These Are The Meanings Behind 25 K-Pop Fandom Names
A K-Pop group or soloist announcing their fandom name is always an exciting event. Oftentimes fans will try to guess or suggest names for the fandom before it’s officially released, and some of the ideas they come up with can be pretty clever! Pretty much all fandom names have some kind of important or special meaning to the artist and their fans, though sometimes it can be a bit of a mystery unless you look deeper into it. Here are 25 popular K-Pop fandom names and the meanings behind them.
1. BTS: ARMY
Pretty much every K-Pop fan is familiar with this one! The literal meaning of BTS’s name, 방탄소년단 (Bangtan Sonyeondan) is “Bulletproof Boyscouts”, meaning that they’re resistant to the “bullets that society aims at its adolescents”. Because of this, ARMY stands for “Adorable Representative M.C. for Youth”!
2. TWICE: ONCE
TWICE has said this of their fandom name: “If you love us even once, we will repay your love with twice of our love.” So the two names really go hand in hand!
3. BLACKPINK: BLINK
This is simply a combination of “Black” and “Pink”, just like the group’s name.
4. SEVENTEEN: Carat
In their pre-debut days, SEVENTEEN released a song called “Shining Diamond”. They’ve memorialized the song by dubbing their fans “carats”, which in a literal sense is how precious gems and minerals are measured, but SEVENTEEN sees their fans as the carats that help them shine.
5. MONSTA X: Monbebe
In French, “Monbebe” means “my baby”, so the members see their fans this way!
6. GOT7: iGOT7 (or AhGaSe)
Since 7 is both a lucky number as well as the number of members in GOT7, the fandom name means that they’re “lucky to have each other”. The shortened Korean name, “AhGaSe”, also means “baby bird”, which is actually the shape of their light stick!
7. TXT: M.O.A
The letters in TXT’s fandom name stand for “Moments of Alwaysness”, since the members of TXT plan on being with their fans always and forever.
8. Red Velvet: ReVeluv
Red Velvet’s fandom name is simple: It’s just a combination of “Red Velvet” and “luv”, which is cute and effective! They once explained, “We chose it because we wanted the name to represent the loving relationship that Red Velvet has with all of you. So let’s love each other and treasure each other for a really long time.”
9. ITZY: MIDZY
MIDZY is both a rhyming word for ITZY itself, and also a play on the word 믿지 (midji), which means “trust” in Korean.
10. NCT: NCTzen
This name meaning is a combination of “NCT” and “citizen”, so to call yourself an “NCTzen” is to say that you’re loyal to NCT!
11. Stray Kids: STAY
“STAY” is both a play on the group’s name as well as representing how Stray Kids want to stay by their fans’ side, always.
12. MAMAMOO: MooMoo
MooMoo is a pretty silly and adorable fandom name, as it’s simply just a play on the group’s name. It also means “radish” in Korean, which is why they have a radish-shaped light stick!
13. ATEEZ: ATINY
ATINY might sound a little strange, but the meaning behind it is endearing: It’s a mashup of ATEEZ and “destiny”, which means that ATEEZ’s fans were destined to be together with them.
14. Wonho: Wenee
While it might sound questionable at first, the meaning behind “Wenee” is actually quite cute. It’s short for “WE are NEw Ending”, or alternatively, “we need”, to show the special bond he has with his fans, especially all that they’ve gone through together.
15. EXO: EXO-L
This one is pretty simple: The “L” stands for love, to signify how much EXO loves their fans and vice versa. Also, since L is between K and M in the alphabet, it means that EXO-L is always surrounded and protected by the group’s past sub-units, EXO-K and EXO-M.
16. Super Junior: E.L.F
E.L.F is an acronym for “Everlasting Friend”, to signify that Super Junior and their fans will be close forever. Their fans are also sometimes called “fairies” since elves are magical creatures, like fairies.
17. IZ*ONE: WIZ*ONE
WIZ*ONE is a play on the group’s name and the word “wizard”, and IZ*ONE says that fans are “making a magical future” with them, since wizards are magical beings!
18. (G)I-DLE: Neverland
The group’s name is short for “Girl Idle”, which translates to “Girl” and “Children”. Since Neverland is a place where children stay young forever, (G)I-DLE has said that: “The meaning is that we will be with our fans for a long time and not change.”
19. WINNER: Inner Circle
To be a fan of WINNER is to be in their “Inner Circle”, which is a term people use for those who are closest to them.
20. LOONA: Orbit
“Bits” in Korean means “light”, so the word “orbit” for LOONA means that fans are the lights that surround them and light up their way.
21. SHINee: Shawol
“Shawol” was created just by putting “SHINee” and “world” together, meaning that Shawols are SHINee’s world!
22. MOMOLAND: Merry Go Round
MOMOLAND wants their fans to be people of all ages, genders, ethnicities, etc. that enjoy their music. They call their fans “Merry Go Round” because, as they’ve stated, a merry go round is a “ride that people who usually can’t go on rides go on,” and also once you get on, you can’t get off!
23. Apink: Pink Panda
As cute and random as the name sounds, it does have a logical meaning! “Pink Panda” includes both Apink’s name as well as the Korean word 팬 (paen), which means “fan”.
24. The Boyz: The B
“The B” represents a “B vitamin”, because The Boyz’s fans give them energy just like a B vitamin would!
25. EVERGLOW: Forever
The meaning for EVERGLOW’s fandom is pretty simple: “It means the future of being together forever with fans who exist for EVERGLOW.”
