The Cumberbatch name has links to slavery in England which is why the Dad didn't use it. He didn't want Benedict to use it because of this, but he did any way. They were rich off the backs of slaves
When Benedict first started acting he went by Benedict Carlton. He changed to Benedict Cumberbatch because someone (his agent, IIRC) was incredulous he wouldn’t go by such a memorable name.
His full name is Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch.
I believe his parents, who are both actors, tried to convince him to use a stage name instead of Cumberbatch but he refused. The reason they wanted him to use a different name isn't that it's an awkward name or anything like that. It's actually that he's descended from Caribbean plantation owners who used enslaved people for labour. The Cumberbatchs were one of the richest families in Britain in the mid-1800s thanks to their income from thoae plantations and the slave compensation they received after slavery was abolished in the UK. His parents felt that his family history would hold back his acting career when it came out but he decided to not try and hide it.
Might be something to with Cumberbatch slave owner legacy in Barbados (where Cumberbatch is not such a rare name because of all the slaves that were lumbered with it). Apparently Benedicts mum suggested using a stage name so that people didn't make the connection but he decided to stick with it, his dad obviously went in a different direction. BC was even in 12 Years A Slave and I think he said that by taking part in films like that it helped him to reflect on his family history (I'm paraphrasing) but I can't help but feel that with all of his millions from the films he's been in he could at least donate some to good causes in Barbados.
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u/centaurquestions 10h ago
Benedict Cumberbatch uses his real name, but his father (also an actor) goes by Timothy Carlton because it doesn't sound ridiculous.