Aaron Paul Just Legally Changed His Name

Aaron Paul and his family officially have new names. The Breaking Bad actor has had the petition he filed in November approved in order to legally change his family’s last name and that of his young son, according to legal documents obtained Wednesday by TMZ. 

Paul, who was born Aaron Sturtevant, will now legally be known by the stage surname he’s been using since before his breakout role as Jesse Pinkman. His wife, Lauren Paul, will also have a last name swap and will be going by her husband’s new legal last name as opposed to her previous legal last name, Parsekian. The couple’s 8-month-old son will also have a new legal name – going by Ryden Caspian instead of his original name, Casper Emerson.

Despite Ryden’s original name on his birth certificate, Paul introduced his son as Ryden shortly after his birth. “My little man. Ryden Caspian Paul. So happy you are out in this world you beautiful boy you,” he wrote on Instagram in April announcing the birth of his second child. “I promise to make you proud little guy. We have been absorbing this baby boy for the last month and feel it’s time to finally share the news of his arrival. We love you endlessly.”

Paul also referred to his son as Ryden during an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, telling host Jimmy Fallon, “His name is Ryden and I love him,” adding that he was “exhausted” because he was taking care of an infant. Paul and his wife also share daughter Story Annabelle, 4, after tying the knot in May 2013. “[Story] can’t squeeze him enough. Like, lays on top of him, suffocates him,” Paul added with a laugh to Fallon. “It’s her doll.”

After welcoming his firstborn, the Westworld star told Haute Living that being a dad was the “closest thing to magic” and that he couldn’t wait to have more. “Fatherhood has definitely changed me,” he told the publication in 2020. “I see why people rush home to be there when they get home from school. You don’t want to miss any of it.”