Behind the Band Name: Fifth Harmony

The power of voice and music brought Fifth Harmony together on national television. They first rose to fame on season two of the U.S. version of The X Factor in 2012 when Camila Cabello, Ally Brooke, Lauren Jauregui, Dinah Jane and Normani auditioned individually. Cabello was the only one to progress to the next round but was eliminated during the round known as Bootcamp.

Following Cabello’s elimination, all five singers were called back to the show and pitched the idea of forming a girl group that qualified them for the “Groups” category that was overseen by judge Simon Cowell. This set them up to become one of the most popular all-female groups of the 2010s. Below, we look at the meaning behind the name Fifth Harmony.

Meaning Behind the Band Name

The group went through a series of name changes before landing on the one they’re famous for today. The five-piece group started off as LYLAS, which stands for Love You Like a Sister, but had to change the name after another group called “The Lylas” came forward and said that the X Factor group stole the name. That group was comprised of Bruno Mars’ four sisters, Tiara, Tahiti, Presley, and Jaime, who also starred in a 2013 reality show on WE TV called The Lylas.

Staying on the theme of love, the ladies went by the new moniker 1432, a slang term for “I Love You Too” as each number corresponds to the number of letters in each word, with the “2” standing for the word “too.” But that didn’t last long either, as Cowell announced after their first performance as 1432 that they had to change the name.

“It was just crappy, the name, and I just couldn’t say it week after week,” Cowell told The Hollywood Reporter in 2012 after the episode aired. “It doesn’t have a natural flow to it.”

Cowell also announced that they were putting the power in the hands of viewers to pick the new name, and fans voted for Fifth Harmony. “It’s been really hard to gel as a group because we didn’t have a name, but we finally found one and it is Fifth Harmony,” Jauregui said in a backstage interview during which all the girls say the name in unison, agreeing it’s the right fit. “I dig it,” Cabello says.  

Fifth Harmony placed third on The X Factor and found success after the show, releasing three studio albums and a series of hit singles including “Worth It,” “Work From Home” and “All in My Head.”

Following Cabello’s departure in 2016 to focus on her wildly successful solo career, the remaining four continued to record under the Fifth Harmony name. In 2018, they announced they were going on hiatus to pursue solo projects.

(Photo by John Parra/Getty Images for iHeartMedia)