List of original names of bands

Many musical groups went by different names throughout their existence before becoming successful and famous. ^[1] The following lists the official names which the bands formerly went by; some of them are or can be significantly different from the current ones. The list does not include bands with names that have minor differences like stylisation of the names.

List

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by editing the page to add missing items, with references to reliable sources.

This list is sortable, ordered alphabetically, starting with the name that the band is best known as, followed by the band's original name and any other names that they previously used in a chronological order.

Please order alphabetically with the last name. All entries must include citations to reliable sources to establish notability.

Current name	Former name	Other former names	Country of origin	Year of foundation	References	Notes
10 Years	Tater		Knoxille	America	1990s	1999
10,000 Maniacs	Still Life		Jamestown	America	1980s	1981
311	Fish Hippos	The Eds	United States of America	1988
40 Below Summer	6 Degrees Of Degradation	Mid-Green Pimp Machine Urethra Franklin	United States of America	1998
And Then She Came	Krypteria		Germany	2001
Abaddon Incarnate	Bereaved		Ireland	1994
Abhorrence	Rebirth	Unholy Fury	Finland	1989
Abramelin	Acheron		Australia	1988
Absu	Dolmen	Azathoth	United States of America	1989
The Aces	The Four Aces		Jamaica	1965		Removed "Four" from the name.
The Aces	The Blue Aces		United States of America	2016		Removed "Blue" from the name.
AC/DC	Third World War		Australia	1973
Acid	Precious Page		Belgium	1980
Acroma	No Release		United States of America	1999
Accept	Band X		Germany	1968
Accessory	Voices Of Darkness		Germany	1994
Advanced Art	Authorised Version		Finland	1985
After Forever	Apocalypse		Netherlands	1995
Age of Days	Age Of Daze		Canada	2005		Replaced "Daze" with "Days".
Age of Nemesis	Nemesis		Hungary	1997
Agnostic Front	Zoo Crew		United States of America	1980
The Agonist	Tempest		Canada	2004
The Alarm	The Toilets	Seventeen	Wales	1977
Alastis	Fourth Reich		Switzerland	1987
Alestorm	Battleheart		Scotland	2004
Aletheian	Crutch		United States of America	1997
Alice In Chains	Alice N' Chains	Diamond Lie	United States of America	1986
Altar	Manticore	Anubis	Netherlands	1992
Allister	Phineas Gage	Pheanus Peenus	United States of America	1994
Amayenge	Crossbones	The New Crossbones	Zambia	1978
Amaranthe	Avalanche		Sweden	2008
Amber Pacific	Follow Through		United States of America	2002
Amebix	The Band With No Name		England	1978
American Head Charge	Flux	Gestapo Pussy Ranch Warsaw Ghetto Pussy	United States of America	1996
American Hi-Fi	BMX Girl		United States of America	1998
The Amenta	Crucible Of Agony		Australia	1997
Amon Amarth	Scum		Sweden	1988
Amorphis	Violent Solution		Finland	1990
Anarbor	Troop 101		United States of America	2003
Anathema	Pagan Angel		England	1990
The Angels	The Moonshine Jug And String Band	The Keystone Angels Angel City The Angels From Angel City	Australia	1974
Antestor	Crush Evil		Norway	1990
Antischism	Initial State		United States of America	1993
Anorexia Nervosa	Necromancia		France	1991
Anubis Gate	Seven Powers		Denmark	?
Anvil	Lips		Canada	1978
The Apples in Stereo	The Apples		United States of America	1991		Removed "In Stereo" from the name.
AqME	Neurosyndrom		France	1996
Aqua	Joyspeed		Denmark	1989
Architect	Found Dead Hanging	Ghost Of The Saltwater Machine	United States of America	?
Archspire	Defenestrated		Canada	2007
Arghoslent	Pogrom		United States of America	1990
Арктида	Arkaim		Russia	2003
Arcuri Overthrow	Black Rainbow		Venezuela	2002
Arma Angelus	Novena		United States of America	1998
Armchair	Shakers		Thailand	2001
Armoured Angel	Metal Asylum		Australia	1982
Arsonists	Bushwick Bomb Squad		United States of America	1993
Arvas	Örth		Norway	1993
As Fast As	Rocktopus		United States of America	?
As I Lay Dying	Against The Mark	Life Once Lost	United States of America	2000
Ashes You Leave	Icon		Croatia	1995
Asin	Salt Of The Earth		Philippines	1976
Asmodeus	Diabolus		Austria	1996
Astarte	Lloth		Greece	1995
Atheist	Oblivion	Raging Atheists Vowing A Gory End	United States of America	1984
Atomkraft	Moral Fibre		England	1978
Atrocity	Instigators		Germany	1985
Attacker	Warloc		United States of America	1983
Audioslave	Civilian		United States of America	2001
Audiovent	Papa's Dojo	Vent	United States of America	1993
Autopilot Off	Cooter		United States of America	1996
Avatar	Lost Soul		Sweden	2001
Axenstar	Powerage		Sweden	1998
Axium	Red Eye		United States of America	1999
The Beach Boys	?	The Pendletones	United States of America	1961	[1]
Backstabbers Incorporated	Life Passed On		United States of America	?
Bad Brains	Mind Power	Soul Brains	United States of America	1976
Badfinger	The Iveys		Wales	1961
The Band	The Hawks		United States of America	1958
Band of Skulls	Fleeing New York		England	2002
Barathrum	Darkfeast		Finland	1990
Bay City Rollers	The Ambassadors	The Saxons The Rollers The New Rollers	Scotland	1964
The Bangles	The Colours	The Bangs	United States of America	1981
Bauhaus	S.R.	Bauhaus 1919	England	1978
Beartooth	Noise		United States of America	2012
Beastie Boys	The Young Aborigines		United States of America	1979
The Beatles	The Blackjacks	The Quarrymen Johnny & The Moon Dogs The Silver Beetles	England	1957
Beat Union	Shortcut To Newark		England	2003
Becoming the Archetype	Non-Existent Failure	The Remnant	United States of America	1999
Beherit	The Lord Diabolus		Finland	1989
Behexen	Lord Of The Left Hand		Finland	1994
Bee Gees	Wee Johnny Hayes And The Blue Cats	The Rattlesnakes	England	1955	[2] [3]
Beyond Twilight	Twilight		Denmark	1992		Added "Beyond" to the name.
