Ken Doll's Real Name Revealed 65 Years Later

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Ryan Gosling Reacts to His Epic ‘I’m Just Ken’ Performance at 2024 Oscars

It turns out, he's more than just Ken.

After all, as Barbie prepares to celebrate her boyfriend's 65th birthday March 11—which is also the anniversary of his debut—fans are getting a closer look at these lesser-known secrets about the perfectly coiffed doll. Including the inside scoop on his full name: Kenneth Sean Carson.

Like Barbie—whose name Barbara Millicent Roberts was a nod to Mattel founders Ruth Handler and Eliot Handler's daughter Barbara Handler—the boy next door's moniker was inspired by their son Kenneth Handler.

Although the doll's name was a nod to Kenneth, that was as far as the similarities went.

"Ken doll is Malibu," the screenwriter, who died in 1994, told The Los Angeles Times in a 1989 interview. "He goes to the beach and surfs. He is all these perfect American things."

"I was a nerd—a real nerd. All the girls thought I was a jerk," he admitted. Instead of being the dreamy cool guy, Kenneth said that he "played the piano and went to movies with subtitles."

Ken the doll, however, had a high school experience that could rival a John Hughes movie. Indeed, exactly two years and two days younger than his girlfriend, Ken would eventually meet Barbie at a dance.

"Barbie, the famous teenage fashion model doll by Mattel, felt that this was to be a special night," the 1961 commercial introducing Ken explained. "And then, it happened. She met Ken and somehow, she knew that she and Ken would be going together."

Courtesy of Mattel

"Now, Ken and Barbie meet for lunch at school, go to fraternity parties and just relax together. Think of the fun you'll have taking Barbie and Ken on dates, dressing each one just right," the commercial's narrator continued. "Get both Barbie and Ken and see where the romance will lead."

Ken and Barbie may be the most picturesque couple, but that doesn't mean the whole relationship was perfect. In fact, Mattel revealed in 2004 that after four decades, the couple had broken up and needed "to spend some quality time—apart."

But there is no Ken without Barbie, and in 2011, Mattel had billboards of Ken proclaiming his love for Barbie ahead of Valentine's Day.

Courtesy of Mattel

"As the ultimate boyfriend for every occasion, Ken knew just what to do to win Barbie back," Mattel's senior vice president of global marketing for girls brands Stephanie Cota shared in a press release at the time. "The iconic couple is truly made for each other and this is just the beginning of their next chapter together."

As for how Ken plans to celebrate his 65th birthday in his next chapter? He's bringing the Kenergy to Expedia as the travel company's newest brand ambassador for 65 adventures around the world.

Courtesy of Mattel

"For decades," a Jan. 26 press release noted, "Ken has been synonymous with the laid-back charm of Malibu life while touting an impressive range of passions as an airline captain, doctor, sailor, skater, cowboy, lifeguard, rock star, and many more."

"As a symbol of creativity and self-expression, he's now expanding his cultural influence as a tastemaker and highly sought-after talent," the release continued, "embracing a new era that expands beyond the toy aisle and is filled with collaborative opportunities and exciting adventures."

As Ken packs his bags, keep reading for more surprising facts about everyone's favorite characters.

WIktor Szymanowicz/NurPhoto/Shutterstock

Hello Kitty Isn't a Cat

Many fans were left purrrrrfectly confused after this revelation.

“Hello Kitty is not a cat,” Jill Cook—an executive at Sanrio, the company behind the character—explained to Today in July 2024. “She’s actually a little girl born and raised in the suburbs of London. She has a mom and dad and a twin sister Mimmy who’s also her best friend. She enjoys baking cookies and making new friends.”

While the news may have surprised some, Cook wasn’t the first to share this insight. As a matter of fact, Christine R. Yano—a professor of anthropology who penned the book Pink Globalization: Hello Kitty's Trek Across the Pacific—had also previously confirmed that Hello Kitty isn’t a feline.

“Hello Kitty is not a cat,” she told the Los Angeles Times in 2014. “She’s a cartoon character. She is a little girl. She is a friend. But she is not a cat. She’s never depicted on all fours. She walks and sits like a two-legged creature. She does have a pet cat of her own, however, and it’s called Charmmy Kitty.”

Other fun facts about Hello Kitty? According to Sanrio, she is five apples tall, weighs three apples, was born on November 1 (making her a Scorpio) and dreams of being a pianist or poet.

Noam Galai/WireImage

Goofy Isn't a Dog

Gawrsh! Did you know this fact?

Bill Farmer, who's provided the voice of Goofy for decades, explained why the Disney character can talk while Mickey Mouse's pet Pluto can't.

Goofy is "not a dog, but he's a canine," the voice actor said on an August 2024 episode of Popcorn Podcast with Leigh Livingstone and Tim Iffland. "So it's kind of like a wolf is not a dog but it's a canine—same thing. Goofus canis, that's what he is. Or, he's a MOG—he's a man-dog."

However, Pluto, he added, is a "regular dog"—a blood hound as it turns out.

Squidward Isn't a Squid

You'll want to get to the (bikini) bottom of this discovery.

SpongeBob SquarePants' creator Stephen Hillenburg once revealed that Squidward Tentacles is actually an octopus—not a squid.

"This is Squidward the Octopus, SpongeBob's grumpy next-door neighboor," he shared in the 2005 Case Of The Sponge 'Bob' video resurfaced by BuzzFeed. "I like the octopus for this character because they have such a large, bulbous head, and Squidward thinks he's an intellectual so, of course, he's going to have a large, bulbous head."

But if you're wondering how Squidward can be an octopus when he has only six legs instead of eight, Hillenburg had an answer for that, too—noting "it was really just easier for animation to draw him" with fewer tentacles.

Scott Gries/Getty Images

Blue From Blue's Clues Was Originally an Orange Cat

Break out your handy dandy notebook and jot this one down.

"One of the things that nobody knows is that Blue was originally a cat," the show's co-creator Angela Santomero said in the 2006 special Behind the Clues: 10 Years With Blue resurfaced by Mental Floss. "First his name was Mr. Orange and then we're like, 'Uh, maybe Mr. Blue.'"

But according to the special, Nickelodeon was already working on a series about a cat—leading animators to toss out the original idea and redesign Blue as a dog.

Everett/Shutterstock

Doug Was Almost Named Brian

Now this really isn’t funnie, er, funny.

But as it turns out, Doug Funnie from the cartoon series Doug was almost named Brian. As for what led to the change?

"I just thought Brian was too fancy of a name," Doug creator Jim Jinkins told HuffPost TV in 2014, "So, I geared it down, and started calling him Doug. If you think about what that sounds like, it sounds incredibly average, and that’s what I was trying to do: express from that point of view.”

Boo From Monsters, Inc. Isn’t Her Full Name

This fact is so good it’s scary.

In Monsters, Inc.: An Augmented Reality Book, the name of Boo—the little girl who accidentally ends up in Monstropolis and befriends monsters Mike and Sulley—is revealed to be Mary Gibbs, according to BuzzFeed. And if the name sounds familiar, it’s because it’s the real-life moniker of the actress who provided the voice of Boo.

Need more proof? In the movie, there’s actually a scene where Boo is sorting through some of her drawings and fans can spot the name “Mary” scribbled at the top of one of the pieces of paper.

Joseph Prezioso/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Minnie Mouse Has a Longer Moniker

Speaking of names, while Mickey Mouse’s girlfriend is often called Minnie Mouse, according to the BBC, it was revealed in 1942 that her full name is actually Minerva.

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