What was C.S. Lewis’s full first name, represented by the initials in his pen name?

C.S. Lewis’s full first name was Clive Staples. He was born Clive Staples Lewis in Belfast, Ireland, in 1898, and used his initials professionally throughout his writing career.

Lewis’s first name came from his mother’s family, while Staples was a family surname. Friends and family often called him “Jack,” a nickname he adopted as a child after the death of a beloved dog named Jacksie.

The initials “C.S.” became internationally recognizable through books such as The Chronicles of Narnia, Mere Christianity, and The Screwtape Letters. Readers sometimes assume the initials stand for a more conventional name such as Charles Stephen, but the author’s official name was Clive Staples Lewis. His brother, Warren Hamilton Lewis, was usually known as Warnie.