Believer	Deceiver		United States of America	1985
Belphegor	Betrayer		Austria	1991
Ben&Ben	The Benjamins		Philippines	2016
Benedictum	Bound		United States of America	2005
Beowülf	Black Sheep		United States of America	1981
Better Luck Next Time	Snapout		United States of America	2003
Biffy Clyro	Screwfish		Scotland	1995
The Birthday Massacre	Imagica		Canada	1999
Black Box	Starlight	Groove Groove Melody Wood Allen	Italy	1988
The Black Crowes	Mr. Crowe's Garden		United States of America	1984
Black Eyed Peas	Black Eyed Pods		United States of America	1995		Replaced "Pods" with "Peas".
Black Flag	Panic		United States of America	1976
Blackguard	Profugus Mortis		Canada	2001
Blackfoot	Fresh Garbage	Hammer	United States of America	1969
Black Majesty	Kymera		Australia	2001
Black Moth Super Rainbow	Satanstompingcaterpillars		United States of America	2000
Black 'n Blue	Movie Star		United States of America	1981
Black Oak Arkansas	The Knowbody Else		United States of America	1963
Black Tide	Radio		United States of America	2004
Black Sabbath	The Polka Tulk Blues Band	Earth	England	1968	[1]
Black Uhuru	Uhuru		Jamaica	1972
Black Witchery	Irreverent	Witchery	United States of America	1991
Bleeding Through	Breakneck		United States of America	1998
The Bled	The Radiation Defiance Theory		United States of America	2001
Bleeker	Bleeker Ridge		Canada	2003		Removed "Ridge" from the name.
Blink-182	Duck Tape	Figure 8 Blink	United States of America	1991
The Blinded	Stigmata	Blinded Colony	Sweden	2000
Blind Guardian	Lucifer's Heritage		Germany	1984
Bloc Party	Union	The Angel Range Diet Superheroes Of BMX	England	1999
Bloodhound Gang	Bang Chamber 8		United States of America	1988
Blood Stain Child	Visionquest		Japan	1999
Bloodsimple	Fix 8		United States of America	2002
Blood Has Been Shed	Release	Driven	United States of America	1993
Blondie	Angel And The Snake		United States of America	1974	[4] [5]
Blue Öyster Cult	Soft White Underbelly	Oaxaca Stalk-Forrest Group Santos Sisters	United States of America	1967
Blur	Seymour		England	1988	[6]
Bob Marley and the Wailers	The Wailers	The Wailing Rudeboys The Wailing Wailers The Teenagers	Jamaica	1963
Bodyjar	Damnation	Helium	Australia	1990
Bodyslam	ละอ่อน		Thailand	2002
Bone Thugs-n-Harmony	The Band-Aid Boys	B.O.N.E. Enterpri$e	United States of America	1991	[1]
Bonfire	Cacumen		Germany	1972
Born of Osiris	Diminished	Your Heart Engraved Rosecrance	United States of America	2003
Bowling for Soup	Rubberneck		United States of America	1994
The Boys	The Yobs		England	1976
Boyz II Men	Unique Attraction		United States of America	1985
The Boomtown Rats	The Nightlife Thugs		Ireland	1975
Breaking Point	Broken		United States of America	1999
Brides of Destruction	Cockstar	Motordog	United States of America	2001
B-Thong	Concrete Stuff		Sweden	1990
Bullet for My Valentine	Jeff Killed John		Wales	1998
Burn Season	Smakt Down		United States of America	1998
Butthole Surfers	The Vodka Family Winstons	Nine CM Worm Makes Own Food	United States of America	1981
Bush	Bush With Gavin Rossdale	Future Primitive	England	1992		Removed "Gavin Rossdale" from the name.
Busted	The Termites		England	2000
Cadaver	Cadaver, Inc.		Norway	1999
The Cadillac Three	The Cadillac Black		United States of America	?		Replaced "Black" with "Three".
Cage the Elephant	Perfect Confusion		United States of America	2005
The Cadillacs	The Carnations		United States of America	1953
The Calling	Generation Gap	Next Door	United States of America	1996
Camel	Brew		England	1971
Candlemass	Nemesis		Sweden	1982
Candy Harlots	Helter Skelter	The Harlots	Australia	1987
Carcass	Disattack		England	1985
Carnage	Global Carnage		Sweden	1988		Removed "Global" from the name.
Carpathian Forest	Enthrone		Norway	1990
Cavalera	Inflikted	Max And Igor Cavalera Cavalera Conspiracy	United States of America	2007
Cave In	The Sacrifice Poles		United States of America	?
Ceremonial Oath	Desecrator		Sweden	1989
Chelsea Grin	Ahaziah		United States of America	2007
The Chicks	Dixie Chicks		United States of America	1989		Removed "Dixie" from the name.
Chicago	The Big Thing	Chicago Transit Authority	United States of America	1967
Children of Bodom	Inearthed		Finland	1993
Chumbawamba	Skin Disease	Antidote Scab Aid	England	1982
Circle of Contempt	Thrust Moment		Finland	2006
The Contortionist	At The Hands Of Machines		United States of America	2007
The Cranberries	The Cranberry Saw Us		Ireland	1989
The Crucified	Kids In God's Blessings		United States of America	1984
The Cure	The Obelisk	Malice Easy Cure	England	1976
Coal Chamber	She's In Pain		United States of America	1992
Code Orange	Code Orange Kids		United States of America	2008		Removed "Kids" from the name.
Coheed and Cambria	Shabütie		United States of America	1995
Cold	Grundig	Diablo	United States of America	1986
Coldplay	Pectoralz	Starfish Big Fat Noises	England	1996	[7]
The Color of Violence	Skeleton Slaughter vs. Fetus Destroyer		United States of America	2002
The Collectors	The C-FUN Classics		Canada	1961
Combichrist	D.r.i.v.E	Hudlager	United States of America	2003
Converge	Shattered Void		United States of America	1995
Cory Wells & The Enemys	The Vibrators		United States of America	1965
Count Raven	Stormvarning		Sweden	1987
Crimson Glory	Pierced Arrow	Beowulf	United States of America	1979
Cripple Bastards	Grimcorpses		Italy	1988
Cro-Mags	Mode Of Ignorance	Disco Smoothy	United States of America	1980
Crossfade	The Nothing	Sugerdaddy Superstar	United States of America	1991
Crowbar	Shellshock	Aftershock Wrequiem The Slugs	United States of America	1988
The Crown	Crown Of Thorns	Dobermann	Sweden	1990		Removed "Of Thorns" from the name.
