What was the birth name of the writer known as C.S. Lewis?

The writer known as C.S. Lewis was born Clive Staples Lewis. He was given the name Clive Staples at birth, and the initials C.S. later became the form by which readers around the world knew him.

Lewis reportedly disliked the name Clive during childhood and adopted the nickname “Jack,” a name used by his friends and family for the rest of his life. The nickname was connected to a childhood dog named Jacksie, whose death affected him deeply.

The initials C.S. did not stand for Charles or Christopher. They were simply the initials of Clive Staples. Lewis used them professionally for his fiction, literary criticism, Christian apologetics, and other books.

His full name is especially useful for distinguishing him from other writers with similar initials. He is also sometimes called Jack Lewis in biographies and scholarly writing, but “C.S. Lewis” remains his standard author name.