Check Out How Your Favorite Musicians Stumbled Into Choosing Their Now-Iconic Names

What The Heck Does Chumbawamba Mean?

Photo Credit: Ben Curtis – PA Images/PA Images via Getty Images

Chumbawamba dominated airwaves with their 1997 hit “Tubthumping.” It was enough to raise a band built on punk ideals to mainstream success – if only for a moment. Tubthumper hit number three on the Billboard 200 and sold over 3.2 million records, but the band left many ’90s children wondering, “what the heck does that name mean?”

Chumbawamba’s name may be one of the biggest mysteries of the ’90s, but it’s actually quite simple. It’s pure nonsense that was used to label bathrooms in a club. The women’s room was “wamba” and the men’s was “chumba.” Chumbawamba featured vocals from men and women, so it makes sense.