Creed	Naked Toddler	Mattox Creed	United States of America	1994	[1]
Creedence Clearwater Revival	The Blue Velvets	Tommy Fogerty And The Blue Velvets Vision The Golliwogs	United States of America	1959	[8]
Cryptopsy	Obsessive Compulsive Disorder	Necrosis Gomorra	Canada	1988
The Cult	Death Cult		England	1983		Removed "Death" from the name.
Dååth	Dirt Nap		United States of America	2000
Dalriada	Steelium	Echo Of Dalriada	Hungary	1998
Damageplan	New-Found Power		United States of America	2003
Dangerous Toys	Onyx		United States of America	1987
Dark Age	Dyer's Eve		Germany	1994
Darkthrone	Black Death		Norway	1986
Dark New Day	Dark Blue		United States of America	2004		Replaced "Blue" with "New Day".
Dark Tranquillity	Septic Broiler		Sweden	1989
Darkwoods My Betrothed	Virgin's Cunt		Finland	1993
Daron Malakian and Scars on Broadway	Scars On Broadway		United States of America	2006		Added "Daron Malakian" to the name.
Day6	5Live		Korea	2014
Dead Sara	Epiphany		United States of America	2002
Death	Mantas		United States of America	1983
Deathbound	Twilight	Unbound	Finland	1995
Deathchain	Winterwolf		Finland	1997
Debauchery	Maggotcunt		Germany	2000
December Avenue	Sense Of Sound		Philippines	2007
Decyfer Down	Allysonhymn	Decyfer	United States of America	1999
Def Leppard	Atomic Mass	Accracy Chemical Reactor	England	1976	[1]
Deicide	Carnage	Amon	United States of America	1987
Depeche Mode	Composition Of Sound		England	1980
Depswa	Carcinogen		United States of America	1997
Design the Skyline	Extra Large Kids		United States of America	2007
Destiny's Child	Girl's Tyme		United States of America	1990	[9]
Destruction	Knight Of Demon		Germany	1982
Detonation	Infernal Dream		Netherlands	1997
DevilDriver	Deathride		United States of America	2002
Devilment	Brutal Grooves, Inc.		England	2001
Die Kur	The Out Mind Zone	The Care	England	1995
Die Warzau	Die Warzau Synfony		United States of America	1987		Removed "Synfony" from the name.
The Dillinger Escape Plan	Arcane		United States of America	1996
Dire Straits	Café Racers		England	1977
Discordance Axis	Sedition		United States of America	1991
Dishwalla	Life Talking	Dish	United States of America	1990
Dispatch	One Fell Swoop		United States of America	1996
Disturbed	Brawl		United States of America	1994
Dissection	Siren's Yell		Sweden	1988
The Dixie Cups	The Meltones	Little Miss The Muffets	United States of America	1962
Dixie Dregs	Dixie Grit		United States of America	1970
Doom	The Subverters		England	1986
Doc Holliday	Roundhouse		United States of America	1971
Dog Fashion Disco	Hug The Retard		United States of America	1995
The Donnas	The Electrocutes	Ragady Anne Screem	United States of America	1993
doubleDrive	MK Ultra		United States of America	1996
downset.	Social Justice		United States of America	1989
D'Molls	The Chicago Molls		United States of America	1984
DVSR	Devastator		Australia	2013
Dream Theater	Majesty		United States of America	1985
Dropout Kings	Phoenix Down		United States of America	2016
Drottnar	Vitality		Norway	1996
Dry Cell	Impúr		United States of America	1998
Dry Kill Logic	Hinge	Hinge AD	United States of America	1995
Drug Restaurant	JJY Band		Korea	2015
Dokken	Airborn		United States of America	1976
Dubstar	The Joans		England	1992
The Duskfall	Soulash		Sweden	1999
Eat Me Raw	Eatmewhileimhot!		United States of America	2008
Eastern Youth	Scanners		Japan	1989
Elbow	Mr. Soft	Soft	England	1990	[10]
Electric Wizard	Lord Of Putrefaction	The Grief Eternal Eternal	England	1988
Eleventyseven	Protective Custody		United States of America	2002
Elysia	Elysium's Revenge		United States of America	2003
Embalmer	Corpsegrinder		United States of America	1989
Embodyment	Supplication		United States of America	1992
Empire of the Sun	Steelemore		Australia	?	[11]
Enter Shikari	Hybryd	Shikari Sound System Jonny And The Snipers	England	1999
Epica	Sahara Dust		Netherlands	2002
Epoch of Unlight	Enraptured	Requiem	United States of America	1994
E-Rotic	IQ Check		Germany	1994
Escape the Day	Mindscape		Sweden	2007
Eso-Charis	Elliot		United States of America	1995
Eths	What's The Fuck		France	1996
Exciter	Hell Razor		Canada	1978
Extreme	The Dream		United States of America	1985
Ezo	Flatbacker		Japan	1982
Europe	Force		Sweden	1979
Evanescence	Childish Intentions		United States of America	1995
Eve 6	Yakoo	Eleventeen	United States of America	1995
Evoken	Funereus	Asmodeus	United States of America	1992
Excel	Chaotic Noise		United States of America	1983
Face Down	Machine God		Sweden	1993
Fairyland	Fantasia		France	1998
Faith No More	Sharp Young Men	Faith No Man	United States of America	1979
Falling in Reverse	From Behind These Walls		United States of America	2008
Fallzone	Seven Wiser		United States of America	2002
Family Force 5	The Brothers	Ground Noise The Phamily	United States of America	1994
Famous Last Words	A Walking Memory	Barlait	United States of America	2008
The Farm	The Excitements		England	1983
Fastball	Star 69	Magneto Magneto U.S.A. Ed Clark's Business Bible Starchy	United States of America	1992
Fear Factory	Ulceration	Fear The Factor	United States of America	1989
Feeder	Reel	Renegades	Wales	1992
Fenix TX	Riverfenix		United States of America	1995		Removed the part "River" and added "TX".
