Artists have to face quite a few issues while working on their music projects, including choosing a stage name. Pretty difficult to come up with a single name, that you will use during your entire career, isn’t it? Let us help.

Picking a name can be tricky, so let us help you out. A few tips :

- No “funny” names. We promise you, you can find an original name without sounding ridiculous. 

  - Try staying in sync with your music project and genre. How weird would it be if you were to name yourself “Crazy Suzy” when you’re an opera singer? Then again, maybe the contradiction is what you’re going for? 

  - Choose an easy name to pronounce and to remember. For example, Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta knew her name was too long and complicated. While looking for her stage name, she knew she wanted to pay tribute to one of her favourite groups ever, Queen. Did you guess? It’s Lady Gaga!   

So, what does it all really mean? How can you begin your research? Again, some advice:

Brainstorming.

Start with your first and last name. Simplify and internationalize them. Jennifer Aniston, whose birth name is Jennifer Anastassakis, simply shortened and americanized her last name.

Source : Giphy

You can also search for inspiration within your parents names, nicknames, or maiden name.

Still hesitant?

Maybe you’ve been through a lot, at a certain point in your life or still to this day? In that case, perhaps you can take it into consideration. At least it’s what “Grand Corps Malade” did. Now a french slammer, poet, singer-songwriter and producer, Grand Corps Malade wasn’t always as we know him today. At 19, he dove into a pool half-filled. After that, he was told he could never walk again. Fortunately, after a year of rehabilitation, he was able to stand up. Later on, he will use this experience to choose his stage name : “Corps Malade”, which means “Sick Body” because he couldn’t walk for a whole year and “Grand”... well, because he’s 6’3.

If you still can’t figure out your stage name, think of words you like and that sound good in most countries. You can also look into some first names you like. You can then think of combining words and/or names, maybe even two of them into a single word. 

Here’s a little trick. Head to a website where you can find a list of artists’ stage names, such as Deezer. You can now analyze the names you find, and maybe even get inspired by them. 

For example, I like the name “Rose” and I have a lot of energy so why not the name “Pepsy Rose”? (It’s just an example…).

If you still haven’t found anything, and because Internet is amazing, you can find some pseudonym generators online that may help you*. We actually don’t really advise you to use them, because the stage names that may come out of it will have nothing to do with who you are or your music project. But as a last resort, you can go check it out.

No worries, choosing a stage name can take time. And it’s a good thing since that name will be yours during your entire career.

Good luck finding your name !



Alienor Sander, aka Sandy.