Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for A Complete Unknown!
Although A Complete Unknown explores the story of Bob Dylan, the movie doesn’t ever explain when or why he changed his last name, maintaining the air of mystery surrounding the musician. The 2024 Bob Dylan movie paints a fascinating picture of a complicated, elusive man who has been the subject of numerous documentaries and biopics. The narrative starts in 1961 with Dylan arriving in New York City and ends just after the 1965 Newport Folk Festival.
While A Complete Unknown briefly references Bob Dylan’s life after the movie, there’s very little shared about Bob Dylan’s life beforehand. His constantly changing backstory makes it nearly impossible to know what’s true. I’m surprised they only once gave attention to the fact that he used to have the name Robert Zimmerman. Although A Complete Unknown doesn’t provide an answer about why Zimmerman became Dylan, more information is available about his name change.
Robert Allen Zimmerman Legally Changed His Name To Bob Dylan In 1962
Bob Dylan Started Going By Bob Dylan While In Minneapolis
In 1962, Bob Dylan had been going by the moniker for around two years, and he took steps to change his name legally, which became official in August of that year. Afterward, he denied that he was ever Robert Allen Zimmerman for a while, including to Newsweek.
This matches up with the moment when Sylvie confronts Bob about the fact that he won’t confirm that he used to be Robert Zimmerman in A Complete Unknown. It’s unclear why he felt so upset at the idea of people knowing his previous name; however, he might have thought it would ruin the nomadic, mysterious image he cultivated for himself.
Bob Dylan Debunked A Popular Theory Behind His Name Change
Bob Dylan’s Last Name Didn’t Come From Dylan Thomas
By the time A Complete Unknown starts, he’d already taken on the stage name by the time the film starts. The popular theory about why Bob Dylan chose the last name Dylan is that he was a fan of Dylan Thomas; however, the musician debunked this theory in 1961 when speaking to The New York Times, as recounted by the Grammy Awards.
Bob Dylan had an unfavorable opinion of the poet. He said, “Straighten out in your book that I did not take my name from Dylan Thomas. Dylan Thomas’ poetry is for people that aren’t really satisfied in their bed – for people who dig masculine romance.” Arrogantly, Dylan ᴀsserted in 1966 that he’d done more for Thomas than the prolific Welsh poet had done for him (via Far Out Magazine). In reality, Dylan claiming any credit for Thomas’s fame is misleading, considering Thomas was famous before Dylan was even born.
However, the loose connection between the two isn’t nonexistent. While he might have picked the name as an homage to his idol, Dylan Thomas, the poet did have a small influence on the name change, according to Dylan’s autobiography, Chronicles: Volume One, which he released in 2004.
Bob Dylan tried going by the names Robert Allen, Robert Allyn, and Elston Gunn before choosing the name Bob Dylan.
According to his own writings, he planned to go by Robert Allen but changed the spelling to Allyn to make it seem “more exotic, more inscrutable.” Then, he’d seen poems by Dylan Thomas. He thought Dylan sounded close to Allyn but had more impact because of the “D,” taking on the new last name. However, when it comes to his interviews and writings, it must be mentioned that Bob Dylan is an unreliable narrator who is known for lying. After researching the man for months, the only thing I can trust about Bob Dylan is that I can’t trust anything.
The Real Reason Bob Dylan Changed His Name, Explained By Him
Bob Dylan Revealed The Motivation For His Name Change In An Unreleased 1971 Interview
For six decades, fans of the enigmatic singer speculated about why he changed his name from Robert Zimmerman to Bob Dylan. The most popular accepted reason is that it allowed him to take on a new persona, shedding his past life. Others believe that the name change allowed him to maintain his anonymity. In an unreleased TV interview, which happened six years after the ending of A Complete Unknown, Bob Dylan actually answered the frequently asked question. However, the transcript only resurfaced in 2020. The fans were partially correct, but they were missing one sadder component.
When speaking to his old friend Tony Glover, who was interviewing him, Bob Dylan revealed that two significant factors contributed to his decision. Firstly, he needed a character that people would invest in. He said, “It was more or less that there had to be this character…There had to be something about it, to carry it to that extra dimension.” Secondly, he wanted to forget about the anti-Semitism that he experienced. He said/annotated this:
“My first 18 years I encountered [prejudice], sure…A lot of people are under the impression that Jews are just money lenders and merchants. A lot of people think that all Jews are like that. Well, they used to be cause that’s all that was open to them. That’s all they were allowed to do…In a way, [the name change] allowed me to step into the Guthrie role with more character. And, I wouldn’t have to kept being reminded of things I didn’t want to be reminded of at that time” (via Come Writers And Critics).
While I take most of Bob Dylan’s interviews with a grain of salt, this one stands out as most likely truthful because of the nature of Dylan’s relationship with Glover. His friend knew him before he came to New York City. He knew Robert Zimmerman, which meant that Dylan couldn’t hide behind lies as easily. Ultimately, A Complete Unknown left out any and all ᴀssertions about why Bob Dylan changed his name, which allowed the audience to bask in the mysteriousness of this musical figure.
