Why Chappell Roan Goes By That Name: Meaning, Inspiration & Why She Doesn't Use Her Legal Name

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Chappell Roan was a massive breakout artist in 2024, but some listeners might not know her stage name is actually an alias. As she sings about in "Pink Pony Club" and signifies with her album titled The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, Roan is a small-town girl who left it all behind to pursue her music dreams in Los Angeles. Roan's career took off when she teamed up with co-writer Dan Nigro, best known for working with Olivia Rodrigo, and opened for Rodrigo's SOUR and GUTS Tours and Fletcher's Girl of My Dreams Tour.

However, Roan's dreams really came to fruition during the 2024 Coachella weekend performances, which saw massive crowds doing her "Hot to Go!" dance - which she previously struggled to get small crowds to go along with. Unfortunately, all the success at such a fast pace was difficult for Roan to handle. She ended up sharing a lengthy Instagram post addressing how fans had crossed her boundaries. In her post, she mentioned she did not approve of her fans calling her by her legal name. Instead, she wants to be addressed by her alias, Chappell Roan - and here's why.

Why Chappell Roan Doesn't Go By Kayleigh Rose Amstutz

Roan's Birthname Never Really Suited Her

In a 2022 interview with Cherwell, Roan admitted that she never felt connected to her birth name. After all, Roan's very campy and colorful stage persona doesn't fit her legal name too well. Roan's costumes are reminiscent of the unconventional fashion Lady Gaga wore in the 2010s, and some looks even appear to be circus-inspired. On her 2024 Rolling Stone cover, Roan resembled a clown or a ring leader with bright red lipstick, vibrant blue eyeshadow, and a black hat. Her birth name sounds very much like a Midwest girl, not someone performing at the Pink Pony Club.

In Roan's Instagram plea for fans to respect her boundaries, she made it clear she doesn't want them referring to her by her real name. "And please–don't call me Kayleigh," she wrote. Roan clarified that Chappell Roan is her celebrity persona, and she doesn't want her fans to refer to her by the same name her friends and family call her. Roan wanted to set that boundary, letting the public know they had no right to intrude upon her personal life. Chappell Roan is a character that allows the singer to live out her dreams while also maintaining some normalcy.

How Chappell Roan Was Inspired By Drag Culture

A Drag Queen Helped Roan Coin One Of Her Names

One of Chappell Roan's biggest inspirations behind her stage persona is drag queens. Roan's makeup and costumes are very similar to some of the fashion seen on RuPaul's Drag Race or down in West Hollywood. While Roan has dated and written about men in the past, she confirmed in 2024 that she now identifies as a lesbian. As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, Roan has immense respect for the drag community. For Kentuckiana Pride in June 2024, Roan dressed as drag queen Divine, best known for inspiring Ursula in Disney's The Little Mermaid.

However, Roan also took one of her aliases from the drag queen Sasha Colby. At her performances, Chappell Roan regularly introduces herself as "your favorite artist's favorite artist." This phrase even appears as a Google suggestion when searching Roan in the search engine. During an appearance on The Tonight Show, Roan admitted this was a reference to Colby, who says, "I'm your favorite drag queen's favorite drag queen." Roan is a big fan of Sasha Colby, who came in first place in RuPaul's Drag Race season 15. The drag queen even introduced Roan at the 2024 VMAs before her performance.

Ultimately, the title, inspired by Colby, makes Roan sound like someone very important. It is one thing for a singer to be someone's favorite artist. It's even more impressive to be someone's favorite artist's favorite artist. For example, starting out in the music industry and claiming to be Taylor Swift's favorite artist would make someone incredibly intriguing to Swift's massive fanbase. The decision to take Colby's drag queen line and adjust it to fit her own career was very smart.

The Meaning Of The Name Chappell Roan

The Sentimental Reason Roan Chose Her Stage Name

Chappell Roan is a much more fitting name for a pop star, although Roan's official stage name has a much more sentimental meaning. Roan mentioned to Cherwell that her decision to change her name was inspired by her grandfather. In 2016, he passed away from brain cancer, but before his passing, she let him know she'd be going by Chappell Roan in the future. Roan's grandfather's name was Dennis K. Chappell, explaining where the first part of her name came from. The last part is inspired by his favorite song, a Western cowboy song called "The Strawberry Roan."

Chappell Roan may want little to do with her original name, but luckily, the switch seems to have benefited her. While she'll always be the girl from Missouri, she's also now a huge Hollywood star with a name extravagant enough to fit her persona. Chappell Roan certainly encapsulates everything the star is, and everything she will continue to become.