The Bizarre Story Of How Lady Gaga Got Her Name

According to the pop diva herself, the name came about after her boyfriend at the time and former producer, Rob Fusari, likened some harmonies she recorded to Freddie Mercury, lead singer of Queen, and started singing their hit song "Radio Ga Ga" to her (via Rolling Stone). In a since-deleted interview with Flybe Magazine (via QueenZone.com) back in 2010, she explained that Fusari would sing the song every time he saw her, and "started to call me Gaga when I'd come into the studio." And apparently her friends adopted the nickname, as well. In an interview with Oprah from 2010, she explained, "it just kind of stuck."

She also told Flybe, "I decided that I'd been playing under my real name for so long, I wanted to reinvent myself. So I said, 'What about Lady Gaga, because Gaga is sort of crazy and Lady has such connotations.'"

Unfortunately, conflicting origin stories about Gaga's name, which has become iconic in and of itself, have started coming up over the years, tarnishing what was a plausible and entertaining anecdote.