Fans of The Beatles have been surprised to learn where the legendary group got its name.
The band, which is comprised of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, found its name not just through the insect but the style of music they had played in their early years.
A mixture of both The Beatles’ musical influences and the style of music they were playing in the early years of the Liverpool music scene inspired the band’s name.
A post to the r/Beatles subreddit has since seen users share the original meaning behind the name. One user asked: “Where did ‘Beatles’ name come from?”
Another user has quoted Lennon, who appears to have come up with the name for The Beatles after looking for a pun on the beat music genre.
One fan wrote: “John originally wanted to be called The Crickets, but there was already a band called that (Buddy Holly). Original bassist Stuart then suggested using Beetles and John agreed.
“Some say though John never thought of Crickets and that Stuart suggested the name as a tribute to Buddy Holly. Whichever is true, Stuart was the one who came up with the name.”
Stuart Sutcliffe, who left The Beatles in July 1961, is said to have given the band their name. The Beatles Story website confirmed Sutcliffe’s influence on the band.
The artist, who died aged 21, was a friend of Lennon’s and had made a suggestion to the band member, though McCartney was initially not a fan.
The Beatles Story reads: “John and Stuart came up with the name ‘The Beatles’ during one of their late-night sessions. Unlike Paul and George, whose parents enforced bedtime routines, John and Stuart, being art students, had the liberty to stay up all night. It was on one such night that they devised the name.”
The site continues: “They brought it to the rest of the band on an April evening in 1960 while walking along Gambier Terrace by Liverpool Cathedral. Initially, Paul thought the name sounded a bit creepy, but he changed his mind after learning about its clever double meaning, seeing it as truly literary.”
Lennon also went on record in explaining the name of The Beatles. He said: “I was looking for a name like The Crickets that meant two things, and from crickets I got to beetles.
“And I changed the BEA, because ‘beetles’ didn’t mean two things on its own. When you said it, people thought of crawly things; and when you read it, it was beat music.”
Initially, the name did not stick, as the band were billed as The Silver Beatles for some of their early shows. They gave their name, however, to journalists as just ‘The Beatles’.
