Thread: So, how did you come up with your dance name?

How did you, if you use one, that is. I've got time to choose, but with me, more time = more choices. Dancers around me have usually used names similar to their real name or something totally different. I've gone through several name choices and it switches every other week. How do I choose one to stick with?

Hi,
I choose Jameelah because there aren't millions of Jameelahs dancing around and I really liked the name. My real name is Carly so theres not much conection there!
I went on a name site and wrote down every name I liked the researched who else had the name and made a short list. Jameelah won but only after a trial with many other names.

I don't have a dance name, but would be interested in learning how to pick one.

Originally Posted by Stephanie

I don't have a dance name, but would be interested in learning how to pick one.

Have a read of Shira's article on dance names it is very good & has some links to names http://www.shira.net/name.htm. Here is another link Muslim Girl Names

I don't really have a dance name, although I have been called Mosaic by students & I don't mind. Mosaic is an online name and I teach under Raqs Mosaic as a organisation name. My given name is Pauline and some folk call me Lina so that is Arabic enough if I want to use it I did think about taking a dance name, but could never find anything I was happy with. So I will stick with my given name or Mosaic.
~Mosaic

One of the names I was considering is on the 2nd link's list, Amina. I'm a strange one so the names I've thought of have been strange. At first, I was going to be Sabina, got the name from a book I had to read in English, the Unbearable Lightness of Being...which I hated. So, I thought that would be a bit hypocritical (is that even a word?). I still like the name. Then I thought of something Japanese. I know of enough to find good names and their meanings. For maybe a few days, I was Sumire (violet). Then, the next name was Hikari (like in my username, means light; the "no yami" means "of darkness" but since the Japanese read right to left, the name means "darkness of light"). After that came Amina, but then I thought "too simple". So I decided to add a 2nd name. I'm currently reading Ada or Ardor by Vladimir Nabokov and I saw the name Lucette. For a few weeks I was Amina Lucette. I continued reading the book and then decided to make it Amina Lucille. I liked that name until I realized that Amina was basically the girl version of this guy's name who I liked. So now, I've been thinking "Why not a French name? I've been studying French for 3 years." Then came the current name, Mireille, which is close to my given name...sort of. Knowing me, it'll change again in a matter of days. Basically I need a name where I can see it, hear it, say it and think that it's perfect xD

I made up Shanazel from Shoshanna (Hebrew for rose) and zel (a variation of Turkish zil or bell). Shanazel=Rosabel.

The process of choosing a dance name took a long time for me. Actually, when I was determined to pick one, it made things more complicated. Every name I looked at didn't either seem right for me or had a some flaw (pronounciation issues etc.). And then I let it go for a while and a name just came to me, I don't even remember the exact moment any more. Sometimes things just need time...

I'm still struggling over mine. I settled on Roshanna (a Persian name meaning 'dawn') a while ago (my real name is Rachael, and I wanted something that sounded like me. Roxana, a different spelling of the same name, is also one of my favourite names, but ther is already a dancer in the UK called that...). But I don't quite feel it fits somehow.

Now I'm wondering about variations of 'Rasha', which means 'young gazelle' in Arabic, which suits me because I'm tall, thin and nervous . Maybe 'Rasha Nour' (Nour = light, I like how it sounds), or 'Rasha Malik' (Malik = king, I like the implication of strength, and it sort of rhymes with my real surname)...

I also really like the names Aida and Aisha, but they are used quite a lot by dancers. I personally think it's nice to use Middle Eastern names if choosing a stage name, as if you are going to use somehting other than your own name, it seems a bit weird to choose something unrelated to either your own culture *or* the dance.

Originally Posted by Roshanna

I'm still struggling over mine. I settled on Roshanna (a Persian name meaning 'dawn') a while ago (my real name is Rachael, and I wanted something that sounded like me. Roxana, a different spelling of the same name, is also one of my favourite names, but ther is already a dancer in the UK called that...). But I don't quite feel it fits somehow.

Now I'm wondering about variations of 'Rasha', which means 'young gazelle' in Arabic, which suits me because I'm tall, thin and nervous . Maybe 'Rasha Nour' (Nour = light, I like how it sounds), or 'Rasha Malik' (Malik = king, I like the implication of strength, and it sort of rhymes with my real surname)...

I also really like the names Aida and Aisha, but they are used quite a lot by dancers. I personally think it's nice to use Middle Eastern names if choosing a stage name, as if you are going to use somehting other than your own name, it seems a bit weird to choose something unrelated to either your own culture *or* the dance.

Weird describes me perfectly, though I wouldn't be the first to do so (if I do so) either. Most of the dancers around me chose names far from Middle Eastern influence. I'd ask my teachers how they got their names, but I can already tell how. This shouldn't be so complicated yet it is. I'm now writing down names on Post It notes xD To remember the ones I've thought of.

Originally Posted by Jameelah

Hi,
I choose Jameelah because there aren't millions of Jameelahs dancing around and I really liked the name. My real name is Carly so theres not much conection there!
I went on a name site and wrote down every name I liked the researched who else had the name and made a short list. Jameelah won but only after a trial with many other names.

Maybe there aren't a lot of "Jameelahs" in your area, but personally I've seen lots of Jamilahs and Yamilahs (the latter in Spanish, pronounced the same). Changing the "i" into "ee" doesn't really change the name if it's still pronounced the same.

Nothing wrong with having a common name, though, and it's definitely very pretty.