Fifth Harmony	Lylas		United States of America	?
Final Warning	Broken Trust		United States of America	1982
Finger Eleven	Stone Soul Picnic	Rainbow Butt Monkeys	Canada	1990
Finley	Junkies		Italy	2002
Fireworks	Bears		United States of America	2004
Five Blind Boys of Mississippi	The Cotton Blossom Singers		United States of America	1936
Fleshwrought	Fleshrot		United States of America	?
Flotsam and Jetsam	Paradox	Dreadlox Dogz	United States of America	1981
Flyleaf	Passerby		United States of America	2002
The Fluid	Madhouse		United States of America	1985
Foje	Sunki Muzika		Lithuania	1983
Forbidden	Forbidden Evil		United States of America	1985		Removed "Evil" from the name.
Foo Fighters	The Holy Shits	Dee Gees The Churn Ups	United States of America	1994
Four Jacks and a Jill	The Nevadas	The Zombies	South Africa	1964
From the Shallows	From The Shallows Came The Sinners		United States of America	2004
Fuel	Reel Too Real	Small The Joy Re-fueled	United States of America	1992
Full Devil Jacket	Voodoo Hippies		United States of America	1997
Full Scale	Full Scale Deflection	Full Scale Revolution	Australia	1998
Funeral for a Friend	January Thirst		Wales	2001
The Funeral Pyre	Envilent		United States of America	2001
Garbanotas	Garbanotas Bosistas		Lithuania	2008		Removed "Bosistas" from the name.
The Gates of Slumber	The Keep		United States of America	1997
Gates of Ishtar	Disrupt		Sweden	1992
The Georgia Satellites	Keith And The Satellites		United States of America	1980		Replaced "Keith" with "Georgia".
Genitorturers	The Festering Genitorturers		United States of America	1986		Removed "Festering" from the name.
Giant Sand	Giant Sandworms		United States of America	1980		Removed the part "Worms".
Gilla Band	Girl Band		Ireland	2011		Replaced "Girl" with "Gilla".
The Gits	Snivelling Little Rat Faced Gits		United States of America	1986		Removed "Snivelling Little Rat Faced Gits" from the name.
Glass Casket	Gadrel		United States of America	2001
The Green Arrows	The Mambo Jazz Band		South Rhodesia	1966
Godflesh	Officially Pronounced Dead	Fall Of Because	England	1982
Godhead	Blind		United States of America	1994
Godsmack	The Scam		United States of America	1995
God Macabre	Botten På Burken	Macabre End	Sweden	1988
Gojira	Godzilla		France	1996
Golden Earring	The Tornadoes	Golden Earrings	Netherlands	1961
Goreaphobia	Infamy		United States of America	1986
Noise A-Go-Go's	Gore Beyond Necropsy		Japan	1989
Город	Gorgasm		France	1997
Goo Goo Dolls	The Sex Maggots		United States of America	1985	[2] [10]
The Great Deceiver	Hide		Sweden	?
Grand Magus	Smack		Sweden	1996
Grave	Corpse	Putrefaction	Sweden	1986
Grave Digger	Digger	Hawaii	Germany	1986
Great White	Highway	Livewire Wires DanteFox	United States of America	1977
Green Apple Quick Step	Inspector Luv	Ride Me Babys	United States of America	1989
Green Day	Blood Rage	Sweet Children	United States of America	1987	[1]
Gustafi	Gustaph Y Njegovi Dobri Duhovi		Croatia	1990
Hawaii	Vixen		United States of America	1981
Haemorrhage	Devourment		Spain	1990
Head Phones President	Deep Last Blue		Japan	?
Heart	The Army	White Heart	United States of America	1965
Heavenly	Satan's Lawyer		France	1993
Heavens Gate	Steeltower		Germany	1982
Heaven Shall Burn	Before The Fall	Consense	Germany	1995
Hawthorne Heights	A Day In The Life		United States of America	2001
Hecate Enthroned	Amethyist	Daemonum	England	1992
Heck	Baby Godzilla		England	2009
Hedgehoppers Anonymous	The Trendsetters		England	1961
Helix	The Helix Field Band		Canada	1974		Removed "Field Band" from the name.
Helloween	Gentry	Second Hell Iron Fist	Germany	1978
Hades Almighty	Hades		Norway	1992		Added "Almighty" to the name.
Hellhammer	Hammerhead		Switzerland	1982
Hollywood Undead	The Kids		United States of America	2005
Horde	Beheadoth		Australia	1994
Hoobastank	Hoobustank		United States of America	1994
Huey Lewis and the News	Huey Lewis And The America Express		United States of America	1978		Replaced "American Express" with "News".
The Human League	The Future		England	1977
Хурд	Скорость		Mongolia	1987
Hyubris	Lupakajojo		Portugal	1998
Iced Earth	The Rose	Purgatory	United States of America	1984
Ice Nine Kills	Ice Nine		United States of America	2000		Added "Kills" to the name.
Icon	Ice	The Schoolboys	United States of America	1973
IGNEA	Parallax		Ukraine	2013
Ill Niño	El Niño		United States of America	1998		Added "Ill" to the name.
Immolation	Rigor Mortis		United States of America	1986
The Impossibles	Fat Girls		United States of America	1994
Indus Creed	Rock Machine		India	1984
InMe	Drowned		England	1996
Insane Clown Posse	JJ Boyz	Bloody Brothers Inner City Posse	United States of America	1989
INXS	The Farriss Brothers	The Vegetables	Australia	1977	[11]
Iron Cross	Holy Cross		Myanmar	1989		Replaced "Holy" with "Iron".
Iron Fire	Misery	Decades Of Darkness	Denmark	1995
Isole	Forlorn		Sweden	1990
Ivoryline	Dead End Driveway		United States of America	2003
Jamie Wednesday	The Ballpoints	Peter Pan's Playground	England	1984
Jam & Spoon	Tokyo Ghetto Pussy	Storm Big Room	Germany	?
The Jamaicans	The Merricoles		Jamaica	1964
Jaurim	Full Count		Korea	1993
Jawbreaker	Rise		United States of America	1986
The Jimmy Hendrix Experience	The Blue Flames		United States of America	?
