole’ instead of Chloe, so my name is pronounced like C-hole,” she said in her clip.