John Cena's Real Name: John Felix Anthony Cena Jr.

Quick answer: John Cena's full name is John Felix Anthony Cena Jr. He was born on April 23, 1977, in West Newbury, Massachusetts. He is a 17-time WWE world champion who retired from in-ring competition in December 2025, as well as an actor in Trainwreck, F9, and The Suicide Squad (Britannica; Library of Congress).

Real name and early life

Britannica gives his name in full as John Felix Anthony Cena, Jr. The Library of Congress name authority files him as "Cena, John" and records "Cena, John (Felix Anthony), Jr." as a variant. One publisher's record cited by LOC uses "Jonathan Felix Anthony Cena Jr." Britannica's "John" is the form most sources use.

Britannica says he began lifting weights as a preteen and planned a career in bodybuilding. In 1998 he earned a degree in exercise physiology from Springfield College in Massachusetts. He grew up watching wrestling, and his father worked as a Massachusetts wrestling announcer under the name Johnny Fabulous. After moving to California, Cena took wrestling classes and debuted in 2000 as "The Prototype."

Career highlights

In his debut year he won the Ultimate Pro Wrestling heavyweight title and caught the WWF's attention. After signing with its developmental affiliate, Ohio Valley Wrestling, and winning that promotion's title in 2002, he moved to WWE's SmackDown. He won the WWE championship in 2005 and joined Raw. Over his career he won 17 WWE world championships under nicknames such as "the Doctor of Thuganomics." In July 2024 he announced a farewell tour. In December 2025 he wrestled his final match against Walter Hahn, known as Gunther, and lost by tapping out for the first time in 20 years. Before that match he signed a five-year deal to stay with WWE as a brand ambassador.

His film career began with action movies such as The Marine (2006) and 12 Rounds (2009). He showed comic range in Trainwreck (2015), Blockers, and Vacation Friends. He appeared in Bumblebee (2018), F9: The Fast Saga (2021), Fast X (2023), The Suicide Squad (2021), and Argylle (2024). He has also written children's books. LOC cites Elbow Grease, inspired by growing up with four brothers. Britannica notes that he has granted more than 500 Make-A-Wish requests.

Name notes for searchers

"John Cena" is a shortened form of his legal name. Felix and Anthony are middle names, and he is a junior, named after his father. "The Prototype" was his early ring name. WWE nicknames such as "the Doctor of Thuganomics" are characters, not legal names.