Joy Division	Stiff Kittens	Warsaw	England	1977	[12]
Journey	Golden Gate Rhythm Section		United States of America	1973
The Jubalaires	The Royal Harmony Singers		United States of America	1935
Judas Priest	Freight		England	1969
June	Drive Like June		United States of America	2002		Removed "Drive Like" from the name.
Just Surrender	A Second Chance		United States of America	2003
Kaiser Chiefs	Runston Parva	Parva	England
Kajagoogoo	Art Nouveau	Kaja	England
Kataklysm	Northern Hyperblast		Canada	1991
Kalmah	Ancestor		Finland
Kevorkian Death Cycle	Grid
Kick Axe	Hobbit	Spectre General	Canada	1974
Kilgore	Regicide	Stain Smudge Kilgore Smudge	United States of America
Killer Dwarfs	Sphinx		Canada	1981
Killing Moon	WhipKraft		United States of America	2004
King 810	King		United States of America	2007		Added "810" to the name.
Kingfisher Sky	Jambone		Netherlands	2001
The Kings of Nuthin'	The Boston Blackouts		United States of America	1999	[13] [14]
King's X	The Edge	Sneak Preview	United States of America
Kiss	Rainbow	Wicked Lester	United States of America
Kix	The Shooze	The Generators The Baltimore Cocks	United States of America
Knocked Loose	Manipulator		United States of America	2013
Konkhra	Vicious Circle		Denmark	1989
Korpiklaani	Shamaani Duo	Shaman	Finland	1993
Kool & the Gang	The Jazziacs		United States of America	1964
Kreator	Metal Militia	Tyrant Tormentor	Germany	1982
Krieg	Imperial		United States of America	1995
Kutless	Call Box		United States of America	1999
Lȧȧz Rockit	Depth Charge		United States of America	1981
Labelle	The Ordettes	Patti LaBelle And The Blue Belles Patti LaBelle And Her Blue Belles	United States of America	1960
Lacuna Coil	Sleep Of Right	Ethereal	Italy	1999
Lamb of God	Burn The Priest		United States of America	1994	[1]
The Stanley Brothers	The Lazy Ramblers		United States of America	?
Legion of the Damned	Occult		Netherlands	1992
Legendary Shack Shakers	Those		United States of America	1995
Lemon Demon	Trapezoid	Deporitaz	United States of America	?	[15]
Lemon Joy	Этаж 3	Lemon's Joy	Lithuania	1994
The Lemonheads	The Whelps		United States of America	1985
Leeway	The Unruled		United States of America	1983
Led Zeppelin	The New Yardbirds		England	1963	[9]
Liberteer	Citizen		United States of America	2004
The Libertines	The Strand		England	1997	[10]
Lifer	Bloodmouth	Driver Strangers With Candy	United States of America	1999
Light the Torch	Devil You Know		United States of America	2012
Lillian Axe	The Oz		United States of America	1983
Linkin Park	Xero	Hybrid Theory	United States of America	1996	[16]
Live	Public Affection		United States of America
Loathe	Our Imbalance		England
Lotus Eater	As Daylight Fades		England	2014
A Loss for Words	Last Ride		United States of America	1999
Lullacry	Coarse		Finland
Luna Mortis	The Ottoman Empire		United States of America
Madam X	Pantagruel	Hell's Belles	United States of America
Madder Mortem	Mystery Tribe		Norway
Mägo de Oz	Transilvania		Spain	?
Majestica	ReinXeed		Sweden	2000
Makoma	Nouveau Testament		Zaire	1993
Manes	Perifa	Obscuro	Norway
Man-go	Mango		Lithuania	1998
Man Is the Bastard	Charred Remains		United States of America	1990
Marilyn Manson	Marilyn Manson & The Spooky Kids		United States of America			Removed "Spooky Kids" from the name.
Maroon 5	Kara's Flowers	Maroon	United States of America	1994	[1]
Master	Death Strike		United States of America	1983
Means	Means 2 An End		Canada	2001		Removed "2 An End" from the name.
Megadeth	Fallen Angels		United States of America	1983
Memphis May Fire	Oh Captain, My Captain		United States of America
Merciless	Obsessed	Black Mass	Sweden	1986
Meshuggah	Metallien		Sweden	1985
Midnight Oil	Farm		Australia	1972
Mind Funk	Mind Fuck		United States of America	?		Replaced "Fuck" with "Funk".
Myrath	X-Tazy		Tunisia
My Epic	The Right Wing Conspiracy		United States of America	1998
Mob 47	Censur		Sweden	1982
Modern Day Zero	Mesh	Mesh STL	United States of America	1995
Monarchy	Milke		England	2005
Monster Magnet	Dog Of Mystery	Airport 75 Triple Bad Acid King Fuzz	United States of America	1989
Monty Are I	Monty's Fan Club	Monty	United States of America	1998
Morbid Angel	Ice	Heretic	United States of America	1983
Morgoth	Cadaverous Smell	Minas Morgul	Germany	1986
Mortification	Lightforce		Australia	1990
The Mothers of Invention	The Soul Giants	The Mothers Ruben And The Jets	United States of America	1964
Motionless in White	One Way Ticket	When Breathing Stops	United States of America	2004
Mother Love Bone	Lords Of The Wasteland		United States of America	1987
Motörhead	Bastard		England	1975
Moonmaids	North Texas Swingtet		United States of America	1943
Moonspell	Morbid God		Portugal	1989
Mr.	White Noise		China	2007
Mr. President	Satellite One		Germany	?
Msondo Ngoma	NUTA Jazz Band	Juwata Jazz Band OTTU Jazz Band	Tanzania	1964
Mt. Helium	The Apex Theory		United States of America	1999
Mucky Pup	Predator		United States of America	1986
Muse	Carnage Mayhem	Gothic Plague Rocket Baby Dolls	England	1993	[8]
The Nation of Ulysses	Ulysses		England	1988		Removed "Nation Of" from the name
Tipo Grupė	Naujieji Lietuviai
New Kids on the Block	Nynuk		United States of America	1984
New Musik	End Of The World		England	1977
Neutral Milk Hotel	Milk		United States of America			Added "Neutral" and "Hotel" to the name.
Nickelback	Point Of View	Village Idiot Brick	Canada	1992	[8]
Night Ranger	Stereo	Ranger	United States of America	1979
Nirvana	Skid Row	Pen Cap Chew Bliss Ted Ed Fred	United States of America	1987	[8] [17]
Nokturnal Mortum	Suppuration	Crystaline Darkness	Ukraine	1994
No-Man	No Man Is An Island Except The Isle Of Man		England	1987		Removed "Is An Island Except The Isle Of Man" from the name.
