Was SUGA’s name derived from Shooting Guard or because of his pale skin?
Whether you’re a new ARMY or an old one, you’ve probably heard of both scenarios as to why Min Yoongi’s stage name is SUGA:
Reason 1: BigHit Entertainment’s CEO, Bang Si Hyuk, gave him the name SUGA due to his pale and white skin like sugar.
Reason 2: Suga (pronounced like ‘shooga’) comes from the first syllables of “Shooting Guard” which is the basketball position Yoongi used to play.
So which one is correct?
It appears that they both are!
During an interview done for “AJ x THE STAR vol. 1” magazine, Yoongi was asked about the origins of his name. Check out an excerpt translated into English:
Suga said: “The stage name was given by Bang PD. He said there are many meanings behind the name and he thinks that it matches well with my image.”
Suga says that he likes the name even though his personality is completely the opposite of his stage name. He says: “A name is something that creates a person. ‘Suga’ does have a meaning of ‘sweetness’, I also think that through my existence, the word ‘Suga’ has became altered.” [1]
He spoke about his name again for the Cuvism Magazine:
Suga: Because my skin is pale, I’m pretty when I smile, and because I’m sweet. (laughs) I chose this name because I want to promote sweetly. [2]
Now let’s see where the Shooting Guard idea came from.
In an interview for YamanTV Ep.23, when Yoongi was asked how his name SUGA came about, he said that he used to play the role of a shooting guard when playing basketball. [3]
Watch the video by clicking here.
Putting all of this information together, it seems that BOTH were valid reasons for his name. What we think happened was, BangPD suggested the name “SUGA” and Yoongi liked it and chose it to be his name because it reminded him of his basketball position.
One thing to note is that it seems many articles on the web mention one thing as a fact, but when you check the source, it’s not true. For example, many articles mention how he said his name came from his Shooting Guard position and they cite the Cuvism magazine as source, BUT if you read that magazine, he talks about the name being given to him for his pale skin.
SO BE CAREFUL! There’s always misinformation surrounding Min Yoongi, which is why we started this Medium page: to bring you the most accurate info and debunk fake rumors about the members of BTS.
Stay tuned for more!
Note: Here at BTS Fact Checker, we pride ourselves in delivering truth with no bias and debunking rumors in an easy-to-understand way, while keeping all of our articles updated. This article is true as of June 8, 2021, the day of the last update. If any changes or more evidence comes along, we will update it.
