Johnny Cash is not his real name

Sam Phillips, Cash's first record producer, assumed that Cash made up his last name when they first met. It has a "Johnny Guitar" or "Johnny Dollar" sound. In truth, the surname Cash originates from Scotland's old kingdom of Fife and may be traced back approximately a thousand years. That "Johnny" is made up.

According to the legend, Cash's parents struggled to decide on a name for their fourth child. His father's name is Ray, and he worked hard for it; his mother's maiden name was Rivers, and she was concerned about it. A shorthand for avoiding confrontations is "JR." Cash was known throughout his youth by the initials JR, which was not uncommon for Southern children to have during the Depression. Even after earning his high school diploma, he continues to go by JR; his name is on the document.

Cash didn't have to establish himself until he enlisted in the Air Force in 1950. JR becomes "John R. Cash" because employers won't accept candidates whose names include initials. His second name is still a point of contention among historians today because the R might refer to either Cash's mother Rivers or father Ray.