Summer House’s Carl Radke Reveals His Legal First Name: Why Everyone Calls Him Carl
Jordan Collins here. Okay, I’ll explain, but try to keep up.
Carl Radke, the affable Summer House regular you thought you knew, quietly confirmed that “Carl” is not his legal first name and that his passport actually reads William. In an August 8 interview with PopViewers, the 40-year-old reality star clarified that his family tradition is to use middle names, so despite appearing on all nine seasons of Bravo’s hit series under the name Carl Radke, his official documents list him as William Carl Radke.
Yes, this is the sort of celebrity minutiae that makes the internet giggle, but it’s also verifiable: Radke directly told PopViewers the details, and the revelation was subsequently shared with E! News, which has tracked his comments and Summer House developments for years. He explained matter-of-factly that his mother has one explanation and he has another, but the upshot is simple—his I.D. and passport show “William” as his first name and “Carl” as his middle name. It’s a family habit, apparently; Radke noted his brother has also gone by his middle name.
This identity footnote comes at a transitional moment for the Summer House clan. Longtime cast member Paige DeSorbo, a fan favorite for seven seasons, has stepped away from the show to pursue other projects, and Radke said the group has been actively trying to cajole her into a guest appearance on season 10. In an exclusive conversation with E! News, he revealed that Amanda Batula and Ciara Miller have been pressing the ask, but DeSorbo’s busy schedule—Italy and other commitments—has kept her away. Radke admitted he’ll miss her sharp quips and on-camera presence, adding with the kind of gallows humor Bravo viewers appreciate that losing her “hotness and fashion” is a real blow to the summer dynamics.
Radke’s name confession is also a neat reminder of how celebrity identities are curated and sometimes evolve. The industry is littered with stars who use middle names, stage names, or variations to stand out or find separation between personal and professional lives. E! News and PopViewers have documented similar shifts: Aubrey Anderson-Emmons shortened her stage name to Frances for her music career, Sterling K. Brown once went by his middle name Kelby before reverting to Sterling to honor his late father, and the Lawrence brothers adapted their family name for showbiz practicality. These examples, reported across interviews and daytime talk show appearances, show that what you see on screen is often a crafted choice rather than a simple birth certificate fact.
For Summer House fans, the detail about Radke’s legal name is a charming sidebar that humanizes a long-running castmate. He’s the same Carl you recognize on TV—warm, witty, and now officially William on paper. Whether this knowledge changes how you watch his confessional moments or interpret his on-screen relationships is up to you, but it does underscore a broader truth: celebrities curate names and images all the time, and sometimes the story behind a simple name is more relatable than you’d expect.
Stay tuned, because with Paige’s status up in the air and Season 10 looming, Radke’s name reveal might be the least surprising twist this summer. Now that you know, try not to misgender his passport at the airport.
Well, now you finally understand!
Sources: Celebrity Storm and PopViewers, E! News
Attribution: Creative Commons Licensed
