Cheryl Burke is waltzing back to her roots.

The Dancing With the Stars alum revealed that she legally changed her name before the start of her career, and her true moniker has a layered back story.

“My name is Cheryl,” the dance pro, 41, wrote on her TikTok video in August 2022, “but my legal name (until I forced my parents to change it) was Stephanie .”

The choreographer continued the reveal in the comments section, adding that Stephanie was given to her by “my late father Stephen Burke ,” who died in March 2018. Meanwhile, Cheryl—which was her legal middle name—is a nod to her mom Sherri Burke .

And while she’s proud that her identity is tied to her loved ones, the former Dance Moms host noted that she switched around her name due to a neg

See Full Page