Shania Twain Shares the Reason She Changed Her Name

Shania Twain is a household name, but some of the country icon’s fans might not know that the monker is not her real name. Twain was born Eilleen Regina Edwards, and when she was adopted by her stepfather, she took his last name of Twain. During a recent episode of her Home Now Radio show on Apple Music Hits, the Canadian star explained her decision to change her name, sharing that she wanted something that felt like her own when she was on stage.

“A lot of celebrities are born with a different name than they end up with as a stage name, and I’m one of those people,” Twain said. “It’s actually a long story. In short, I was born, Eilleen Regina Edwards, and then I was adopted and I became Eilleen Regina Twain. Then I became a professional singer and I needed a stage name that sounded a little less like my grandmother’s name, because I’m named after my grandmother, both my grandmothers, Eilleen and Regina. I think, in my mind, I was just not really wanting to be called my grandmother’s name onstage, so I decided to change it to Shania Twain. I met somebody with the name Shania, thought it was beautiful, and Shania Twain was born.”

The 55-year-old is currently working on her upcoming album, which she hopes will be released later this year. Twain is the best-selling female artist in country music history, which means she knows a thing or two about writing hits, and she revealed a few of her tricks on the latest episode of her show. “Songwriting is not easy,” she said. “It’s easy if you are not setting out with high goals, but of course, when I’m writing a song, my goals are super high.” Twain explained that she uses a mental checklist to make sure the finished product is something she wants to release.

“I’m trying to write a song that is almost like I have a checklist a little bit. Is this a subject that is going to be relatable to a lot of people?” she continued. “Second thing on the checklist is, is it singable. Even without the lyrics or even if I don’t really relate to the story, do I want to sing along with this song. Third thing on the checklist is, will it make the listener feel the way I want them to feel. So I’ve always got an idea about my intentions behind the song. So do I want the song to make people feel happy? Do I want it to make them reflect on their pain? Do I want it to help them become energized? Do I want them to feel empowered somehow by this song? Do I want it to be uplifting? These are the three things.”

“It’s like a private joke. You get it yourself,” Twain added. “But do other people get it, or are other people can relate to it, are we all going to be in sync together? This is very important. So this is when I know the song is ready, when it meets this checklist.”