Skip to main content
Music Radar MusicRadar The No.1 website for musicians
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Artist news
  • Guitar Amps
  • Guitar Pedals
  • Synths
  • Guitars
  • Drums
  • Keyboards & Pianos
  • Controllers
  • Software & Apps
  • More
    • Recording
    • DJ Gear
    • Acoustic Guitars
    • Bass Guitars
    • Tech
    • Tutorials
    • Reviews
    • Buying Guides
    • About Us
More
  • "Worst rap album in history"
  • Superbooth 2025
  • Eilish vs Radiohead
  • 95k+ free music samples

Recommended reading

Music Theory
Music Theory And Songwriting How learning and understanding chord symbols can prove a major benefit for sharing your musical ideas
Rock music is dead
Music Industry “For those about to rock… best try another genre”: New stats show that bands are dead, solo and collabs are the way to go and rock has well and truly rolled…
Steve Harris
Artists “We had a song called Heat-Crazed Vole. You know, like a rat. It was pretty awful!”: Iron Maiden legend Steve Harris recalls his early days of pub gigs, boogie riffs and songs about rodents
Getty Compile of Artist Pics
Artists “It’s one of the most affecting responses to death ever put on record”: 9 fresh long reads on tracks with astounding musical moments
South Arcade
Artists “I had to say ‘No, guys I swear we’re a real band’”: South Arcade on how they became the figureheads of a growing Y2K revival
Woman playing on a digital piano with headphones on
Music Theory And Songwriting Technically capable, but struggle to make your tunes sound musical? 5 simple music theory hacks to make your tracks stand out
Left to right D'Arcy Wretzky (bass), Jimmy Chamberlin (drums), Billy Corgan (lead singer and guitar) and James Iha (guitar) of American rock band Smashing Pumpkins, Amsterdam, Netherlands 1st July 1993
Artists “Probably one of the most misunderstood bands in the history of rock ‘n’ roll”: Who could Billy Corgan be talking about?
  1. Music Industry
  2. Our Magazines

10 things your band name says about you

News
By Total Guitar ( Total Guitar ) published 11 November 2015

Monikers and the meanings behind them

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Introduction

Introduction

Band names are hard. But whether yours is a total throwaway or a carefully contemplated piece of satire, think carefully: that name is going to appear on your Facebook page, album covers and – with any luck – t-shirts, mugs, picks and other assorted merchandise.

Below is a sort of spotter's guide for some of the most common band-name groupings – yes, there are exceptions, but for the most part, these are the conclusions your audience will be leaping toward first…

Don't Miss

10 things your guitar says about you

10 reasons to love being a guitarist

The 10 worst things about being a guitarist

Page 1 of 11
Page 1 of 11
1. Inexplicable ümlaüt

1. Inexplicable ümlaüt

Metallers can’t get enough of the punctuation mark that hovers over certain German vowels.

Sprinkling a fistful over your own band name is the fastest route to a morning slot at Bloodstock – though you might get a glare from Lemmy for nicking his idea.

Page 2 of 11
Page 2 of 11
2. Intentional typo

2. Intentional typo

Whoa, dude – you’re so rock ’n’ roll, you sneer in the face of correct spelling.

In fact, you probably just threw your Oxford Dictionary out of the hotel window, along with the plasma screen…

Page 3 of 11
Page 3 of 11
3. Needlessly longwinded

3. Needlessly longwinded

Hard to fit on a flyer, impossible to chant, infuriating to repeat down the phone to a booking agent – you really need a rebrand and a slap.

Page 4 of 11
Page 4 of 11
4. Unpronounceable squiggle

4. Unpronounceable squiggle

In 1993, Prince drew global attention by reinventing himself as a hieroglyph dubbed the Love Symbol.

Try it for yourself, and you may find that nobody can find you on Google and everybody thinks you’re a total pretentious dick.

Page 5 of 11
Page 5 of 11
5. Exclamation mark

5. Exclamation mark

If you need punctuation to convey a sense of excitement and momentum, maybe it’s time you worked on your songs.

Page 6 of 11
Page 6 of 11
6. Your surname

6. Your surname

Technically, it’s a band, not a solo venture. But we all know what’s going on: you’re a raging egomaniac, who views his bandmates as a backing track, but doesn’t quite have the balls to go it alone.

Page 7 of 11
Page 7 of 11
7. Expletive

7. Expletive

You’re wannabe anarchists who flip a finger at conformists like Coldplay and U2.

You’re out to smash the system, and make sure that Nick Grimshaw can’t namecheck you.

