True Otis Houghton was not a Hollywood star, but his name became part of one of America’s most famous families. Born in Oklahoma in 1904, he was the grandfather of Kris Jenner and the great-great-grandfather of True Thompson, the daughter of Khloé Kardashian. Decades after his birth, the unusual first name “True” returned to the family and attracted worldwide attention.
Quick Bio of True Otis Houghton
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full Name | True Otis Houghton |
| Born | December 4, 1904 |
| Birthplace | Holdenville, Oklahoma, United States |
| Died | December 25, 1991 |
| Age at Death | 87 |
| Father | Otis Sewall Houghton |
| Mother | Lula Laura Barnard |
| Wife | Mary Lee Pickens |
| Children | Robert True Houghton and Linda Lee Houghton |
| Known For | Kris Jenner’s grandfather and inspiration behind the family name “True” |
| Occupations Found in Records | Bank teller and wholesale food salesman |
| Burial Place | Greenwood Memorial Park, San Diego, California |
Genealogy records consistently place True Otis Houghton’s birth on December 4, 1904, and his death on December 25, 1991.
Who Was True Otis Houghton?
True Otis Houghton was an American man whose life was mostly private. Unlike his famous descendants, he did not build a career in television, entertainment, or celebrity culture.
Most of what is publicly known about him comes from census information, marriage records, family-history databases, and comments later made by members of the Kardashian-Jenner family.
His story became much more interesting to the public in 2018. That was when Khloé Kardashian named her daughter True Thompson.
At first, many fans wondered why she had chosen the unusual name. Kris Jenner then explained that “True” was actually an old name from her father’s side of the family. Her grandfather was True Otis Houghton, while her father was named Robert True Houghton.
This suddenly introduced True Otis Houghton to a much larger audience.
True Otis Houghton’s Early Life
True Otis Houghton was born on December 4, 1904, in Holdenville, Oklahoma.
His parents were Otis Sewall Houghton and Lula Laura Barnard. Some genealogy databases spell his mother’s first name as “Lulu,” but the basic family connection is consistent across the available records.
True grew up in a large family. Records list siblings including Reuben Albert Houghton, Howard Payne Houghton, William Barnard Houghton, and Ida Mae Houghton.
Census-linked family records show him living in Oklahoma as a young child. By 1920, he was living in El Cajon, California, showing that the Houghton family had moved west while True was still young.
That move would become important because San Diego and Southern California later became closely connected with several generations of his family.
His Life in California
True Otis Houghton spent a large part of his adult life in the San Diego area.
Although there is not a long public biography describing his everyday experiences, historical records give us small pieces of information about the type of life he lived.
The 1940 census listed him in San Diego at age 35 and recorded his occupation as a bank teller. By the 1950 census, he was listed as a salesman working in the wholesale food business.
These details are important because they show that True appears to have lived a fairly normal working life.
He was not known as an actor, producer, businessman with a public profile, or television personality. The fame attached to his name came much later through his descendants.
True Otis Houghton and Mary Lee Pickens
True Otis Houghton married Mary Lee Pickens.
FamilySearch records give their marriage date as June 13, 1930, in Cherokee, Texas.
Mary was born in 1906 and died in 1989. The couple spent much of their family life in California.
Records identify two children:
- Robert True Houghton, born in 1931
- Linda Lee Houghton, born in 1938
Their son Robert would later become especially important to the Kardashian-Jenner family story because he was Kris Jenner’s father.
Who Was Robert True Houghton?
Robert True Houghton was the son of True Otis Houghton and Mary Lee Pickens.
His middle name, “True,” continued his father’s unusual first name into the next generation.
Robert was born in San Diego in 1931. He later married Mary Jo Campbell, often known as M.J., and they became the parents of Kris Jenner and her younger sister Karen.
This makes True Otis Houghton Kris Jenner’s paternal grandfather.
The family connection can be shown simply like this:
True Otis Houghton
↓
Robert True Houghton
↓
Kris Jenner
↓
Khloé Kardashian
↓
True Thompson
That family line is the main reason people search for True Otis Houghton today.
How Is True Otis Houghton Related to Kris Jenner?
True Otis Houghton was Kris Jenner’s grandfather on her father’s side.