Nonpoint	Nonpoint Factor		United States of America	1993		Removed "Factor" from the name.
Norther	Requiem	Decayed	Finland	1996
Norma Jean	Luti-Kriss		United States of America	1997
The Nosebleeds	Ed Banger And The Nosebleeds		England	1976		Removed "Ed Banger" from the name.
Novembers Doom	Laceration		United States of America	1989
Novembre	Catacomb		Italy	1990
No One	Black Talon		United States of America	1994
Nuuk Posse	?		Greenland	1985
The Oak Ridge Boys	Wally Fowler And The Georgia Clodhoppers		United States of America	1943
Oasis	The Rain		England	1991	[10]
Oh! Brothers	Orgasm Brothers		Korea	1998		Replaced "Orgasm" with "Oh!".
Obituary	Executioner		United States of America	1984
The Obsessed	Warhorse		United States of America	1976
Obscura	Illegimitation		Germany	2000
The Offspring	Manic Subsidal		United States of America	1984
Ohio Players	The Ohio Untouchables		United States of America	1967		Replaced "Untouchables" with "Players".
The O'Jays	The Triumphs	The Mascots	United States of America	1958
Odd Crew	Каскадьори		Bulgaria	1998
On Thorns I Lay	Paralysis	Phlebotomy	Greece	1992
OneRepublic	This Beautiful Mess		United States of America	1996
One Minute Silence	Near Death Experience		England	1993
Opeth	Eruption		Sweden	1987
Opus	A.S.K.		England	1992
Orange Goblin	Our Haunted Kingdom		England	1995
Orange Juice	Nu-Sonics
Origin	Necrotomy	Thee Abomination	United States of America	1990
Original Dixieland Jass Band	Stein's Dixie Jass Band		United States of America	1916		Replaced "Stein's Dixie" with "Original Dixieland".
The Orioles	The Vibra-Naires		United States of America	1947
Orphaned Land	Resurrection		Palestine	?
Освајачи	Освајачи All Stars		Serbia	1990
Outkast	Two Shades Deep	Misfits	United States of America
Outlaws	The Four Letter Words		United States of America	1967
Overkill	Virgin Killer		United States of America	1980
The Outfield	The Baseball Boys		England	1984
Passenger	Cliff		Sweden	1995
Paul Revere & the Raiders	Downbeats		United States of America	1958
Pearl Jam	Mookie Blaylock		United States of America	1990	[1]
People in Planes	Tetra Splendour	Robots In The Sky	Wales	1998
Phantogram	Charlie Everywhere		United States of America	2007
Phantomsmasher	Atomsmasher		United States of America			Changed the part "Atom" to "Phantom".
Phish	Blackwood Convention		United States of America	1983
Picture Me Broken	Lane Four		United States of America	2005
Pilot Speed	Pilate		Canada	1999
Pink Floyd	Sigma 6	Meggadeaths The Screaming Abdabs Leonard's Lodgers The Spectrum Five Tea Set	England	1963	[18] [8]
Pixies	Pixies In Panoply		United States of America	1986		Removed "In Panoply" from the name.
Placebo	Ashtray Heart		England	1994
Polyenso	Oceana		United States of America	2007
The Presidents of the United States of America	The Lo-Fis	The Dynamic Duo Pure Frosting	United States of America	1993
Procol Harum	The Pinewoods	The Paramounts Liquorice John Death	England	1967
Protest the Hero	Happy Go Lucky		Canada	1999
P.O.D.	Eschatos		United States of America	1991
Poco	Pogo		United States of America	1968
The Pogues	Pogue Mahone		England	1982
Poison	Paris		United States of America	1980
Poison the Well	Doubting Thomas	An Acre Lost	United States of America	1997
Pop Will Eat Itself	From Eden	Wild And Wandering	England
The Psychedelic Furs	RKO	Radio The Europeans	England	1977
Psyopus	Stranglefuck		United States of America	2002
Public Enemy	Spectrum City		United States of America	1985
Queen	Smile		England	1968
Queensrÿche	Cross+Fire	The Mob	United States of America	1980
Queens of the Stone Age	Gamma Ray		United States of America	1996
Rabbitt	The Conglomeration		South Africa	1972
Rage	Avenger		Germany	1983
Radiohead	On A Friday		England	1985	[1]
Rammstein	Tempelprayers		Germany	1993
Rare Earth	The Sunliners		United States of America	1960
Ratt	Mickey Ratt		United States of America	1976		Removed "Mickey" from the name
Raw Radar War	Septic Youth Command		United States of America	2002
Reckless Love	Reckless Life		Finland			Replaced "Life" with "Love"
Red Hot Chili Peppers	Tony Flow And The Miraculously Majestic Masters Of Mayhem		United States of America	1982
The Replacements	Dogbreath	Impediments	United States of America	1978
Repulsion	Tempter	Ultraviolence Genocide	United States of America	1984
Revocation	Cryptic Warning		United States of America	2000
For Squirrels	For Squirrels	Subrosa	United States of America	?
Rhapsody of Fire	Thundercross	Rhapsody	Italy	1993
Rise Against	Transistor Revolt		United States of America	1999
R.E.M.	Hornets Attack Victor Mature	Bingo Hand Job It Crawled From The South Twisted Kites Negro Eyes Cans Of Piss	United States of America	1980	[19]
Rock City Angels	The Abusers	Delta City Rebels Delta Rebels	United States of America	1981
Rostros Ocultos	Montana		Mexico	1985
La Roux	Automan		England	2006
The Roots	Radio Activity	Black To The Future The Square Roots	United States of America	?	[20]
Runemagick	Desiderius		Sweden	1990
Sabaton	Aeon		Sweden	1999
Sacred Warrior	Nomad		United States of America	1985
Sacrilege	Warwound		England	1984
Saint Vitus	Tyrant		United States of America	1978
Sankomota	Uhuru		Lesotho	1976
Saturnus	Asesino		Denmark	1991
Saurom	Saurom Lamderth		Spain	1996		Removed "Lamderth" from the name.
