“Since February 2026, my passport has only contained the name Thomas Anders,” the musician reveals to “Picture“. This means that his real name Bernd Weidung no longer exists legally.

The trigger for the name chaos was a trip last year. At the airport in Dubai, the airline’s system was unable to capture his passport. Since 2025, the mandatory field for artist names on the back of the international digital recording system has been missing for data protection reasons, reports Anders, who recently spoke about a reboot for Modern Talking.

Stage name causes chaos for Thomas Anders

His ticket was booked under the stage name Thomas Anders, but his passport was under the name Bernd Weidung. There had been repeated problems because of this before. To avoid the constant problems, the singer decided to officially register his stage name as his only name.

Thomas Anders’ wife and son now also have different names

The name change has far-reaching consequences. His wife Claudia (53), who has been married to him for 26 years, also had to change her last name. “That’s why I’m now officially called Claudia Anders in my passport. After almost 26 years of marriage as Claudia Weidung,” she also explains to “Bild”.

Son Alexander Mick Weiden (23) was also affected by the name change. Since he is of legal age, he was able to decide for himself what last name he would like to have in the future. His mother says: “For emotional reasons, Alexander didn’t want to live the rest of his life with a different surname than his parents. That’s why he also chose Anders.”

However, the name change was not a problem for the family. Claudia Anders says: “It feels right and good for us as a family.” Still, there is one thing he regrets. Schlagerstar recently revealed Thomas Anders, what he regrets about his fatherhood.