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We become so familiar with the names of top bands and artists that it’s hard to imagine them being called anything else. It just has to be The Beatles who recorded Rubber Soul or Creedence Clearwater Revival who saw the Bad Moon Rising! But what makes a good band name and where do the ideas come from? Read on to find out how some of the biggest bands and artists chose their names.

The Beatles

The band went through various names before becoming The Beatles. Stuart Sutcliffe suggested changing the name from The Quarrymen to The Beetles, as a tribute to Buddy Holly and the Crickets, and because a motorcycle gang in the Marlon Brando movie “The Wild One” was called The Beetles.

A number of other names were used briefly before settling on The Beatles, including The Beatals, Johnny and the Moondogs, Long John and the Beetles, and The Silver Beatles.

It was Lennon who had the idea of combining Beetles and Beat to form the most famous band name of all time. He did once claim to have had a vision as a child of a flaming pie in the sky that said ‘You are Beatles with an “A,” but that’s likely an example of his quirky sense of humour.

The Bee Gees

The BG either comes from “Brothers Gibb” or the name of two friends that helped them launch their careers – Bill Goode and DJ Bill Gates. The former seems more likely.

David Bowie

Bowie was born David Jones, but decided to change his name to avoid confusion with Davy Jones of the Monkees. The name Bowie was inspired by the Bowie Knife that he had as a child.

Chubby Checker

Ernest Evans was given the name Chubby Checker during an audition for American Bandstand host Dick Clark. Evans told Clark’s wife that he was sometimes called Chubby and, inspired by the name Fats Domino, she came up with Chubby Checker which he used from that point on.

Creedence Clearwater Revival

The band was originally called the Golliwogs by their label. The name change was inspired by a logo on an Olympia beer can.

The Crickets

Buddy Holly’s backing band was informally known as The Three Tunes before becoming The Crickets in 1957. They had first considered being named after a type of bird, before moving on to consider insects. The Beetles was one possibility considered, before settling on The Crickets.

Dion and the Belmonts

The Belmonts were named after a street in the Bronx, New York where they would hang out and sing.

Doobie Brothers

The band was originally called PUD. Doobie is slang for a marijuana joint and was thought to be a better name.

The Doors

The Doors were originally called the Psychedelic Rangers. The name change was inspired by Aldous Huxley’s book on drug experimentation – “The Doors of Perception.” Huxley had taken the phrase from a line in the William Blake poem “Marriage of Heaven”:

Bob Dylan

Dylan’s real name was Robert Allen Zimmerman but he had it legally changed in August 1962 to Bob Dylan. He considered the name Robert Zimmerman to be too long and chose Dylan in homage to author Dylan Thomas.

Grateful Dead

The name derives from a series of English folk tales, whereby a stranger pays the debts of a dead man to enable him to be given a decent burial, and then his own life is later saved by a mysterious event. This is attributed to the grateful spirit – hence the Grateful Dead.

The band was originally called The Warlocks, but had to change its name because that was already being used by another band.

Engelbert Humperdinck

Humperdinck was born Arnold George Dorsey and performed for around a decade as Gerry Dorsey before his manager Gordon Mills advised him to change his name in 1966. Dorsey named himself after the German composer of “Hansel and Gretel.” Would he have done so if he’d known he’d be stuck with the name for the next 40+ years?

Jefferson Airplane

Founding member of Jefferson Airplane, Jorma Kaukonen, said that a friend came up with the name as a homage to bluesman “Blind Lemon” Jefferson.

Jethro Tull

Jethro Tull were named for the 18th century agriculturalist who invented the seed drill and initiated a number of other agricultural improvements. The band changed its name several times to get gigs on the London club circuit, but stuck with Jethro Tull after a strong performance led to a repeat booking.

Led Zeppelin

The Who’s Keith Moon had joked with Jimmy Page and Keith Entwistle about how a collaboration between them would go down like a “lead balloon” with the other members of The Who. Jimmy remembered this when putting his new band together and came up with the name “Lead Zeppelin,” and then “Led Zeppelin” to avoid any pronounciation mistakes.

Lynyrd Skynyrd

The band had been called “Noble Five” and “One Percent” but changed their name to Lynyrd Skynyrd. This step immortalised a gym teacher from high school called Leonard Skinner who had punished band members Gary Rossington and Bob Burns for their dress code and long hair.

O’Jays

Originally called The Mascots, the band changed its name to The O’Jays in homage to Cleveland DJ, Eddie O’Jay, who helped them out in their early days.

Pink Floyd

The name came from Georgia bluesmen Pink Anderson and Floyd Council.

The Pretenders

The Pretenders were named after the classic Platters hit “The Great Pretender.”

Procul Harum

This was taken from the pedigree name (Procul Harun) of a Siamese cat that belonged to a friend of the band’s manager, Guy Stevens. Procul Harun is latin for “Beyond these things.” Someone wrote it down wrong and the band became Procul Harum.

The Righteous Brothers

The pair were performing in a group called The Paramours in Los Angeles when an enthusiastic audience member called out “That’s righteous, brothers.” The compliment was remembered when they decided to begin their career as a duo shortly afterwards.

Rolling Stones

Brian Jones suggested this name in recognition of the band’s blues roots and, specifically, Muddy Waters’ song “Rollin’ Stone,” which is also known as “Catfish Blues.”

Small Faces

The band chose the name to reflect the small stature of the members and in recognition of Mod slang, where Face meant a cool and stylish guy.

Steppenwolf

The band’s producer, Gabriel Mekler, suggested the name “Steppenwolf” after the novel of the same name by Hermann Hesse, which he had just read.

Thin Lizzy

The Beano comic character Tin Lizzy was the inspiration for the band’s name. Guitarist Eric Bell had purchased a copy of the Beano after seeing Clapton reading the comic on the front of a John Mayall album cover.

Velvet Underground

The band was named after a book about sadomasochism by Michael Leigh, which a band member had found on a sidewalk in New York.

The Who

The band had been called The Detours before changing their name to The Who. The name resulted from a brainstorming session during which people kept saying “The Who?” when they couldn’t hear suggestions. The band chose The Who, but then briefly became The High Numbers before settling on The Who for good.

Wings

The name came to Paul McCartney while he was waiting in a hospital wing for his wife Linda to give birth.

The Yardbirds

Lead singer Keith Relf wanted a new name for his Metropolitan Blues Quartet when band members changed in 1963. He formed the name “Yardbirds” from jazz saxophonist Charlie Parker’s nickname “Bird” and from the American slang for a prisoner.