Billy Ray Cyrus publicly weighs in on daughter Miley dropping his famous surname

Billy Ray Cyrus has publicly weighed in with where he stands on daughter Miley dropping their famous last name. 

The 65-year-old responded to his 33-year-old daughter’s decision to ditch her surname for her new era of music, sharing a post on Instagram with his feelings alongside a throwback snap with her and her brother, Braison, who he shares with ex Tish Cyrus. 

“Family means more than ever now,” the post started. 

“I always called my little girl Miley. Just … Miley.  Just like I always called my little boy Braison.” 

For Billy Ray, the decision to go by one name alone is something he’s actually quite familiar with and a choice he also made in his early career. 

“Bet you didn’t know … I was just CYRUS before Achy Breaky Heart came out in 92,” the post continued.

Billy Ray revealed that all of the swag and T-shirts he had at the time just had CYRUS on them.

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“I told @miley yesterday I felt good about her going with her first name. I mentioned Dolly and Cher. Thinkin about it more and more … Elvis .. Prince …and so on. It’s a natural progression for an iconic superstar legend. And the legend continues!” the post continued.

“Looking forward to the new album. Now … if only Mercury / Polygram would have just not insisted on the” Billy Ray” part and just let me be CYRUS……  I could have done something!!!  Ha ha !!! 🤣 All good.” 

Earlier this week Miley made the big reveal that she’s dropping the name Cyrus as she moves forward with her music. 

The singer posted two red and black photos of herself on Instagram and captioned one of them with nothing more than “MILEY”. 

The Flowers hitmaker hasn’t given any other details to the name change, although she’s also changed her Instagram handle to just @miley alongside the release of her new album, Bass Persuades. 

Billy Ray speaking out publicly about his daughter comes after the pair have moved past a tough few years of estrangement. 

Things became tense between the father-daughter duo when he and her mother, Tish, divorced in April 2022.

Billy Ray and Tish share five children, Miley, Braison, Brandi, 39, Trace, 37 and Noah, 26 and their split divided the family. 

The Achy Breaky Heart singer and his daughter Miley didn’t speak for years, and their relationship struggled, but things turned a corner last year. 

In May 2025 the pair reunited to celebrate Braison’s 31st birthday. 

Billy Ray marked the occasion by sharing a photo with his children on social media. 

Months later in September, Miley released the song Secrets, which she described as a “peace offering for someone [she] had lost for a time but always loved,” at the time. 

She then added, “This song is for my dad.”