What was Penny’s last name on The Big Bang Theory? Kaley Cuoco and the cast have their theories and have debated about it.Joshua Lapin-Bertone
Five Nights at Freddy’s creator Scott Cawthon knew that fans needed to hear the right music in the movie to know they were being heard – and the Living Tombstone are grateful he did
The Big Bang Theory ran for 279 episodes across 12 seasons. During that time we see Leonard, Sheldon, Penny and their friends grow, experience love, loss, and have plenty of crazy misadventures.
Somehow Penny’s last name never came up during that time.
We never learn the character’s last name at any point during the show. Sure, Penny and Leonard would marry in season nine, making her Penny Hofstadter, but her maiden name remained a mystery. While a piece of mail in season two was once labeled Penny Teller, series co-creator Chuck Lorre has stated that Teller isn’t her last name, and the mail label should be disregarded. At one point, the name Penny Barrington was considered, but the writers decided to keep her maiden name a mystery.
This means that Penny had no last name on the show until she married Leonard. Months after the wedding episode aired, Penny actress Kaley Cuoco was asked if it felt good to finally have a last name. “No, it’s good,” Kaley Cuoco said during PaleyFest 2016. “I still have in my head what her original maiden name is. What I think it is. We all have an opinion on it.”
“Yes, we do,” Jim Parsons echoed. “But it’s forever Hofstadter now,” Cuoco continued. “There could be a divorce sometime, you never know,” Parsons playfully retorted.
Of course, we now know that Leonard and Penny remained married for the remainder of The Big Bang Theory. However, we never learned Penny’s maiden name. It’s interesting that Cuoco and Parsons note that every cast member had an opinion on it. Now that the series has been off the air for a few years, perhaps Cuoco could share her theory. We just need someone to ask her.
