One Direction May Need A New Name! We Want Justin Bieber Money? The Charming 5?

With their label facing a $1 million lawsuit by a U.S. group with same name, MTV's Twitter followers suggest new names for U.K. boy band.
By Gil Kaufman

One Direction
Photo: Courtesy of Columbia Records

What's in a name? Apparently a lot, since British boy band sensation One Direction's label is facing a $1 million lawsuit
 and request for an injunction from using the name by an American lad group with the same name.

While most people have never heard of the five-piece One Direction from the U.S., they got together before the reality TV-spawned U.K. version and are claiming that their more popular Brit doppelgangers are destroying the goodwill they've built up on these shores.

Though One Direction U.K.'s spokespeople have not commented on the suit and a representative for the band's U.S. label offered a no comment at press time, we set up the hashtag #New1DName to ask MTV News' Twitter followers to pre-emptively offer up some alternate names the lads should consider as they wait of the lawyers to hash things out.

Among the names suggested: The Driven (@tasharea101), The Charming 5 (@officialjai), Chillin' Boys (@finindah), All4You (@AttilaSn), Making Moves (@AttilaSn), SMilesHi (@AttilaSn), TurnItUp (@AtillaSn), We Want Justin Bieber Money (@maguiiMARS), 5HotGuys (@ShimmerJBieber), Parabola (@Teepoper), 5 Boys 12 Nipples (@Alison_H), Only cute Boys (@maguiiMARS), New Reflection (@SteffanniHannah), Naughty Boys (@OlaKozlowska), Drunked Boys (@OlaKozlowska), Plebzone (@markfinlayson), Sex Gods (@PhoebeOulton), The Wee Diddys (@markfinlayson), Ham Wednesday (@kdaniellee), 5B (for 5 Boys) (@officialjai), Fall Sky (@tasharea101) and the very clever JABB (Just Another Boy Band) (@DebdoodleDeb). A number of you found some interesting variations on the directional theme: Wun Dierecshin (@SaifQuadri), Direction One (@karennfaith8), FU1 Direction (@SheriMeibach), New Direction (@clermont703), One Direction. (@ManuelaMonster), One Inspiration (@tasharea101), Wrong Direction (@bbeanss_), No Direction (@hooLingrit) Other Direction (@bbeanss_), The Band Formerly Known As One Direction (@SheriMeibach), The Directionz (@vennee), 5 Directions (@SwaggerKidNate), OneDestination (@Phoebe_Cassell) and our staff favorite, Juan Direction (@nicolebritttany). And then there were the ones who clearly have a fixation on particular members: Liam and the Forks (@ClaraGelcer), Liam Against the Spoons (@ClaraGelcer), Niall and the Potatoes (@ShimmerJBieber), Zayn and the 4 Others (@JeremyCabalona), Zaynito and the Burritos (@Emily1D_xo), Louis and the Ostriches (@xsarahmusgrave) and Louis and the Carrots (@ClaraGelcer).

If 1D do end up changing their name it wouldn't be the first time a band has had to do so because of a previously existing entity. Late '90s Irish boy band Westlife were originally known as Westside, but had to give up that name, and another British act, The Verve, had to add a "the" to their name to avoid a conflict with the famous Verve jazz label.

David Bowie was born David Jones, but decided to invent a stage name to avoid confusion with late Monkees' star Davy Jones and electronica duo the Chemical Brothers started out as the Dust Brothers, but switched things up after a lawsuit from the same-named production pair best known for helping to piece together the Beastie Boys' Paul's Boutique. The Charlatans had to add a "UK" to their name to avoid a lawsuit from a defunct American band from the 1960s and Blink-182 decided to tack on some numbers to settle a dispute with the Irish band Blink.

Some bands have different names depending on where they are touring, such as Jack White's side group the Raconteurs, who are known as the Saboteurs in Australia for legal reasons. For similar reasons, reunited Brit poppers Suede have to tour as the London Suede in the U.S. (see also Wham UK and The English Beat).

Sometimes, though, bands have enough cash to buy the name they really want, such as grunge gods Nirvana, who settled out of court with a London group from the 1960s for around $160,000.

If One Direction have to change their name, what do you think it should be? Hit us at hashtag #New1DName to offer up your suggestions.

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