9 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Beyoncé

Later this week, Beyoncé will finally release her hotly anticipated seventh album, Renaissance—and in honor of the superstar’s latest record, we’re taking a deep dive into some of the lesser-known facts surrounding her life and career. Here, find nine things you (probably) didn’t know about Queen Bey.

Her name was given to her in a bid to continue the maternal family name

Bey with her sister, Solange.

Photo: Getty Images

Ever wondered where the unusual name Beyoncé came from? Turns out that the superstar’s mother, Tina Knowles-Lawson, was born Celestine Beyoncé. Being the fierce female that she is, she was concerned about her maiden name not being carried by future generations after she married Beyoncé’s father, Mathew Knowles. In a further twist, Tina explained on a podcast, In My Head With Heather Thompson, that her six siblings do not have the same spelling of her maiden name, and that it was just her and one other brother who have the spelling with an “o” in the middle. The other siblings have the spelling “Beyincé”, due to a clerical error on their birth certificates. 

In the podcast, Tina discussed the error in greater detail: “It’s interesting and it shows you the times because we asked my mother when I was grown, ‘Why is my brother’s name spelt B-e-y-i-n-c-é?’ My mum’s reply to me was, ‘That’s what they put on your birth certificate.’ I said, ‘Why didn’t you argue and make them correct it?’, and she said she did the first time and was told, ‘Be happy that you’re getting a birth certificate’. Because at one time, Black people didn’t get birth certificates… because it meant that you really didn’t exist and you weren’t important.” 

She continued: “It was that subliminal message and so I understood that must have been horrible for her not to be able to have her children’s names spelled correctly.” Her brother, Beyoncé’s uncle discussed the story at the premiere of her Life Is But A Dream documentary. “My sister Tina [Knowles] didn’t think we had enough boys in the family to keep the [Beyoncé] name going. So, she gave Beyoncé our last name as the first name,” he said.

Her dance teacher discovered her singing ability

A young Bey performing in HMV.

Photo: Getty Images