Come up with a Burlesque name right now!
Here are some combinations to try, with examples.
A city and a color:
Austin Blue
A flower and a cheese
Daisy Roquefort
A fruit and a modifier
Kiwi Dear
A given name and a god
Paul Anubis
An era and a given name
A given name and a weapon
Lucy Gunn
A kind of fabric and a kind of music
Velvet Baroque
A modifier and a common last name, with alliteration
Silky Smith
Your hobby and a form of royalty
The Spinning Duchess
A phrase that sounds like a name
Demi Monde
This is just an exercise for a name to use in class. If you are trying to create a name you may use regularly, you will want to do a careful web search with your new name to make sure it’s not in use by another performer (it doesn’t matter whether that performer is in burlesque or not, as we often perform in variety shows), or compromised by being the name of a product, song name, or character in a movie or book. If it’s in use, let it go. You’re a genius and will come up with something new and equally fabulous!
Some names are perfect for burlesque, but are so common they will make it difficult for people to tell you apart from other performers. Some examples are Kitten (and variations on cat nicknames), Cherry, Scarlet, and the like. I recommend avoiding using certain over-identified last names as well, such as L’Amour, Valentine, Tease, Martini—you get the idea! If one of these is your real name, by all means, own it. But if you assume a new name too similar to other artists, you risk getting lost in the crowd.