The surprising origins of famous band names

Formed in 1986, nearly a decade before they blew up, No Doubt was initially a ska band with a lead singer named John Spence and Gwen Stefani as a secondary vocalist. Spence was fond of the phrase "no doubt," which is how the group got its name. Sadly, Spence died by suicide in December 1987 at the age of 18.

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The Doors -

The band found their name in a line from William Blake's poem, 'The Marriage of Heaven and Hell,' which reads, "If the doors of perception were cleansed, everything would appear to man as it is, infinite." At first, they called themselves The Doors of Perception, but later shortened it to The Doors.

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Iron Maiden -

Bassist Steve Harris attributed the band's name to a 1939 film adaptation of the novel 'The Man in the Iron Mask' (1850) by Alexandre Dumas. The title reminded him of the iron maiden torture device.

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Fleetwood Mac -

Original band member Peter Green named Fleetwood Mac as a combination of the surnames of two other founding members: Mick Fleetwood and John McVie. Decades later, Fleetwood and McVie are the only remaining members from the '60s.

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Judas Priest -

Early member Bruno Stapenhill pitched this moniker to original frontman Al Atkins after hearing 'The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest' by Bob Dylan. "I mean, he was never really into Bob Dylan, and he says, 'Oh, that's a great name.' And that's how it came about," Stapenhill later said.

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Weezer -

Frontman Rivers Cuomo named his band after a childhood nickname given to him by his father. Cuomo's dad got the nickname from a character on 'The Little Rascals.'

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Kiss -

The band that became Kiss had already been performing as Wicked Lester, but after Ace Frehley joined the band, Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, and Peter Criss were driving around New York City when Criss mentioned that he used to be in a band called Lips. Stanley suggested Kiss as the new name.

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Journey -

The band was initially called the Golden Gate Rhythm Section, however the name was changed after their roadie John Villaneuva suggested Journey.

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Aerosmith -

Drummer Joey Kramer was listening to 'Aerial Ballet' by Harry Nilsson with his high school girlfriend. The two started thinking of band names with "aero," and Kramer landed on Aerosmith. Years later, when trying to think of a band name with Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, Kramer remembered the name and convinced them to use it.

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Led Zeppelin -

In 1968, Jimmy Page invited Robert Plant and John Bonham to join his band, the New Yardbirds, for a tour in Scandinavia. They decided to change their name to Led Zeppelin, after a humorous conversation about their chances of going down like a lead balloon.

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Foreigner -

The band name was inspired by the fact that at least three of the members would always be foreigners no matter where they went. Their original lineup included three Brits and three Americans.

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The Beatles -

There are a number of theories ab outhow The Beatles got their name. According to several sources, it was inspired by rocker Buddy Holly, whose backing group was called the Crickets. All four Beatles were big fans, so they decided to name themselves after another insect.

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Metallica -

The band name came from drummer Lars Ulrich's friend Ron Quintana, who was brainstorming names for a fanzine and was considering MetalMania or Metallica. After hearing the two names, Ulrich wanted the latter for his band.

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Guns N' Roses -

This band name is actually the combination of two previous bands, Hollywood Rose and L.A. Guns, that would later get together to form Guns N' Roses.

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Daft Punk -

Previously called Darlin', Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter changed their name to Daft Punk after a 1993 review described their music as "a daft punky thrash."

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Radiohead -

This '90s band took their name from the 1986 song 'Radio Head' by Talking Heads. Band member Thom Yorke said the name "sums up all these things about receiving stuff ... It's about the way you take information in, the way you respond to the environment you're put in."

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Pink Floyd -

Originally called the Tea Set, the name Pink Floyd was created on the spur of the moment by frontman Syd Barrett, when another band, already using their old moniker, was to perform at one of their gigs. The name came from two blues musicians in Barrett's record collection, Pink Anderson and Floyd Council.

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Mötley Crüe -

While brainstorming band names, guitarist Mick Mars remembered that while playing with a band called White Horse, a bandmate referred to his group as "a motley-looking crew." Mars scribbled the name down as Mottley Cru, and after tweaking the spelling, Mötley Crüe was eventually selected.

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Duran Duran -

In 1978 in Birmingham, England, John Taylor, Nick Rhodes, and Stephen Duffy formed Duran Duran, naming their band after Dr. Durand Durand, a character from the science fiction film 'Barbarella' (1968).

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Lynyrd Skynyrd -

In their school days, the future members of Lynyrd Skynyrd had a gym teacher they didn't like named Leonard Skinner. He was reportedly hard on them for growing their hair long. In the spirit of rebellion, they named their band after that teacher.

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The Clash -

The Clash were named after band member Mick Jones kept seeing the word "clash" in newspaper headlines. He suggested it to the group, and they agreed that it fit them perfectly.

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Oasis -

While hanging out, the Gallaghers and friends saw an ad for a band that was on tour. One of the venues listed was a club called The Oasis. So they found themselves a band name.

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Toto -

Drummer Jeff Porcaro randomly scribbled the name on the then-unnamed band's earliest demos, just to have some kind of identifying mark. Bassist David Hungate remarked that in toto was Latin for "as a whole" or "all encompassing," and the band was sold on it.

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Foo Fighters -

The post-Nirvana group of Dave Grohl is named after UFOs spotted during World War II. Foo fighter was a term back then for unidentified flying objects.

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Eagles -

Founding member Bernie Leadon is typically credited with coining the band name during a trip to the Mojave Desert. There, Leadon recalled reading about the Native American Hopi tribe's reverence for the eagle.

Sources: (Yard Barker) (Mental Floss) (Ranker)

The surprising origins of famous band names

Anecdotes that reveal a lot about these bands in their early days!

12/04/24 | StarsInsider

MUSIC Groups

There's nothing like a good band name. It can tell you a lot about the band's music and even about the musicians themselves. From the heavy-metal titans who dubbed themselves after a folk tune, to the rock band named after the despised gym teacher, some of these groups' creativity wasn't limited to their lyrics: they also expressed it with their band names.

Curious? Click on to learn how some of the most famous bands in history chose their names.