Pamela Anderson hopes to change her last name to Hyytiäinen to honour her Finnish grandfather

Pamela Anderson wants to adopt her grandfather’s surname Hyytiäinen to reconnect with her Finnish roots

Pamela Anderson has revealed her desire to change her last name in tribute to her Finnish family. The 58-year-old actor told Vogue Scandinavia that she wants to adopt the surname Hyytiäinen, which belonged to her grandfather Herman before it was changed to Anderson when his family immigrated to Canada from Finland.

“Sometimes I don't want to be Pamela Anderson. I want to be Pamela Hyytiäinen,” Anderson said. “I would like to change my name, but they won’t let me.”

She credited her grandfather’s kindness and imagination for shaping her creativity and supporting her career as an actor, model, and writer.

Anderson recalled that Herman was a logger and poet who encouraged her to explore her imagination as a child. She also highlighted how his influence inspired a trip to Finland in 2007 with her father and relatives, a journey she hopes to repeat with her two sons, Brandon, 29, and Dylan, 27, whom she shares with ex-husband Tommy Lee.

“I’d love to go back to Finland, maybe with my sons. To find out more about myself, to explore that side of me. Maybe we will change my name and go back, to answer to my roots,” she explained. She added that she has always been proud of her Finnish heritage, even before fully understanding it.

Anderson also shared that her grandfather taught her Finnish, and she carried a dictionary around as a child. After his death when she was 11, she stopped learning the language, saying, “It kind of left with him.”

The Baywatch alum previously discussed her family’s Finnish history in a 2015 Esquire interview, calling her grandfather “a healer from Finland” and reflecting on the family’s immigration to Canada and the name change.

Fans have noted Anderson’s continued pride in her Finnish roots and her connection to her grandfather through her personal and professional journey.