How did Meat Loaf get his name? Real name and story behind his stage moniker explored

On January 20, Grammy-winning American singer Meat Loaf passed away at the age of 74. The news of his passing was announced via a post on the artist's Facebook page, which claimed that the Bat Out Of Hell singer died on Thursday night.

The statement read,

"We know how much he meant to so many of you and we truly appreciate all of the love and support as we move through this time of grief in losing such an inspiring artist and beautiful man."

The late artist is survived by his wife Deborah and daughters Pearl and Amanda. His cause of death was not revealed. However, Meat Loaf has had many health problems over the years. Previously, the artist has had cardiac surgery and suffered from a heart condition that caused irregular heartbeats.

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The history behind the stage name of the late rockstar, Meat Loaf

The actor and singer was born Marvin Lee Aday on September 27, 1947, in Dallas, Texas. Later in 1986, he changed his given name to Michael. He reportedly revealed this fact to CNN in a 2011 interview.

Around 2006, the heavyweight singer told Blender magazine about his childhood trauma with a Levi's radio commercial that caused him to change his birth name. He elaborated,

"My real name is Marvin, and Levi's had a commercial on the radio that said, 'Poor fat Marvin can't wear Levi's."

Meat Loaf said that he was of a fairly hefty weight back in his childhood, and that he was mocked for this. This is reportedly the reason he cited to a Connecticut judge in 1984 before the artist legally changed his name. As per LADbible, he later used his stage name Meat Loaf in his passport as well. This caused the Texas native to be held in immigration for six hours during one of his tours for the Bat Out of Hell album.

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Origin of the name "Meat Loaf"

In a December 2016 interview on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), the singer recalled the backstory behind his stage moniker. The rockstar revealed that he received the first part of his name when he was just four days old because he was born "bright red."

The Fight Club star added,

"The doctor suggested they should keep me in the hospital for a few days and my dad said, 'He looks like nine-and-a-half pounds of ground chuck [meat]. I want you to put a name tag on the front of that plastic crib with Meat on it.'"

As per BBC, the second part of his name was coined when he reportedly stepped on his football coach's foot in eighth grade. At the time, his coach allegedly yelled at him to get off his foot and labeled the late artist "Meat Loaf."