What are Ariana Grande's fans called? Singer's supporters famously rallied behind her after Manchester suicide bombing

Ariana Grande, who has a following of over 387 million on Instagram, has amassed a large stan population over the years. Grande's fans prefer to call themselves "Arianators," derived from the singer-songwriter's first name.

According to Capital FM, the Bang Bang singer isn't fond of the name her fandom has chosen for itself. In a 2020 tweet - which has since been deleted - Grande addressed her fans:

"Thank you to the most loving, incredible fanbase of all time with the ugliest fandom name ever created. Seriously, no thank yous for whoever coined the phrase ‘Arianators’. You get no thank you. Just kidding. Love you all.”

The singer-songwriter's fandom wiki page reports that the term "Arianators" first gained popularity around the 2010s, when Ariana Grande - who was still playing Cat Valentine in Nickelodeon's Victorious - started making her own music. The Arianators also refer to themselves as tiny elephants at times.

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Arianators stood behind Ariana Grande after the Manchester bombing

In 2017, when Ariana Grande was on her Dangerous Woman world tour, the Side to Side singer was scheduled to perform in Manchester on May 22.

Shortly before her performance, a bomb exploded in the venue, killing 22 people and injuring many others. While ISIS admitted guilt for the bombing shortly afterward, Grande was shaken by the tragic incident and tweeted to apologize for it:

"From the bottom of my heart, I am so so sorry."

While the bombing had shaken the entire nation, the Arianators continued to stand firmly behind Grande, also creating a moving tribute showing their support for the singer-songwriter.

Grande's album - Dangerous Woman - had cover art with a pair of rabbit ears attached to a patent leather eye mask. Ariantors took those rabbit ears and combined them with a single, solemn black ribbon as a symbol of acknowledging the tragedy and supporting Grande in the wake of it.

Once the art was uploaded on social media, it went viral quickly, with celebrities like Ed Sheeran and Camila Cabello sharing them to send prayers for those who were affected.

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Ariana Grande announced One Love Manchester as a benefit concert in June 2017

Following the Manchester bombing, Ariana Grande put the rest of her ongoing world tour on hold, a decision her fans were highly supportive of.

The Thank U, Next singer also announced a benefit charity concert a week after the incident - One Love Manchester. The concert would raise funds for the families of those who lost their lives in the Manchester bombing earlier that month.

Grande wasn't alone in her effort; other celebrity musicians, including Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus, Usher, Coldplay, Take That, Pharrell and others also joined her at the event to perform.

Manchester's Emirates Old Trafford cricket ground was chosen as the venue for the concert, which was scheduled for June 5, 2017. One Love Manchester was also to stream live on BBC TV, BBC Radio and Capital Radio Networks.

Grande's mother, Joan Grande, tweeted to extend prayers and gratitude for everyone who was there to help following the Manchester incident.

Over 50,000 tickets for the event were sold as Ariana Grande's fans showed up in large numbers to support her initiative. The Love Me Harder singer addressed the crowd:

"I want to thank you for coming together and being so loving and strong and unified. I love you guys so much, and I think that the kind of love and unity that you're displaying is the medicine that the world really needs right now."

The live stream of the event was joined by 10.9 million viewers, which rose up to over 14 million by the time the show came to an end. BBC reported that the organizers of the event claimed to raise over £10 million in funds through the concert's online and offline attendance.