MOMOLAND Nancy, whose real name is Lee Seungri, confessed the real reason she changed it to Lee Geuru.
On December 21, the idol, who debuted as a musical actress, appeared on the YouTube web show "No Back Tak Jae Hoon" as a special guest. There, the interesting history of her name was brought up, transitioning from Nancy to Seungri to Geuru.
Why did she keep on changing names?
Idol Shares Anecdote About Her English Name Being Same With Nancy Lang
The 00-liner idol is an American-Korean, who was born in Daegu, South Korea. Later on, their family decided to move to Ohio, the United States and this became the place she grew up in.
Initially, she was given her Korean name, Lee Seungri, but growing up in a foreign country, she has been using her English and native name, Nancy Jewel McDonie.
Regarding this, Tak Jae Hoon asked:
"Does your name have anything to do with Nancy Lang? What would it be like to meet her by chance?"
ALSO READ: MOMOLAND Nancy Earns Title of 'Fancam Goddess' — Here's Why
As a response, Nancy gladly said:
"I would be so happy to see her. Aren't our names the same? When I was young, her name always came out together with mine when I searched myself on the internet."
She added:
"When I meet her, I want to ask where she got her cat. People have made me do her pose a lot since I was young."
Nancy Explains Reason She Became Geuru From Being Lee Seungri
While on the topic, Tak Jae Hoon also brought up Nancy's new Korean name, which is Lee Geuru. In 2019, Nancy revealed that she legally changed it in 2018.
The "BBOOM BBOOM" singer explained that the meaning of her current name is "to grow as big as a tree."
But prior to that time, her Korean name was actually Lee Seungri. While Nancy shared that she actually liked it first, her mother implied that the name didn't give a good energy.
"It's a name that I really liked. But my mother said the name had a bad feeling about it."
When Tak Jae Hoon asked when she changed it, Shin Gyujin made a bold question, asking:
"Was it around that time...?"
They then burst into laughter as it reminded them of former BIGBANG Lee Seung Hyun, who is popularly known as Seungri.
In 2019, the idol left the group and music industry after he was involved in 8 charges including sexual bribery and embezzlement, related to the most controversial Burning Sun Scandal.
He was found guilty on all eight charges and was imprisoned for 18 months. He was released in February 2023.
At the time of his investigation, Nancy became a hot topic of her name Seungri, which is similar to the male idol.
In fans' fear of the star's real name being mentioned along with him, people supported her changing it to Geuru.
READ MORE: Where Is Ex-MOMOLAND Nancy Now? Idol's Career After Disbandment — Will She Pursue Acting?
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Written by Eunice Dawson.
