she’s the daughter of Robert James Johnson and Emma Johnson
https://www.thelist.com/352019/whoopi-goldbergs-reaction-to-meghan-mccains-rant-has-twitter-talking/
“It’s been rumored that her mother thought the name Johnson wasn’t “Jewish enough” for Goldberg to make it big, but that’s not been confirmed”
Despite what these articles allege as the motivation for her stage name, a part of me thinks that, as a young comedian trying to get noticed, she purposely juxtaposed a whoopie cushion with the name Goldberg as a subtle mockery of Jews.
-PJ