Dan Banks answered
John Lennon, George Harrison and Paul McCartney were first known as Johnny And The Moondogs. They later changed this to The Beetles, and then to The Silver Beetles.
Finally, Lennon decided to drop the word 'Silver' in the name, and to replace the 'e' in "beetle" with an 'a' to form a pun on the word 'beat'. This led to the band's final name: The Beatles.
The history of the various names used by the band members before they became The Beatles is as follows:
The Quarrymen
John Lennon was a member of The Quarrymen, a local rock and roll cover band. Upon meeting Paul McCartney and George Harrison, he invited them to join the band, which they did, both playing guitar.
Eventually the other members of The Quarrymen left, and so the three remaining members (Lennon, McCartney and Harrison) re-named themselves Johnny And The Moondogs.
Johnny And The Moondogs
Whilst attending art school, Lennon met artist and bass player Stuart Sutcliffe, who subsequently joined the band and suggested they change their name to Beetles - and eventually The Silver Beetles - as a homage to the band's heroes: Buddy Holly and The Crickets.
The Silver Beetles
The band swapped backwards and forwards between calling themselves Beetles and the The Silver Beetles frequently, until they finally decided to drop the word 'silver' from their name altogether. This made their name easier to display on bills at venues.
The Beatles
Lennon then had a stroke of inspiration, and decided to change the band's name yet again, this time to The Beatles. Of course, this proved to be the name that the band finally settled upon.
In an 1964 interview, Lennon explained the pun in the band's name like this: "It was beat and beetles, and when you said it people thought of crawly things, and when you read it, it was beat music."
Finally, Lennon decided to drop the word 'Silver' in the name, and to replace the 'e' in "beetle" with an 'a' to form a pun on the word 'beat'. This led to the band's final name: The Beatles.
The history of the various names used by the band members before they became The Beatles is as follows:
The Quarrymen
John Lennon was a member of The Quarrymen, a local rock and roll cover band. Upon meeting Paul McCartney and George Harrison, he invited them to join the band, which they did, both playing guitar.
Eventually the other members of The Quarrymen left, and so the three remaining members (Lennon, McCartney and Harrison) re-named themselves Johnny And The Moondogs.
Johnny And The Moondogs
Whilst attending art school, Lennon met artist and bass player Stuart Sutcliffe, who subsequently joined the band and suggested they change their name to Beetles - and eventually The Silver Beetles - as a homage to the band's heroes: Buddy Holly and The Crickets.
The Silver Beetles
The band swapped backwards and forwards between calling themselves Beetles and the The Silver Beetles frequently, until they finally decided to drop the word 'silver' from their name altogether. This made their name easier to display on bills at venues.
The Beatles
Lennon then had a stroke of inspiration, and decided to change the band's name yet again, this time to The Beatles. Of course, this proved to be the name that the band finally settled upon.
In an 1964 interview, Lennon explained the pun in the band's name like this: "It was beat and beetles, and when you said it people thought of crawly things, and when you read it, it was beat music."