Savatage	Metropolis U.S.A.	Avatar	United States of America	1977
Savage Garden	Crush	Bliss	Australia	1993	[11]
Savage Grace	Marquis De Sade		United States of America	1981
Schizophonic	Schizophonic Love Symphony		Canada	2010		Removed "Love Symphony" from the name.
Scorpions	Nameless		Germany	1965
Selena Gomez & the Scene	The Scene		United States of America	2008		Added "Selena Gomez" to the name.
Seether	Saron Gas		South Africa	1998
Šeškės	69 Danguje		Lithuania	2005
Shadow Gallery	Sorcerer		United States of America
Sham 69	Jimmy And The Ferrets		England	1975
Shihad	Exit	Pacifier	New Zealand	1988
Shy	Trojan		England
Shotgun Messiah	Kingpin		Sweden	1985
Silly Fools	Silly Foolish		Thailand	1996		Changed the adjective "Foolish" to the noun "Fools".
Segression	Eezee		Australia	1990
Sentenced	Utmost Deformity	Deformity	Finland	1988
Sevendust	Snake Nation	Rumble fish Crawlspace	United States of America	1994
Shape of Despair	Raven		Finland	1995
Sheavy	Green Machine		Canada	1993
The Shins	Flake	Flake Music	United States of America	1996
The Showdown	2540		United States of America	1999
The Silence and the Serenity	Bless The Fallen		United States of America	2005
Silverchair	The Silly Men	Innocent Criminals	Australia	1992
Silversun Pickups	A Couple Of Couples		United States of America	2002
Simon & Garfunkel	Tom & Jerry		United States of America	1956	[1]
System of a Down	Soil		United States of America	1992
Skid Row	Skip Rope		United States of America	1986
Skrape	Jojo		United States of America	1997
Slade	The N' Betweens	Ambrose Slade	England	1966	[6]
Slipknot	Pygsystem	Meld	United States of America		[10]
Smile Empty Soul	Hecklers Veto		United States of America	1998
Snow Patrol	Shrug	Polar Bear	Scotland	1994	[2] [10]
Society Burning	The Watchmen		United States of America	1991
The Soft Pack	The Muslims		United States of America	2007
Solitude Aeturnus	Solitude		United States of America	1987		Added "Aeturnus" to the name.
Sonata Arctica	Tricky Beans	Tricky Means	Finland	1995
Soilwork	Inferior Breed		Sweden	1995
Solution 13	Confusion Red		Finland	2000
Sonic Syndicate	Fallen Angels		Sweden	2002
Sonny & Cher	Caesar And Cleo		United States of America	1964	[4]
Sore Throat	Soar Throat	Saw Throat	England	1987
SouthGang	Byte The Bullet		United States of America	1988
Soul Asylum	Loud Fast Rules		United States of America	1981
The Soulless	Ignominious Incarceration		England	2006
Souls at Zero	Atlantis	Tyrant Wrathchild Wrathchild America	United States of America	1979
Spandau Ballet	The Roots	The Cut The Makers	England	1976
Sparks	Halfnelson		United States of America	?
The Specials	The Automatics	Coventry Automatics	England	1977
Spice Girls	Touch		England	1994	[21]
Spin Doctors	The Trucking Company		United States of America	1988
Stake	Steak Number Eight		Belgium	2004
Static-X	Drill	Static	United States of America	1994
Status Quo	Scorpions	The Paladins The Spectres Traffic Jam	England	1962
Steelheart	Red Alert		United States of America	1987
Steel Panther	Metal Shop	Danger Kitty Metal Skool	United States of America	2000
Stepa	Philp		United States of America	1998
Stereophonics	Tragic Love Company		Wales	1992	[22]
Stress	Pingo D'água		Brazil	1974
The Stone	Stone To Flesh		Serbia	1996		Removed "To Flesh" from the name.
The Stone Roses	The Angry Young Teddy Bears		England	1989
Stone Sour	Super Ego	Closure	United States of America	1992
Stone Temple Pilots	Swing	Mighty Joe Young Shirleys Temple's Pussy	United States of America	1987
Story of the Year	67 North	Big Blue Monkey	United States of America	1995
The Stooges	Psychedelic Stooges		United States of America	1967		Removed "Psychedelic" from the name.
Strawbs	Strawberry Hill Boys		England	1964
Stryken	Stryker		United States of America	?
Stryper	Roxx Regime		United States of America	1983
Sugar Ray	Shrinky Dinx		United States of America	1986	[1]
Suidakra	Gloryfication		Germany	1994
Sum 41	Kaspir	Pain For Pleasure	Canada	1994
Sunk Loto	Messiah		Australia	1997
Sunny Day Real Estate	Empty Set		United States of America	1992
The Supremes	The Primettes	Diana Ross & The Supremes	United States of America	1959
Superjoint	Superjoint Ritual		United States of America	1993		Removed "Ritual" from the name.
Supergrass	The Jennifers	Theodore Supergrass	England	?
The Sweet	The Sweetshop		England	1968		Removed the part "Shop" from the name.
Switchfoot	Chip Up		United States of America	1996
Sworn Enemy	Downfall	Mindset	United States of America	1997
Tabou Combo	Los Incognitos		Haiti	1968
Tantric	C-14		United States of America	1999
The Templars	Lords Of The Sword		United States of America	?
Terrorizer	Unknown Death	Decomposed	United States of America	1985
Tesla	Earthshaker	City Kidd	United States of America	1981
Theatre of Tragedy	Suffering Grief	La Reine Noir	Norway	1993
They Might Be Giants	El Grupo De Rock And Roll		United States of America	1981	[23]
Therion	Blitzkrieg	Megatherion	Sweden	1987
Thousand Foot Krutch	Oddball		Canada	1995
Three Days Grace	Groundswell		Canada	1992
Thurisaz	ModiliuM		Belgium	1997
Tiamat	Treblinka		Sweden	1987
To/Die/For	Mary-Ann		Finland	1993
The Treniers	The Trenier Twins		United States of America	1947
Tribulation	Hazard		Sweden	2001
Trio Matamoros	Trio Oriental		Cuba	1925		Replaced "Oriental" with "Matamoros".
