Who was Taylor Swift named after? All about 6-time Grammy Award winner who was inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

NRJ Music Awards 2013 - Red Carpet Arrivals (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)

With 11 Billboard-breaking albums, 14 Grammys, more than 250 songs, and a whopping 118 Guinness World Records, Taylor Swift is a person who needs no introduction.

At just 34 years old, Taylor Swift is already counted among juggernauts of the music world like Michael Jackson, The Beatles, Madonna, The Rolling Stones, and the like. With her Eras Tour breaking records with every show, Taylor Swift has cemented her position as a household name. So, what made her parents, Andrea and Scott, name her Taylor?

Taylor Swift was named after the legendary musician, James Taylor. He was one of her parents' favorite artists, and her mom gave her a gender-neutral name because it would help her build a business career.

Who is Taylor Swift's namesake, James Taylor? A brief look at the career of the 6-time Grammy winner

James Taylor, one of the world's leading singer-songwriters, was included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000 as one of the best-selling artists of all time with more than 100 million records sold across the world.

The 6-time Grammy winner found his break during his early 20s when his thought-provoking songs like You've Got a Friend and Fire & Rain received international recognition during the 1970s.

His first contract came when he signed a deal with The Beatles' Apple Records, and he released his first album in 1969. However, the singer's real break came with his second album, Sweet Baby James, in 1970. The album featured classics like Fire & Rain and became an overnight hit.

The following year, James Taylor released Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon, which hit more than 2 million in sales in the US. The album also included You've Got a Friend, which became James' first-ever song to hit the #1 spot in the US.

In 1976, James released his Greatest Hits album, which sold over 11 million copies in the US alone, making it one of the highest-selling albums in America's history. From then on, every album Taylor James released between 1977 and 2007 sold at least 1 million copies. In 2015, the 76-year-old finally achieved his first #1 album in the US with the release of Before the World.

In addition to singing and songwriting, James Taylor also tried his hand at acting. The 76-year-old played the lead actor in 1971's Two-Lane Blacktop, directed by Monte Hellman.

Here's a list of all 6 Grammys James Taylor has won in his lifetime:

Year

Taylor Swift's connection with James Taylor explored

Taylor Swift is a huge fan of James Taylor and has publicly professed her love for the 6-time Grammy winner while accepting her Best Pop Vocal Album award during the 2016 Grammys for 1989.

66th GRAMMY Awards - Red Carpet (Photo by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)

Taylor Swift wasn't in attendance that night, so the award was received by Jack Antonoff on her behalf. Jack called her after accepting the award. After receiving the news of her winning yet another Grammy, Taylor inquired whether her namesake and fellow nominee, James Taylor, was in the audience.

''Can you tell James Taylor I love him?'' she exclaimed on the phone.

James Taylor has also had nothing but kind words for her in the past. In a 2015 interview with SteroGum, the 76-year-old commented on his interactions with Taylor Swift.

"She told me that her mum and dad had been really, deeply into my music and I got a real kick out of the fact that she'd been named after me. Obviously it wasn't her choice, it was her mum and dad, but nonetheless a great connection I think."

Taylor Swift and James Taylor have performed together in 2012, duetting Tayor Swift's Love Story and James Taylor's Fire and Rain.

Edited by Ahana Mukhopadhyay