There’s something about ’90s girl groups. They were feisty, empowering, and staunch supporters of low-rise jeans. Those girls groups—TLC, The Chicks, The Spice Girls, and En Vogue to name a few—took over the decade.
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Another girl group that got its start in the ’90s is Destiny’s Child. The “Say My Name” singers are best known for their final line-up of Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams and their R&B/Dance tracks. Most of us can recall the lyrics of “Bills, Bills, Bills” or when the group reunited to perform at the 2013 Super Bowl Halftime Show. But do you remember where it all started for this group? Where did the name Destiny’s Child come from?
Read below to find out where Destiny’s Child got its iconic name.
Where Destiny’s Child came from.
The band name Destiny’s Child came from the Knowles family. More specifically, it was Beyoncé’s mother and father, Tina and Mathew Knowles, who picked the name and were greatly involved with the girl group in its early days. (Tina was frequently styling the girls’ hair for performances and letting the group practice at her salon, the Headliners Salon. Mathew, for his part, quickly became the group’s manager.)
Tina pulled the word “destiny” out of the bible for her daughter’s girl group, and Mathew added the word “child,” according to a 2004 interview with the family. In an earlier autobiography of the band, Beyoncé confirmed that this was how the group got its name.
“We got the word destiny out of the Bible,” she said, “but we couldn’t trademark the name, so we added child, which is like a rebirth of destiny.”
We couldn’t have said it any better.
Destiny’s Child and Its Members
As we noted, the band is most recognizable in its final form, the trio of Beyoncé, Rowland, and Williams. But that wasn’t always the lineup. In fact, there were many changes in membership and a significant amount of internal struggle.
In 1990, Destiny’s Child was going by the name Girl’s Tyme in Houston, Texas. In addition to the final three, former members LeToya Luckett and LaTavia Roberson were part of the group from 1995 until 2000. Altogether though, Destiny’s Child would put out a total of five studio albums before disbanding in 2006.
And as far as Destiny’s Child’s legacy, it is difficult to do it justice. By 2006, the girl group was a Grammy Award-winning, international inspiration. Oh, and it gave rise to the impossibly successful Beyoncé.
Destiny’s Child (Photo by SGranitz/WireImage)