Page 8 of 11
Page 8 of 11
8. Reference to ferocious animal

8. Reference to ferocious animal

If you’ve taken your name from an animal that can be kept as a domestic pet, you’re probably an artsy indie band, like Cat Power or Modest Mouse.

But if your moniker references a beast with claws, tusks or fangs, you’re most likely an 80s metal throwback, with wet-straw perms and courgettes stuffed down your leotards.

Page 9 of 11
Page 9 of 11
9. Starts with 'The'

9. Starts with 'The'

You’re wearing a skinny tie, Cons and a leather jacket stolen from a New York thrift store.

You’re probably playing a two-note solo in a Bowery basement, drawling into a knackered mic – and hoping no-one finds out that you went to a Swiss finishing school.

Page 10 of 11
Page 10 of 11
10. Random digit

10. Random digit

There’s nothing quite like a number that’s been seemingly plucked from thin air to give your band an instant shot of dumb-ass, frat-house, punk-lite idiocy.

Just be ready with a suitable screwball anecdote when quizzed – eg, “It’s the number of giraffes the drummer has wanked off…”

Don't Miss

10 things your guitar says about you

10 reasons to love being a guitarist

The 10 worst things about being a guitarist

Page 11 of 11
Page 11 of 11
Total Guitar
Total Guitar
Social Links Navigation

Total Guitar is Europe's best-selling guitar magazine.

Every month we feature interviews with the biggest names and hottest new acts in guitar land, plus Guest Lessons from the stars.

Finally, our Rocked & Rated section is the place to go for reviews, round-ups and help setting up your guitars and gear.

Subscribe: http://bit.ly/totalguitar

Stay up to date with the latest gear and tuition. image
Stay up to date with the latest gear and tuition.
Subscribe and save today!
More Info
Read more
Music Theory
How learning and understanding chord symbols can prove a major benefit for sharing your musical ideas
Rock music is dead
“For those about to rock… best try another genre”: New stats show that bands are dead, solo and collabs are the way to go and rock has well and truly rolled…
Steve Harris
“We had a song called Heat-Crazed Vole. You know, like a rat. It was pretty awful!”: Iron Maiden legend Steve Harris recalls his early days of pub gigs, boogie riffs and songs about rodents
Getty Compile of Artist Pics
“It’s one of the most affecting responses to death ever put on record”: 9 fresh long reads on tracks with astounding musical moments
South Arcade
“I had to say ‘No, guys I swear we’re a real band’”: South Arcade on how they became the figureheads of a growing Y2K revival
Woman playing on a digital piano with headphones on
Technically capable, but struggle to make your tunes sound musical? 5 simple music theory hacks to make your tracks stand out
Latest in Our Magazines
Future Music 414
The final issue of Future Music is out now
the cover of Computer Music magazine alongside screengrabs of the interfaces of this month's software and samples
Computer Music 340 November 2024: free downloads
Future Music 413
Issue 413 of Future Music is out now
the cover of Computer Music magazine alongside screengrabs of the interfaces of this month's software and samples
Computer Music 339 Autumn 2024: free downloads
Future Music 412
Issue 412 of Future Music is out now
Red front cover of Computer Music's October Easy Sound Design issue, alongside a screenshot of the UI of the T-RackS Tape Machine 80 software and thumbnails of this month's free sample packs
Computer Music 338 October 2024: free downloads
Latest in News
microlab mk3
Arturia upgrades its MicroLab MIDI keyboard with new keybed, sustain input and USB-C - and slashes the price
Dire Straits Brothers In Arms
"Everybody was going 'Does anybody know how to work this thing?'”: How Guy Fletcher and a classic ‘80s synth became Dire Straits’ secret weapon on Brothers In Arms, and helped to turn it into one of the biggest albums of the decade
Fortin Fourteen Dual Boost Overdrive: the new tricked-out green stompbox from Mike Fortin packs two Tube Screamer OD flavours in one housing and is packed with features.
“Each of the three modes represents a milestone in pedal history”: Fortin triples down on modded-TS tones with the Fourteen – an boost/overdrive pedal representing the “apex of Mike Fortin’s modification philosophy”
Andy Bell and Liam Gallagher 2005
“I’m in and I’m really looking forward to it”: First non-Gallagher member confirmed for Oasis reunion line up
Peter Gabriel and Ray Hammond
“It’s cheating, if you like, for somebody who can’t play an instrument to press a button and then the instrument plays”: Watch Peter Gabriel and futurist Ray Hammond debate the impact of the synthesizer back in 1983
Irvine Welsh
“In uncertain times, dominated by the ascendancy of soul-dead oligarchs, their corrosive technology and looting economics, the great positive constant for humanity remains our infinite capacity for love.”: Irvine Welsh is releasing a disco album

MusicRadar is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...