All About Ice T's Real Name — and the Story Behind His Famous Stage Moniker
Here's everything fans should know about the SVU star's actual given name.
It's the question that's been on every Ice T fan's mind at on point or another: What is his real name?
Yes, believe it or not, Ice T is not the acclaimed Law & Order: Special Victims Unit star's birth name. Here's everything you need to know and the origin of the stage name he uses today.
What is Ice T's real name?
Ice T's real name is Tracy Lauren Marrow.
How did Ice T get his name?
Ice T didn't become "Ice T" by accident. Based on his childhood, it was the perfect name for him. In an illuminating 2019 interview with WE tv, Ice T spoke about the origins of his famous stage name and how early childhood events led to being given the name he goes by today.
"Early in my life I dealt with my trauma," he explained. "My mother passed when I was in the third grade and then my father ended up passing when I was in the seventh grade from heart complications. So, I'm an orphan and I'd been on my own since I was 17."
"So you become… I would call it 'cold,'" he said. "And that's how you get named 'Ice.' It's just —"
Ice T struggled to find the words.
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"Products of where we come from," the interviewer offered.
"Yeah," Ice T answered.
Then his real-life first initial — "T" — was all he needed to bring his now iconic stage name to life. The name Ice T is about the farthest thing from Tracy Lauren, and it makes sense now why the legendary performer settled into his persona from an early age.
(And despite what many people may assume, Ice T's name has nothing to do with a certain refreshing summer beverage!)
What do Ice T's friends refer to him as?
Although fans know him in 2024 as Ice T, the people closest to the star don't.
During a 2011 interview with NPR, Ice T revealed that his closest friends don't call him by his real name or by his stage name. Although some people in his life call him Tracy, his "real" friends refer to him by "Trey" or "Berg" — short for "Iceberg."
"They're trying to let me know that they know me, you know, personally," Ice T said.
Even at a young age, Ice T acknowledged that "Tracy Lauren" may be considered a girl's name, but he used a Johnny Cash record as a tool that put all preconceptions about his name to rest.
"Johnny Cash had a record called Boy Named Sue, so if you give a boy any name that could be considered a girl's name, he's going to grow up tough," Ice T told NPR.
