Origins of Legendary Band Names

You’ve swooned to their hits and memorized their guitar riffs – but have you ever wondered how your favourite band got its name?

1. The Beatles

More than just a reference to creepy crawlies, the name of The Beatles was derived from a play on the word beetles, which was chosen to give a tribute of sorts, not to the six-legged creatures of the animal kingdom, but to Buddy Holly’s band, The Crickets. The Fab Four simply dropped one e from beetles and replaced it with an a to make the name focus more on their music, or the “beat” aspect.

2. Lynyrd Skynrd

The ill-fated Lynyrd Skynrd band, who was responsible for anthemic songs such as ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ and ‘Freebird’, took its name from a former high school teacher who figured prominently in some of the band members’ teenage lives. Fans of the band are quite familiar with the story of Leonard Skinner, the teacher who always reprimanded his students because of their long hair. Little did he know that some of his pupils would grow up to become rock ‘n’ roll Hall of Famers!

3. Duran Duran

When the 1980s came, flamboyance reigned with the likes of Duran Duran. This band’s name was inspired by Jane Fonda’s 1960s movie ‘Barbarella’, which included a character named Durand Durand.

4. B-52s

If you’re fond of the B-52s and their playful tracks such as ‘Love Shack’ and ‘Roam’, then you may also be interested to know that both their band and their beehive hairstyles were named after a type of Air Force bomber plane in the US. It was called – you guessed it! – B-52.

5. U2

These Irish lads made a name for themselves with innumerable hits, including ‘In the Name of Love’ and ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday’. To be honest, we’re not too sure of where their band name came from, but we have three possibilities in mind: One, when Gary Powers got shot down over Russia and was taken as prisoner during the Cold War, the spy plane he had been riding became famous. It was called a U2. Two, the band is saying “you too” to the audience, highlighting their role in the total rock ‘n’ roll experience. Three, they were remembering tough times. In Ireland, the U2 is an unemployment form.

6. Nirvana

In searching for a name that would artistically contrast with his band’s angsty sound, Nirvana’s leader Kurt Cobain saw it fit to use a word that connotes beauty and peace. So he chose the term that refers to the Buddhist equivalent of heaven – Nirvana.

7. Westlife

This one’s easy. Three of this band’s five members hail from Ireland’s west side. So why didn’t they name their band Westside? Well, there was already another group with the name Westside Connection, so the boys decided to call themselves Westlife instead.

8. Backstreet Boys

This band was composed of five members who all used to hang out at a place called Backstreet Market in their hometown of Orlando, Florida. So yes, even before they became a band, they were already the Backstreet boys.

9. NSYNC

It was Justin Timberlake’s mother who gave the group its name. In classic high school fashion (let’s face it: we all have moments when we think like high schoolers, even in our adult lives), she combined the last letters of each of the boy’s first names and came up with NSYNC. (The second N pertains to ‘Lansten’, which was the nickname of Lance Bass.)

All of these bands are well known for the great music they produced they have all sold CDs around the globe with their names featuring prominently on the CD packaging and other promotional items like t-shirts.