BBC Breakfast's Naga Munchetty's real name and why she changed it

BBC Breakfast presenter Naga Munchetty has been on the show since 2009

BBC Breakfast host Naga Munchetty has been a familiar face on the programme since 2009, yet audiences are only now discovering that Naga isn't her actual name.

Born in 1975, Naga was raised in Streatham, south London, with her mother originally from Tamil Nadu in India and her father having relocated to the UK from Mauritius.

Her parents first encountered each other whilst studying in Wales, marrying in London just one year prior to Naga's arrival, without informing either set of grandparents.

English served as their common tongue, meaning it remained the household language throughout Naga's childhood.

Naga herself didn't visit India until the age of eight to meet her grandparents, before making her inaugural trip to Mauritius at 12, reports the Express.

The BBC personality has opened up about her thoughts on anglicised names during a chat with The Guardian, revealing that her mum Muthu previously went by Michelle.

She recalled: "Names are so important, identity is so important. Once when I was a child, a woman called my mum Michelle. I said, 'Why are you calling her that?' and she said 'It's her name'.

"I said, 'No, it's not, her name is Muthu'. It made me think, that's a difficult thing to have to deal with. It's like losing your identity. But it's what used to happen, immigrants anglicising their names."

So what is Naga's genuine name? It's Subha Nagalakshmi Munchetty-Chendriah.

She quipped to the publication: "Can you imagine spelling that for people when you're a small child at school?

"But my mother started calling me Naga, because it means cobra and she dreamed of snakes when she was pregnant. I've always hated the name and for a while I thought about changing it to Nadia. In some ways, I wish I had."