What’s in a name change? More than you think

Re-branding is all well and good in theory, but it doesn't always work if you give yourself a new name.

By Darragh Harkin

While watching some late night NBA this week I noticed something quite strange. It was the Lakers versus the Celtics but the constant references to world peace were a tad jarring. In the past I thought of world peace as the type of thing Miss World contestants talk about to impress the judges. Nowadays it seems it is someone’s name. The man in question is the Laker’s Ron Artest. Or at least he was called Ron Artest until September when he officially changed his name to Metta World Peace.

In the Buddhist faith Metta means loving kindness and friendliness towards all. World Peace is his surname and means, well it means World Peace. Fair enough Artest is a bit of a character who in the past has brawled with fans, claimed to drink brandy at half-time and wants to be a pro boxer when he retires but this World Peace thing is cracked.

Here are a five other name changes (well, four anyway) that caught people’s attention.

Prince

Prince is number 27 on Rolling Stone’s greatest artists of all time list so if he wants to change his name around a few times due to legal issues he can. This doesn’t mean we have to like it though and in 1993 he decided he would now be represented with a symbol rather than a name. The symbol was meant to mean love for both men and women but because it was unpronounceable people started to refer to him as “The Artist formerly known as Prince”.

In 2000 he got his name back but by then the damage was done. His credibility might not be shot with people who actually know good music but it sure as hell was shot with me.

Choco Krispies

Why ruin something so perfect? People love Coco Pops and will love them for the foreseeable future. From kids on the way to school to stoners looking for a late night munch the cereal that turns the milk chocolaty is looked on as a treat rather than a chore. So why in the blue hell did Kellogg’s in 1998 decide to change the name to Choco Krispies?

Well the answer is money of course as the company wanted to change the name to make the product similar to how it was branded in the rest of the world. But the British and Irish public were not ready for a change; they couldn’t handle it and frankly were a bit peeved not to have consulted on the decision. Sales quickly dwindled and a survey carried out said a massive 92% of the public wanted the name changed back. Kellogg’s listened and hopefully will never be so brazen again.

Sean Combs

This man just takes the Michael really. His name is Sean John Combs. He has called himself Puff Daddy, P Diddy, Diddy, Diddy Puffs and Poppa Diddy Smurfing Puff all over a short period of time.

Diddy. Or something like that anyway

The amazing thing about Sean Combs is that despite all these shocking name changes he has remained successful. He has gotten away with one here and for that reason should be commended. Rich as you are though Sean you will always be Poppa Diddy Smurfing Puff to me.

Dwayne Johnson

Dwayne is a man of many names, from the early days of Flex Kavana and Rocky Mavia to The Great One and Most Electrifying Man in All of Entertainment. But none of these names ever did for him what the name The Rock did.

He was so successful in the wrestling realm that Hollywood came calling and when he starred in The Scorpion King he received the highest salary as an actor in their first starring role. But it was around this time that he decided to change his name and gradually went from The Rock to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson to just plain Dwayne Johnson. It seemed he had abandoned his wrestling roots and therefore abandoned the people who made him famous.

For years his millions and millions of fans watched him kick the crap out of bad guys on the big screen while also finding time to give children money for their teeth. Yet something was missing, he was not the same man and it took seven long years to for him to finally realize all he needed was to change his name back and return to the ring. Here he is in early 2011 back on live TV doing what he does best and seeming like he was never away.

This is how you make a comeback

Darragh “Dazza” Harkin

This one is very much my bad as this was my attempt as a 16-year-old to give myself a nickname. Rule number 1 of getting a nickname is you cannot give it to yourself and rule number 2 is you are not meant to like it straight away. I tried to beat the system by suggesting slyly to a few mates that Dazza was the way to go for me, my name was already Darragh and I loved football so it made sense. Of course my mates copped on to this pretty quickly and made much fun of me for a significant period of time.

Then in college I got the name of “Pruner”. Nothing wrong with this name on first look but I was branded with it for being lazy and resembling a lad who had lived in my house the year before. He to me was a complete freak so to be thought of in the same light was highly offensive and I even remember one time shouting: “I’m not Pruner, I’m Dazza, DAZZA!” Rule number 3 of nicknames is never admit you don’t like it as once I did this I was stuck with it and still am to this day.

It is fair to say I’ve gotten used to it by now and in fact have embraced the Prune long before Bulmer’s embraced the pear. Hopefully by sharing this you will learn a lesson that being never try to give yourself a nickname and never shout “I’m Dazza, DAZZA” at any time.