Beyoncé's mom reveals the true meaning behind singer's unique name
Tina Knowles spoke about naming her eldest daughter in her new book, Matriarch
Emily Brown
Beyoncé's mom, Tina Knowles, has revealed how she came up with the unique name for her eldest child that went on to be known across the globe.
Unlike with more common names like my own, Emily, I'm pretty confident that almost everyone on the planet would picture the same person when presented with the name 'Beyoncé.'
The moniker immediately calls to mind the 'Single Ladies' singer; the legendary pop star who is married to Jay-Z and is an icon to millions of people across the globe.
Its individuality makes it a worthy name for one of the most famous people on the planet, and now Tina has revealed exactly how she came up with it.
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In her new book, Matriarch, which releases today (April 22), Tina reveals that her daughter's name was actually inspired by her own maiden name; the title she held before she married her ex-husband, Mathew Knowles.
Growing up, Tina went by Tina Beyoncé - but her siblings had slightly different versions of the name, including Beyincé and Boyance. Meanwhile, her parents' actual last name was Buyince.
When she asked her mom why this was, Tina learned that Beyoncé was the surname doctors had put on her birth certificate.
When Tina's mom attempted to have staff fix the spelling mistakes made on her children's birth certificates, she was allegedly told: "Be happy that you're getting a birth certificate."
Tina's mom explained: "At one time, Black people didn't even get birth certificates."
When Tina herself became pregnant, she told her dad she wanted to name her child Beyoncé if it was a girl, because she didn't want the name getting 'lost'.
Tina said the name was intended to 'honor' her dad and the 'bloodline', and because she missed being Tina Beyoncé.
Though Tina's dad pointed out the name was supposed to be a last name, she hit back: "Ain't nobody ever heard of Beyoncé, so this child will be original."
Needless to say, Beyoncé proved to be a memorable name as Tina's daughter forged a career in music, going on to become a star of Destiny's Child before going solo.
The misspelling of Tina's surname on her birth certificate is an incident that Beyoncé appeared to reference herself amid the release of her 2024 album Cowboy Carter, when she shared a photo of herself wearing a sash that read “Act ii BEYINCÉ" - a misspelling of her own name.