Fandom names are special to the group they represent and the fandom themselves. Some of the meanings of these fandoms names are unclear at first.
1. BTS – ARMY
ARMY has two meanings. The first is BTS has an army of fans beside them which synergises nicely with the first part of their Korean name ‘bangtan’ which means bulletproof or body armour. The other meaning is that it is an acronym for Adorable Representative MC for Youth because BTS represents youth.
2. BLACKPINK – BLINK
“Blink” is simply a clever combination of black and pink.
3. EXO – EXO-L
EXO-L is short for EXO-Love. Since EXO used to have two subunits, EXO-K and EXO-M and L comes between K and M in the alphabet, they decided to use the name for their fandom.
4. Red Velvet – ReVeluv (Luvies)
ReVeluv has a few meanings. First of all, it sounds like a combination of Red Velvet and love. It also sounds like how “Level Up” sounds when pronounced in Korean. Lastly, Rêve is the French word for ‘dream’ and the girls want to make their dreams come true with their fans.
5. SEVENTEEN – Carat
Carats brighten the diamond that is SEVENTEEN. The bigger the carat, the more precious the diamond.
6. TWICE – ONCE
ONCE goes perfectly with TWICE. When announcing their fandom name, TWICE said that “if you love us even once, we’ll repay you with TWICE our love”.
7. Girl’s Generation – SONE
It is pronounced “So One” and it symbolises that Girl’s Generation and their fans will forever be one.
8. BIGBANG – V.I.P
V.I.P obviously stands for ‘very important person’. That’s what BIGBANG thinks of their fans, they are very important to them.
9. GFRIEND – Buddies
Buddy is a perfect companion to the name of the group, GFRIEND. GFRIEND are friends with their fans as well hence the fandom name buddy.
10. Mamamoo – MooMoo
MooMoo was obviously created by doubling the end of Mamamoo. “Moo” in Korean also means radish which is what their lightstick is shaped like.
11. Monsta X – Monbebe
Monbebe comes from combining the French words ‘Mon’ (My) and ‘Bebe’ (Baby). Monsta X’s fans are their babies, that’s so cute.
12. NCT – NCTzen
NCTzen is obviously a play on its pronunciation. When pronounced it sounds like “NCitizen” so it’s like a citizen of NCT.
13. SHINee – Shawol
Shawol comes from combining the words “SHINee” and “World. Shawols are essentially members of SHINee’s world.
14. Stray Kids – STAY
STAY represents how Stray Kids want the fandom to stay by their side.
15. WINNER – Inner Circle
An inner circle is a close group of friends. WINNER named their fandom ‘inner circle’ because they want to be close to their fans.
16. Super Junior – ELF
ELF stands for ‘ever-lasting friend’. The meaning here is clear, Super Junior want to be friends with their fans forever.
17. GOT7 – AhGaSe
The fandom is called “I GOT7” because seven is a lucky number. It can be shortened to AhGaSe in Korean which means “baby bird”.
18. BTOB – Melody
BTOB stands for “Born to beat”. A beat needs a melody to make music so that’s why they named their fandom melody, because they need their fans to make music.
19. APINK – Pink Panda
Pink Panda is a combination of the Korean word for ‘fan’ (paen) and the group’s name. They also took inspiration from their former managed who they called “Kung Fu Panda”.
20. LOONA – Orbit
LOONA named their fandom orbit because their fans are creating an orbit in which LOONA can grow.
