Sean Combs, popularly known as P. Diddy or Puff Daddy
Sean “Diddy” Combs was arrested by federal agents on September 16 and charged with sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy, and transportation to engage in prostitution.
Combs, who entered a not-guilty plea, is being held without bail at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.
His trial date was set for May 5, 2025, and in the criminal indictment for the trial, many of the rapper’s nicknames were listed in the document.
Indeed, many music lovers have known the rapper over the years as Puffy, Puff Daddy, Diddy, and even Love. Here is the history behind all his aliases as his sex-trafficking trial concludes.
Puffy
Combs’ nickname while growing up was “Puffy”. He used to “huff and puff” when he got upset, which gave rise to that nickname. “Puffy” would appear as his nickname on the 1994 remix he did with Chucky Thompson of Jade’s “Every Day of the Week.” During these times, Combs was often seen with fellow New York City rapper Notorious B.I.G., who became the star of Combs’ Bad Boy record label.
Combs’ stage name on Notorious B.I.G.’s 1994 debut Ready to Die was “Puffy”.
Puff Daddy
In the early 1990s, while using the name “Puffy” professionally, Combs also went by the name “Puff Daddy” on cuts with Father MC and Jodeci, according to Complex.
In fact, in 1998, Combs won two Grammys as Puff Daddy, one for Best Rap Album for his debut, “No Way Out,” and the other for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for “I’ll Be Missing You” with Faith Evans. The song memorialized Notorious B.I.G., who was fatally shot in 1997.
P. Diddy
After being acquitted of gun and bribery charges in 2001 following a New York City nightclub shootout, Combs said he was changing his name again to start life anew. He told MTV News that he was thinking of organizing a “name change ceremony” that summer. “I’m rockin’ with P. Diddy now—my man Biggie gave me that name,” he said.
Soon, Combs became known professionally as P. Diddy.
Diddy
Somewhere in August 2005, Combs said in an interview with Katie Couric on Today that he was dropping the “P” from P. Diddy because of his fans.
“I felt the ‘P’ was coming between me and my fans,” he said. “We had to simplify it. It was, you know, doing concerts and half the crowd saying ‘P. Diddy,’ half the crowd chanting ‘Diddy.’ Now everybody can just chant ‘Diddy.’”
P. Diddy again
But a year later, in 2006, Combs had to go back to using P. Diddy again after British DJ Richard “Diddy” Dearlove sued him over the use of the name. Combs couldn’t use Diddy for his 2006 album “Press Play” due to the suit, and so he used P. Diddy for some releases of the album, according to the AP.
Sean John
In January 2008, Combs told the Daily Star that he now wanted to be known as “Sean John”, the same name as his clothing line. “I have always evolved and taken a different name each time,” he said. “Right now, I want to be Sean John.”
Swag
Three years later, Combs changed his name to Swag, but this was only for a week. He said in a video online that the name change was part of his “comeback” following an illness.
Puff Daddy again
In March 2014, while Combs was planning to release his video for “Big Homie”, he shared a teaser in which he called himself “Puff Daddy.” He later denied ever changing his name at all following the backlash.
Love/Brother Love
In November 2017, Combs posted on social media that he was changing his name to “Love, a.k.a. Brother Love” as part of his birthday celebration. Later that month, he said it was all a joke and his fans could use any of his older names.
Interestingly, in 2021, he said that he had legally changed his middle name to Love. The following year, he announced on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” that Diddy remains his stage name.
