Ska Band Name Generator

Ska band names track the genre's three waves. First-wave Jamaican acts used tidy, almost showbiz names: The Skatalites, The Maytals, Prince Buster, Desmond Dekker and the Aces. Two-tone in 1979 Britain went for sharp, short plurals that looked right in black-and-white print: The Specials, The Selecter, Madness, The Beat, Bad Manners. Third-wave American ska in the 1990s threw all of that out and embraced the pun, the food reference and the in-joke: Reel Big Fish, Mustard Plug, Skankin' Pickle, Less Than Jake, The Aquabats. If you are naming a band today, you are probably borrowing from one of these three registers.

The list here mixes them. You will find rude-boy and pork-pie-hat names for two-tone revival bands, bandleader formats ("Rocksteady Freddie and the Late Shift") for trad and rocksteady acts, a healthy run of ska puns (Skapocalypse Now, Skanksgiving) for the goofier third-wave crowd, and blue-collar, bus-stop and cheap-suit names that fit ska-punk and the current fourth wave. There are also plenty of horn-section and brass references, since a trombone is most of the reason people come to see you.

Pick a name that matches your tempo. Upbeat puns wear thin if your set is mostly minor-key two-tone, and a dead-serious rude boy name looks odd on a band with a kazoo solo.