Kris was born Kristen Mary Houghton in San Diego in 1955. Her parents were Robert True Houghton and Mary Jo Campbell.
Therefore, the Houghton name was Kris Jenner’s birth surname long before the names Jenner or Kardashian became connected with her public life.
This is an interesting detail for fans because people often think first about the Kardashian or Jenner sides of the family.
However, Kris also has a Houghton family history that goes back through her father and grandfather.
True Otis Houghton is part of that story.
Why Did True Otis Houghton Become Famous Years Later?
For most of his life, True Otis Houghton lived outside the public spotlight.
He died in 1991, years before reality television made the Kardashian-Jenner family internationally famous.
His name became widely discussed in April 2018 after Khloé Kardashian announced that her newborn daughter would be called True Thompson.
People immediately became curious about the choice.
Kris Jenner soon explained that the name had a family history. She said that her grandfather on her father’s side was True Otis Houghton and that her own father was Robert True Houghton.
Suddenly, a name that had existed in the family for generations became part of modern celebrity culture.
The Real Meaning Behind True Thompson’s Name
Khloé Kardashian has also explained how she settled on the name True.
According to her account, she wanted her daughter’s name to begin with the letter “T.” During a family dinner, her grandmother M.J. suggested True.
M.J. explained that True was the first name of Khloé’s great-great-grandfather and the middle name of her grandfather.
Khloé said the name stayed in her mind during her pregnancy and became the choice she could not forget.
So True Thompson’s name was not simply created as an unusual celebrity baby name.
It has a direct connection to earlier generations of the Houghton family.
Why the Name “True” Matters to the Family
Family names can be powerful because they connect people who lived many years apart.
In this case, “True” traveled through several generations.
It began, as far as this well-known branch of the family is concerned, with True Otis Houghton.
His son became Robert True Houghton.
Many decades later, Khloé Kardashian chose True Thompson for her daughter.
Kris Jenner described the choice as a family tradition when she publicly explained the history behind the name in 2018.
That makes the name much more than a modern celebrity choice. It is a link between several generations.
What Did True Otis Houghton Do for a Living?
Public information about True Otis Houghton’s working life is limited.
Historical census information gives us two useful clues.
In the 1940 United States census, he was recorded as a bank teller in San Diego.
Ten years later, the 1950 census recorded him as a wholesale foods salesman.
There is little reliable public information about other jobs he may have held.
Because of that, claims describing him as a wealthy businessman, major executive, or public figure should be treated carefully unless supported by historical documents.
Was True Otis Houghton Rich?
There is no reliable public estimate of True Otis Houghton’s net worth.
Online biographies sometimes try to attach net-worth numbers to almost anyone connected with a famous family. In True’s case, there is not enough trustworthy evidence to support such a figure.
The available records show ordinary occupations, including bank teller and salesman.
His descendants later became extremely famous and successful, but that does not tell us how much money True personally had.
For that reason, giving a specific net-worth estimate would be misleading.
True Otis Houghton’s Children
True and Mary Lee Pickens had two children listed in major genealogy records.
Robert True Houghton
Robert was born on May 12, 1931.
He was the father of Kris Jenner and therefore forms the direct connection between True Otis Houghton and the modern Kardashian-Jenner family.
Robert died in 1975.
Linda Lee Houghton
Linda Lee Houghton was born on August 15, 1938, in San Diego County, California.
Genealogy records identify True Otis Houghton and Mary Lee Pickens as her parents. She died in 2014.
True Otis Houghton’s Granddaughter Kris Jenner
Kris Jenner went on to become the best-known member of this branch of the Houghton family.
She became a television personality, manager, producer, and central figure in the Kardashian-Jenner entertainment empire.
But before the Kardashian name entered her life, she was Kristen Mary Houghton.
That surname came directly through her father, Robert True Houghton, and grandfather, True Otis Houghton.
For people interested in celebrity family trees, this helps explain why the Houghton name often appears when researching Kris Jenner’s early family history.
Was True Otis Houghton a Kardashian?
No.
True Otis Houghton was not a Kardashian by birth or marriage.
He belonged to the Houghton side of Kris Jenner’s family.
The Kardashian connection came later when Kris married attorney Robert Kardashian in 1978.
Their children included Kourtney Kardashian, Kim Kardashian, Khloé Kardashian, and Rob Kardashian.
