It is indeed his real name! His full name is in fact Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch! When he became an actor his mother pleaded with him not to keep Cumberbatch as both his parents dropped the name! I think it is a great name, very unique! and like a meme I once read said "Benedict Cumberbtach, the first actor with a name more ridiculous than Sherlock Holmes!" He was Sherlock in the BBC show of the same name, Khan in the new Star Trek movie, the main character from the new movie The Fifth Estate and Smaug in The Hobbit! I like him best in Sherlock though I love his cute curly hair! His blue eyes and that voice!