Pamela Anderson reveals the last name she wants to take, jokes 'they won’t let me’

VANCOUVER, BC: Pamela Anderson is looking to reconnect with the identity she feels reflects who she truly is, and that starts with stepping away from the last name that made her a well-known personality.

In a new interview, the 'Naked Gun' icon said she hopes to reclaim her family's original Finnish surname, explaining that her grandfather's heritage has always been a grounding force in her life. 

Anderson said, while she would "love" to formally use her name to Hyytiäinen (her Finnish last name), she has been unable to make the change without specifying the reason.

The conversation marks one of Anderson's most personal reflections yet on her ancestry. 

Pamela Anderson grandfather's legacy and the name she longs to carry 

In the interview published by Vogue Scandinavia on December 2, Anderson, 58, spoke at length about the quiet but profound influence of her Finnish grandfather, Herman Hyytiäinen. 

"He was the closest person in my life," she said, describing how Herman taught her Finnish when she was growing up in Canada.

The language, she recalled felt "magical" to her as a child because it was something only they shared. 

Anderson explained that her desire to adopt the surname Hyytiäinen stems from that enduring bond. "Sometimes I don't want to be Pamela Anderson. I want to be Pamela Hyytiäinen," she told the outlet. "I would like to change my name, but they won't let me." 

Her family had used the surname Hyytiäinen before immigrating to Canada, where they switched it to Anderson to assimilate. After her grandfather's demise, when she was about 11, Anderson said the Finnish language "kind of left with him." 

A return to her roots

Although generations removed from her life in Finland, Anderson has continued to seek out pieces of her heritage that shaped her early years.

She previously visited the country in 2007 with her father, describing the trip as an attempt to feel close to the culture she grew up hearing about. 

"I just wanted to go, to feel that connection. I'd love to go back to Finland, maybe with my sons," she said, referring to Brandon Thomas Lee, 29, and Dylan Jagger Lee, 27.

"To find out more about myself, to explore that side of me. Maybe we will change my name and go back, to answer my roots." 

"It feels distant but it's a part of me. I've always been proud to tell people I'm Finnish, even before I knew what it really meant to me," she said.