Knowles-Lawson explained the discrepancy. "It's interesting — and it shows you the times — because we asked my mother when I was grown," she said. "I was like, 'Why is my brother's name spelled B-E-Y-I-N-C-E? You know, it's all these different spellings.' And my mom's reply to me was like, 'That's what they put on your birth certificate.'"

When Knowles-Lawson asked her mom why she didn't have the documents corrected, the reply she received was heartbreaking. "And she said, 'I did one time,'" said Knowles-Lawson. "The first time, and I was told be happy that you're getting a birth certificate because, at one time, Black people didn't get birth certificates."

Naming her daughter Beyoncé insured that Knowles-Lawson's family name will live on. As noted by baby name website Nameberry, the rare name has even caught on with other parents. Since Beyoncé's rise to fame, hundreds of babies have been given the moniker.