What was John Ford's birth name?

John Ford's birth name was John Martin Feeney.

He was born in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, to Irish immigrant parents and later followed his older brother Francis into filmmaking. In his early career he was sometimes known as Jack Ford before adopting the screen name John Ford.

The name can be confusing because Ford sometimes claimed that he had been born Sean Aloysius O'Feeney or a similar Irish-language variant. Baptismal and civil records identify him as John Martin Feeney, making that the standard documented answer.

Ford became one of Hollywood's most influential directors, known for films including Stagecoach, The Grapes of Wrath, The Searchers, and The Quiet Man. He won four Academy Awards for Best Director, more than any other director at the time of his death.