Why did Maya Angelou change her name?

Question

All racial joking aside, I seriously feel Maya Angelou is one of my personal heroes. No, I'm not black, but the crap she lived through, and the chip she had on her shoulder to get her through it all is highly impressive. I'm curious as to why she changed her name, though? Is she not proud of her heritage? What is up with her name change?

Answer 1

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker

It's true --lots of poets change their names, and Maya Angelou is not just a writer, but also a performer. In fact, she changed her name in the '50s to please the managers of a San Francisco nightclub, who thought she should have a more dramatic name.

She chose the name Maya because it was what her brother called her when they were little (My-a sister).

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Thanks!

Answer 2

A lot of poets choose to have pen names. They probably all have various reasons that are different from one another, maybe she just liked the name Maya Angelou? It is a pretty name :)

Answer 3

As described in her third autobiography, Singin' and Swingin' and Gettin' Merry Like Christmas, Angelou married Greek sailor Tosh Angelos in 1952; the marriage ended in divorce after three years.[21] Although it is not known exactly how many times Angelou has been married—she has never clarified, "for fear of sounding frivolous"[22]—it has been at least three times.[23] Up to that point, she called herself "Marguerite Johnson", or "Rita", but changed her professional name to "Maya Angelou" when her managers at San Francisco nightclub The Purple Onion strongly suggested that she adopt a "more theatrical" name that captured the feel of her Calypso dance performances.

Source(s):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya_angelo…

Answer 4

In the early 1950s she changed her professional name to "Maya Angelou" when her managers at San Francisco nightclub The Purple Onion strongly suggested that she adopt a "more theatrical" name that captured the feel of her Calypso dance performances. It had nothing to do with heritage or race- not sure how you came to that conclusion. Her nickname was actually Maya from a young age and one of her husband's last name was Angelos.

Source(s):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya_Angelo…