Before boy bands were everywhere, there was New Kids on the Block. Five kids from Boston — Donnie, Jordan, Jonathan, Danny, and Joey — went from local talent shows to selling out stadiums and making teenage hearts race around the world.
But where did the name come from? Spoiler: it wasn’t part of the plan at all.
When producer Maurice Starr first put the group together in the mid-’80s, he originally wanted to call them Nynuk (pronounced “Ny-nook”). Yeah… not exactly catchy. Imagine trying to scream that at a concert.
The guys themselves weren’t into it either. Thankfully, fate stepped in.
Early on, Donnie Wahlberg wrote a rap called “New Kids on the Block.” The phrase stuck out to Starr and the group. It sounded fresh, fun, and way better than “Nynuk.” They ditched the old name, adopted the line, and rolled with it.
It was perfect — they really were the new kids on the block, trying to break into the music industry and prove themselves.
The name captured exactly what they were: young, bold, and ready to take over the block (and then the world). By the time Hangin’ Tough blew up in 1988, the name was iconic.
“New Kids on the Block” wasn’t just a band name anymore — it was a brand. The posters, the lunchboxes, the dolls… you couldn’t escape it.
So yeah, NKOTB weren’t born with that name. It came from a rap verse, a stroke of luck, and the fact that no one wanted to be called Nynuk. Sometimes the best names are the ones that just sound right.
And decades later? They might not be “new kids” anymore, but the block is still theirs.
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