Singer Beyoncé is blessed with an unusual first name. Her mother Tina Knowles-Lawson now tells where this name came from.
Where does the unusual first name Beyoncé come from? Tina Knowles-Lawson (66), the mother of Beyoncé Knowles-Carter (39), now shed light on the podcast "In My Head with Heather Thomson". She used to be called Beyoncé herself. "What very few people know is that Beyoncé was my last name. It is my maiden name. My name is Celestine Beyoncé."
However, in an interview with designer Heather Thomson (50), the 66-year-old made it clear that it was "really not cool" at the time to "wear such a strange name". Instead, she wanted a simple name like Linda Smith. Behind the family name is a story that is a metaphor for racism and the rights of people of color in the times of Knowles-Lawson's childhood.
Each family member has a different last name
The spelling of the surname differs within the family. "My brother Skip and I are the only ones called Beyoncé," said the 66-year-old, who grew up with six siblings. Other relatives were partly called Beyincé. It was a different time then. When asked why there are different spellings of the name, her mother replied: "That is the name that you wrote on your birth certificate."
Tina Knowles-Lawson then asked her why she hadn't asked to have the name improved. Her mother's answer: "I did that once – the first time. And I was told that I should be glad that you even get birth certificates, since black people didn't actually receive any at that time."
In 1980 the mother of Beyoncé and Solange Knowles (34) gave up her maiden name when she married the manager and father of their children, Mathew Knowles (68). The couple divorced in 2011.