Tower of Power	The Motowns		United States of America	1968
Trail of Tears	Natt		Norway	1994
Trust Company	41Down		United States of America	1997
T.S.O.L.	Vicious Circle		United States of America
Tura Satana	Manhole		United States of America	1994
Type O Negative	New Minority	Repulsion Sub-Zero	United States of America	1989
Twisted Sister	Bent Brother	Silverstar	United States of America	1972
Two	Gimp		England	1996
Ulcerate	Bloodwreath		New Zealand	2000
Ultravox	Tiger Lily		England	1974
Uncle Slam	The Screaming Fetus	The Brood	United States of America	1984
Unholy	Holy Hell		Finland	1990
Unified Theory	Luma		United States of America	1998
UnSun	UnSeen		Poland	2006
Unto Others	Idle Hands		United States of America	2017
U2	Feedback	The Hype	Ireland	1976	[8] [2]
Üçnoktabir	Spitney Beers		Turkey	2002
Van Halen	The Broken Combs	Trojan Rubber Co. Genesis Mammoth	United States of America	1964	[8]
Vardøger	Hidden Paradise		Norway
Vaux	Eiffel		United States of America	1997
Vein.fm	Vein		United States of America	2013		Removed ".Fm" from the name.
Vektor	Locrian		United States of America
Venom	Guillotine	Dwarfstar	England	1978
Versa	VersaEmerge		United States of America	2006
Vesperian Sorrow	Unholy Descent		United States of America	1998
Vintersorg	Vargatron		Sweden	1994
Vitacit	Smetiště		Czechia	1973
Volo Volo de Boston	Haiti Combo		Haiti	1969
W.A.S.P.	Sister		United States of America	1976
Wage War	Empires	War Within	United States of America	2010
War	Eric Burdon And War		United States of America	1969		Removed "Eric Burdon" from the name.
Warlock	Snakebite		Germany	1980
We Came as Romans	This Emergency		United States of America	?
Widespread Panic	Severe Driving Problems		United States of America	1981
Winds of Plague	Bleak December		United States of America	2002
Within Temptation	The Circle	Voyage The Portal	Netherlands	1992
Winterville	The Others	The Keytones	England	2003
Wytch Hazel	Jerusalem		England	2011
Wolfbrigade	Wolfpack		Sweden	1995		Changed the part "Pack" with "Brigade".
The Who	The Detours	The High Numbers	England	1959	[2] [24]
X Japan	X		Japan	1982		Added "Japan" to the name.
XTC	Star Park	The Helium Kidz	England	1972
Young the Giant	The Jakes		United States of America	2004	[25] [26]
Young Knives	Simple Pastoral Existence	Ponyclub	England	1995
YouInSeries	Brown Eyed Deception		United States of America	2003
Zonaria	Seal Precious		Sweden	2001
Žeteoci	Bijeli Korali		Croatia	1966

Other topics

• List of band name etymologies

References

1. "25 Worst Original Names of Famous Bands". Rolling Stone . 22 July 2015. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
2. Acuna, Kirsten (5 September 2012). "15 Original Band Names Before They Were Famous". Business Insider . Retrieved 21 April 2017.
3. Hughes, Andrew (2009). The Bee Gees - Tales of the Brothers Gibb. ISBN   978-0-85712-004-5 . Retrieved 29 January 2013.
4. Conrdat, Stacy (14 September 2009). "The Quick 10: The Former Names of 10 Bands". Mental Floss . Retrieved 20 April 2017.
5. Barker, Emily (3 February 2014). "Blondie: 25 Godlike Moments From One Of The World's Most Influential Bands". NME . Retrieved 20 April 2017.
6. Rentoul, John (24 January 2016). "The Top Ten: Original band names". The Independent . Retrieved 21 April 2017.
7. Wild, Debs; Croft, Malcolm (2018). Life in Technicolor: A Celebration of Coldplay. ECW. pp. 13–16. ISBN   978-1-78739-109-3.
8. "The 12 worst original band names". Planet Rock . Retrieved 20 April 2017.
9. Billboard staff (7 May 2014). "Original Band Names of 51 Famous Groups". Billboard . Retrieved 20 April 2017.
10. Cicierega, Neil (2008). "Revealed – what bands were called before they made it big". Lemon Demon . Retrieved 2 December 2019.
11. Adams, Cameron (18 September 2015). "The worst original Aussie band names". The Daily Telegraph (Sydney) . Retrieved 22 April 2017.
12. Gray, Chris (9 February 2011). "25 Famous Bands' Less Famous Previous Names". Houston Press . Retrieved 21 April 2017.
13. Slick (April 17, 2024). "Slick: The Kings of Nuthin'". The Big Truth Podcast (Interview). No. 120. Interviewed by Big Truth.
14. "Kings Of Nuthin'". laut.de (in German). Retrieved March 30, 2025.
15. Barker, Emily (9 July 2014). "Lemon Demon (Info)". NME . Retrieved 20 April 2017.
16. Ragogna, Mike (July 25, 2012). "A Conversation With Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda, Plus Chatting With VideofyMe's Oskar Glauser and The Villains and Ben Arthur Exclusives". The Huffington Post . Archived from the original on November 21, 2020. Retrieved January 31, 2013.
17. Azerrad, Michael (1994). Come as You Are: The Story of Nirvana. Doubleday. pp. 61–2. ISBN   0-385-47199-8.
18. Barker, Emily (9 July 2014). "50 Geeky Facts About Pink Floyd". NME . Retrieved 20 April 2017.
19. "R.E.M.'s first ever show: Opening band at a birthday party in a church".
20. Thompson, Ahmir 'Questlove'; Greenman, Ben (2013). "Chapter 9". Mo' Meta Blues: The World According to Questlove. Hachette Book Group. p. 88.
21. Vincent, Alice (8 July 2016). "Here's the story, from A to Z: how the Spice Girls made Wannabe". The Daily Telegraph . Retrieved 20 April 2017.
22. Marks (2009), p. 38
23. "They Might Be Giants full biography".
24. Denham, Jess (3 February 2016). "Starfish to Girl's Tyme: 12 famous bands with dodgy original names". The Independent . Retrieved 22 April 2017.
25. Owen-Turner, Arrissia (2009-12-09). "Newport Beach's the Jakes Change Their Name to..." OC Weekly. Retrieved 2010-11-21.
26. Owen-Turner, Arrissia (2010-01-07). "The Band Formerly Known as the Jakes Take the Stage as Young the Giant". OC Weekly. Retrieved 2010-11-21.