Therefore, True Otis Houghton is an ancestor of some members of the Kardashian family through Kris, but he himself was a Houghton.
When Did True Otis Houghton Die?
True Otis Houghton died on December 25, 1991, in San Diego, California.
He was 87 years old.
Family records say he was buried at Greenwood Memorial Park in San Diego.
His wife, Mary Lee Pickens, had died two years earlier in January 1989.
True lived long enough to see several generations of his family grow, although he died before the Kardashian-Jenner family reached the level of public fame it has today.
Why Are People Still Searching for True Otis Houghton?
There are several reasons his name continues to appear online.
The biggest reason is the story of True Thompson’s name.
Fans looking into Khloé Kardashian’s choice eventually discover Robert True Houghton and then True Otis Houghton.
Others discover him while researching Kris Jenner’s ancestry or trying to understand the Houghton side of her family.
His unusual name also creates curiosity.
“True” may sound modern, but the Houghton family proves that it was being used as a personal name more than a century ago.
Interesting Facts About True Otis Houghton
True Otis Houghton was born in 1904, more than a century before some younger members of his famous extended family were born.
He started life in Oklahoma but spent much of his later life in Southern California.
His son carried “True” as a middle name.
His great-great-granddaughter True Thompson received the name several generations later.
Census-linked records show that True worked as both a bank teller and a wholesale foods salesman.
He was not famous during his lifetime in the way his descendants later became famous.
His family name gained renewed public attention in 2018 after Kris Jenner explained its history.
What Makes His Story Interesting?
True Otis Houghton’s story shows how an ordinary family detail can suddenly become part of popular culture.
A first name chosen in the early 1900s was carried into another generation through Robert True Houghton.
More than a century after True Otis Houghton was born, the same name appeared again when Khloé Kardashian named her daughter True.
That gave fans a small look into a side of the Kardashian-Jenner family tree that usually receives much less attention.
It also shows why family history can matter.
Names, places, and stories can survive long after the people connected with them are gone.
Final Thoughts
True Otis Houghton lived a much quieter life than the famous descendants who came after him. Born in Oklahoma in 1904, he later lived in California, married Mary Lee Pickens, raised a family, and worked ordinary jobs recorded in U.S. census documents.
Today, his biggest public connection is his place in Kris Jenner’s family tree.
He was Kris Jenner’s grandfather, Robert True Houghton’s father, and an ancestor of Khloé Kardashian.
Most importantly, his first name became part of a family tradition.
When Khloé named her daughter True Thompson in 2018, a name belonging to a man born more than 100 years earlier suddenly entered the spotlight again.
That is why True Otis Houghton continues to interest people today.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was True Otis Houghton?
True Otis Houghton was an American man born in Oklahoma in 1904. He is best known today as Kris Jenner’s paternal grandfather.
How was True Otis Houghton related to Kris Jenner?
He was Kris Jenner’s grandfather. His son Robert True Houghton was Kris Jenner’s father.
Was True Otis Houghton Khloé Kardashian’s grandfather?
No. He was farther back in the family tree. He was the grandfather of Kris Jenner and therefore Khloé Kardashian’s great-grandfather.
Is True Thompson named after True Otis Houghton?
The name comes from the Houghton family tradition. Kris Jenner said her grandfather was True Otis Houghton and her father was Robert True Houghton. Khloé Kardashian later explained that her grandmother M.J. suggested the family name True.
When was True Otis Houghton born?
He was born on December 4, 1904, in Holdenville, Oklahoma.
Who was True Otis Houghton’s wife?
He married Mary Lee Pickens. Records give their marriage date as June 13, 1930.
How many children did True Otis Houghton have?
Records identify two children: Robert True Houghton and Linda Lee Houghton.
What did True Otis Houghton do for a living?
The 1940 census listed him as a bank teller, while the 1950 census listed him as a wholesale foods salesman.
What was True Otis Houghton’s net worth?
There is no reliable public information confirming his net worth, so a specific figure should not be presented as fact.
When did True Otis Houghton die?
He died on December 25, 1991, in San Diego, California, at age 87.
Where was True Otis Houghton buried?
Family-history records list his burial place as Greenwood Memorial Park in San Diego, California.
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