What's Bob Dylan's real name?

Bob Dylan’s real name is Robert Zimmerman.

He was born Robert Allen Zimmerman on May 24, 1941, in Duluth, Minnesota, and grew up in nearby Hibbing. He began performing as Bob Dylan after moving into the folk scene in New York City in the early 1960s.

The surname “Dylan” is generally associated with Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, whose work influenced the young musician. Dylan released his debut album, Bob Dylan, in 1962 and legally changed his name to Robert Dylan later that year. “Robert Zimmerman” is therefore a commonly accepted shortened form of his birth name, even though “Robert Allen Zimmerman” is the full version.

A common mix-up is “Robert Dylan,” which was his later legal name rather than his original one. Another neighbouring fact fans often ask about is whether he was born in New York: he was not—his birthplace was Duluth, Minnesota. He later became one of the most influential singer-songwriters in popular music and received the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature.