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JoJo Siwa Changes Her Name to Joelle on TikTok, Teases Fans with a New Era for 2026
It seems like the new year is bringing another new era for former Dance Moms star and singer JoJo Siwa.
Recently, Siwa has been reflecting on the rollercoaster ride 2025 was for her as well as what’s ahead in 2026.
On December 27, Siwa posted a TikTok comparing “the girl who entered 2025” with “the girl who is exiting 2025.”
The first photo showed her with a wild sculptural hairdo, sporting rhinestones completely covering her eyes on a red carpet, while the second showed her barefaced and smiling, wearing a casual Christmas sweater.
In the caption of the post, Siwa wrote, “Beautiful year if you ask me. Couldn’t count all the highs if you asked me to 🤍”
The post seemed to signal that the singer and dancer has been enjoying a tamer, more relaxed life lately, which is a big change from the high-energy, self-proclaimed “bad girl” era she had claimed to be in previously.
Right around the time of the post, fans noticed another big change for Siwa: she changed her name on her TikTok account from JoJo Siwa to Joelle Siwa.
Some fans seemed to welcome the change saying they were happy for her, while others weren’t so receptive to it.
“joelle? siwa….? what is even happening right now 💀” one commenter wrote.
“What a year it’s been. So proud of you Joelle🤍” another fan commented.
On New Year’s Eve, Siwa posted another TikTok, this time with on-screen text reading “‘Any plans for 2026?’ Me:” with a video of her lip synching to her own song lyrics, saying “I don’t really care about what they say, I’mma come back like a boomerang.”
In the caption, Siwa wrote, “What a year it is ahead ✨🤍”
In the comments, many of Siwa’s fans took to defending her name change.
“…Her real name is Joelle, Jojo was just a nickname. Are y’all new here?” one fan commented.
“She’s not a toddler anymore, Joelle is what she wants, let her go by her legal name,” another fan added.
“Joelle feels so authentic, wishing you every happiness in 2026,” a third fan chimed in.
While Siwa has not announced any more specific plans for what her new era going by Joelle will look like personally or professionally, it seems safe to say her boyfriend of seven months, Chris Hughes, is expected to be a part of it.
On January 6, Siwa posted a series of before and after photos from her asking ChatGPT to AI generate what it would look like if she and Hughes had a family of their own with two small kids by their side, writing in the caption, “My heart wasn’t ready for this🥹❤️✨”
The post received a mixed reaction, with her fans defending her in the comments.
“God forbid a woman grows up and wants a family with the man she loves 🤨” one fan sarcastically commented, directed at those saying Siwa is too young or too early in the relationship to be thinking about kids.
“I love that she’s at the ‘I want a family’ stage of life! This is beautiful ❤” another fan said.
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