8 K-pop Idols’ Unique Stage Names & What They Mean [Updated 2022]

Part of becoming an idol in the K-pop industry is deciding whether you need to start your music career with a stage name or just stick with your birth name. It's also another thing that Koreans think about often since there are a lot of artists with the same names.

To have a unique name for the audience to remember, the idols thoughtfully decide on what name they would use throughout their career.

Here are some of the idols that represent their unique stage names perfectly:

MAMAMOO Solar

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(Photo : Solar Instagram)

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Kim Yong Sun, MAMAMOO's elder member, has a stage name that came from taking the last syllable from her actual name, "sun," to its literal English meaning "sun," and turned to Solar.

Another interpretation with this can be connected with the scale using solfège, "sol" and "la" are next to each other, and so when you combine these, it forms her stage name.

IU

This singer-songwriter and soloist, whose real name is Lee Ji Eun, has a stage name that means exactly what it sounds like.

IU shooting with Cannes Beach in the background
(Photo : News1) IU

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Simply combine "I" and "You," which means the "you" as the audience, and it becomes one with singer Lee Ji Eun through music.

SEVENTEEN S.COUPS

seventeen scoups
(Photo : Dispatch) SEVENTEEN S. Coups

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This million-seller, top idol group leader Choi Seungcheol has the letter "S" that stands for his name and SEVENTEEN, and the "Coup" means success.

SHINee Onew

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(Photo : SHINee Twitter) Onew

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Born as Lee Jin Ki, he is best known for his stage name Onew as it means "soft and gentle." Seeing as how Onew is most certainly a gentle and caring person, Onew is suitable to him which also portrays his gentle and kind voice.

BTS Suga

BTS Suga
(Photo : Instagram: @agustd)
BTS Suga

BTS' multifaceted member - composer, producer, and rapper - Suga, with the real name Min Yoon Gi, is from the first syllables of the words "shooting guard," which is known to have the position he had as a basketball player.

He also had an alias Agust D back in 2016 for his mixtape, derived from the initials DT, which means Daegu Town, and "BTS Suga" spelled backward.

EXO Suho

Born as Kim Junmyeon, he is best known for his stage name "Suho," which means "guardian."

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(Photo : Suho (News1))

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What's amazing is that this moniker fits his role in his group EXO as he is the reliable, hard working leader who stands by his members' side through thick and thin!

GOT7 BamBam

GOT7 Bambam
(Photo : Instagram: @bambam1a)
GOT7 Bambam

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A 97-liner from GOT7, Kunpimook Bhuwakul has a stage name BamBam, and this nickname is taken from "Bamm-Bamm Rubble of The Flintstones."

MCND Castle J

MCND's leader and rapper Castle J cleverly incorporated his full name, Son Sung Joon.

Castle J for MCND's PMG Cover of
(Photo : TOP Media) MCND Castle J

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The first word "Castle" came from his first name, which is a direct translation of the Korean word "Seong," and "J" comes from the first letter of his last syllable Jun. Smart!

ASTRO Cha Eun Woo

ASTRO Cha Eun Woo
(Photo : Instagram: @eunwo.o_c)
ASTRO Cha Eun Woo

Born as Lee Dong Min, he is better known as Cha Eun Woo, the face genius of today's generation from Fantagio's ASTRO.

The group starred in a web drama back in 2015, titled "To Be Continued," prior to their debut. There, his character was named "Cha Eun Woo."

As people remembered him prominently for his web drama character, he kept Cha Eun Woo as his stage name.

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Do you know other idols with unique stage names? Tell us in the comments!

KpopStarz owns this article.

Eunice Dawson wrote this.

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MAMAMOO
Solar
ASTRO
GOT7
BamBam
BTS
Suga
SHINee
Onew
seventeen
S.Coups
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