Eminem is known for his infamous alter-ego, Slim Shady, but where did his stage name come from?

Fans are only just discovering the meaning behind rap icon Eminem’s stage name – and it’s surprisingly simple.

The rapper – real name Marshall Mathers – has been a long-running fixture in the hip hop scene since his debut album came out in 1996, having topped the charts numerous times with songs such as ‘Lose Yourself’, ‘Stan’, ‘The Real Slim Shady’ and ‘Love the Way You Lie’.

He’s also known for his infamous alter-ego Slim Shady, who received his final honours on the 51-year-old’s newest album The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce).

But have you ever wondered how Eminem came up with his stage name?

With most of the discourse focusing on his counterpart Slim Shady, many have probably not spared a thought about how Mathers came up with Eminem. But thankfully the internet is a wonderful place where there is an answer available to every question you could ask – and this includes the apparent story behind the rapper’s stage name.

Taking to Reddit, one of his fans asked: “Why did he call himself Eminem?

“Does anyone know why he called himself that? I have been listening to him for quite a long time but I never understood why he chose Eminem instead of something like Slim Shady.”

The name Eminem is a play on the rapper’s MM initials (Christopher Polk/Billboard via Getty Images)

It’s said the name is linked to the rapper’s real name Marshall Mathers. Back in high-school Mathers and his friend Mike Ruby would go by the names Manix and M&M while rapping together and the name seemingly just evolved from there.

“Marshall Mathers. Two M’s. Used to be M&M. Eminem came from M&M,” one person replied, while a second added: “His initials are MM, or M&M, which is pronounced Eminem when said quickly.”

One fan claimed Mathers used to go by M&M during the early days of his career, later changing it to the phonetic Eminem in order to avoid landing himself in hot water with the chocolate brand of the same name.

As for the meaning behind the name Slim Shady, the inspiration for his alter-ego came to him while he was in the bathroom after the failure of his debut album Infinite, with ‘Slim’ being a reflection of his skinny frame.

The Slim Shady character would go on to be a way for Mathers to vent his frustrations about the world in an uncensored and over the top manner.

LADbible has contacted representatives for Eminem for comment.