Where did the baby name Sisqo come from in 2000?

In February of 2000, R&B singer SisQó released his best-known hit, “Thong Song.” It peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in May and helped SisQó earn four Grammy nominations (Best New Artist, Best Male R&B Vocal Performance, Best R&B Song, and Best R&B Album).

SisQó wasn’t a one-hit wonder on the music charts — another single, “Incomplete,” reached #1 in August — but the name Sisqo was a one-hit wonder in the U.S. baby name data:

• 2002: unlisted
• 2001: unlisted
• 2000: 9 baby boys named Sisqo [debut]
• 1999: unlisted
• 1998: unlisted

Sisqo’s real name is Mark Althavean Andrews. His stage name was his (unwanted) childhood nickname:

[I]n his old neighborhood “if you had [wavy] hair like mine as a kid, you looked Puerto Rican. They used to tease me and call me that name, which sucked.” Since “SisQó” sounded Puerto Rican to the local kids, Mark was stuck with the nickname.

Here’s an amusing clip of SisQó watching the video for “Thong Song” 15 years later.

Sources:

• Furman, Leah. Sisqo: The Man Behind the Thong. New York: St Martin’s Griffin, 2001.
• SisQó | Billboard
• SisQo | Artist | Grammy.com