Fifty years after its formation, Van Halen is synonymous with rock music, yet Alex and Eddie Van Halen initially felt uneasy naming the band after themselves. The now-legendary name, however, wasn’t their idea. In a recent appearance on Chris Jericho’s Talk Is Jericho podcast, Alex Van Halen shared that it was vocalist David Lee Roth who suggested using their last name for the band.
“We have to give credit to Dave for that,” Alex admitted during the interview. “He was the one who came up with the idea. At the time, we were gaining some traction in the Los Angeles area, and even Gene Simmons from Kiss had opinions about our name. He thought it sounded like a company that made gears or something industrial and suggested names like ‘Virus.’ But those didn’t feel right to us, so we decided to stick with Van Halen.”
Although the decision turned out to be a masterstroke, Alex acknowledged that it felt strange at first. He explained, “It sounded awkward, almost egotistical, and that wasn’t who Eddie and I were as people. But eventually, we got comfortable with it, and the rest, as they say, is history.”
Sticking with the Van Halen name proved transformative. The band skyrocketed to fame, releasing 12 studio albums and selling tens of millions of records worldwide. Their music continues to captivate listeners, with hundreds of millions of streams across digital platforms, ensuring their legacy endures.
The humility of Alex and Eddie Van Halen shines through in this reflection. What started as an awkward suggestion became the foundation of one of the most celebrated names in rock history, a testament to the brothers’ undeniable talent and Roth’s keen instinct for branding. Today, Van Halen remains a symbol of rock greatness, its name as enduring as the music itself.
