Published Monday, 25 June 2012
The actress was christened Susan but felt the simple name didn't suit her once she began to tower over classmates at school due to her lofty frame.
She decided to find a name which complimented her statuesque appearance, and opted for Sigourney after spotting it in F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic novel The Great Gatsby.
Weaver tells The Sun: "I do so wish I could have handled criticism better. I was constantly judged as 'too tall' or 'too zany'. I did feel awkward and gawky. Even at 11, I was being shunned by normal-sized children. It led to me changing my name from Susan to Sigourney at 13.
"I was about 6ft tall and called Susie or Sue. I felt too tall to have a short name like that and saw 'Sigourney' in F. Scott Fitzgerald's book The Great Gatsby.
"I thought: 'I will use it until I figure out what to do with my name.' It became an in-joke with my family. My father started signing himself in letters to me 'Drad' instead of Dad, because I'd changed my name."