Ken doll's real name finally revealed 65 years later

For many of us who grew up in the pre-iPad kid era, Barbie dolls were a mainstay of our childhood toy box.

And a brand-new generation of kids had their love for the figurine reinvigorated after Greta Gerwig's cult-classic Barbie flick, starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling as Ken, hit cinemas back in 2023.

Now, fans no doubt know a whole bunch about Barbie - with some even knowing that her real name isn't actually that - but not many know a thing about Ken beyond his jazzy outfits and bucketloads of 'Kenergy'.

But after 65 years since Ken was first introduced to the world, his full moniker has been revealed, and it may come as a bit of a surprise.

So, Barbie's full name is actually Barbara Millicent Roberts, which was a sweet nod to Mattel founders Ruth Handler and Eliot Handler's daughter Barbara Handler.

It was, therefore, only right for the couple to give Barbie's boy-next-door male counterpart the name of their son, Kenneth Handler. Well, Kenneth Sean Carson, if we're being specific, per Time magazine.

While Kenneth and the Ken doll, who is exactly two years and two days younger than his girlfriend, share the same name, that is where the similarities stop.

Speaking to The Los Angeles Times in a 1989 interview, Kenneth, who passed in 1994, explained: "Ken doll is Malibu. 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, adding that he 'played the piano and went to movies with subtitles'.

When Ken was first introduced to the world in 1961, the commercial beamed: "Barbie, the famous teenage fashion model doll by Mattel, felt that this was to be a special night.

"And then, it happened. She met Ken, and somehow, she knew that she and Ken would be going together.

"So now, Mattel brings you Ken, Barbie’s boyfriend, with a complete wardrobe of perfectly tailored clothes of unmatched quality. Now, Ken and Barbie met for lunch at school, go to fraternity parties and just relax together."

"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."