On January 29, 1954, Winfrey was born “Orpah” (a name from the Old Testament), but few people from her Mississippi hometown managed to pronounce — and, as a result, spell it– correctly.
After enough years of people writing the “p” before the “r,” Winfrey came to adopt it as the official spelling she would go by, which would eventually become the biggest name in daytime talk show history.
While it would not be surprising to learn that her easily recognizable first name is really a stage persona, that is not exactly the case for Oprah Winfrey, although “Oprah” is not how her birth certificate identifies her.