The stories behind all of Sean 鈥楧iddy鈥� Combs’ name changes as the hip-hop mogul heads to trial
May 5, 2025, 11:30 AM | Updated: 12:26 pm
In the criminal indictment for this week鈥檚 sex trafficking trial of Sean 鈥楧iddy鈥� Combs, the document lists many of the hip-hop mogul鈥檚 aliases.
Most people, especially music fans, probably already know them.
From 鈥淧uff Daddy鈥� to 鈥淧. Diddy鈥� and even the obscure 鈥淏rother Love,鈥� here’s a look back at Combs’ self-appointed names and what was going on during his career in each era.
His childhood nickname was Puffy because, as he told Jet Magazine in 1998, he used to huff and puff when he got mad. Hence the early stage name: Puff Daddy. In these days, he was side by side with fellow New York City rapper Notorious B.I.G., the star of Combs’ Bad Boy record label.
In 1998, Combs won two Grammys, one for best rap album for his debut 鈥淣o Way Out鈥� and another for best rap performance by a duo or group for 鈥淚鈥檒l Be Missing You鈥� with Faith Evans. The song memorialized Notorious B.I.G., who was fatally shot in 1997 in a case that remains unsolved. This was during the East vs. West rap rivalry, particularly with Tupac Shakur from California and his team at Death Row Records. Shakur was fatally shot in 1996.
Combs also started his fashion line Sean John, his first and middle name, in 1998.
The shift to P. Diddy unfolded in 2001, not long after Combs was acquitted of gun and bribery charges from when he and his then-girlfriend, Jennifer Lopez, fled a shooting that wounded three people at a New York City nightclub. Some witnesses told police that Combs was among the people shooting in the club.
Combs noted at the time that Notorious B.I.G. came up with the nickname P. Diddy. Under this new name, Combs reached new heights of success. He became the producer and star of the talent-search TV show 鈥淢aking the Band鈥� in 2002, performed at the Super Bowl halftime show in 2004 and weeks later won a Grammy for best rap performance by a duo or group for 鈥淪hake Ya Tailfeather.鈥�
He dropped the 鈥淧.鈥� from his artist nickname in 2005. He told the 鈥淭oday鈥� show at the time that fans at concerts weren’t doing well chanting P. Diddy. Still, he ran into issues using Diddy for his 2006 album 鈥淧ress Play鈥� due to a lawsuit by British DJ Richard 鈥淒iddy鈥� Dearlove over the use of the name.
His legal issues and his stardom continued. In 2008, Diddy settled a lawsuit brought by a man who claims Diddy punched him after a post-Oscar party outside a Hollywood hotel the previous year. Roughly two months later, Combs is honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
For just a week in May 2011, Combs even changed his name to 鈥淪wag,鈥� posting in online that it was part of his 鈥渃omeback鈥� after a bad illness.
He posted on social media in November 2017 that he was celebrating his birthday by changing his name to 鈥淟ove, a.k.a. Brother Love.鈥� Combs said he would not be answering to Puffy, Diddy, Puff Daddy or any of his other monikers. He said at the time that he knew it was risky and would be corny to change his name again, but he said he had changed as a person and was not who he was before. Later that month, he said was joking about the name change and people could use any of his older names.
In 2021, he announced that he had legally changed his middle name to Love. A year later, he clarified on the 鈥淭he Ellen DeGeneres Show鈥� that Diddy remains his stage name. He released “The Love Album – Off the Grid” in 2023.
As his sex trafficking trial began Monday, the judge read off a list of his monikers to prospective jurors, telling them, 鈥淭here is one defendant: Sean Combs.鈥�
