Tupac Shakur was born Lesane Parish Crooks on June 16, 1971, in New York City.
His mother, Afeni Shakur, later changed his name to Tupac Amaru Shakur when he was about one year old.
The name “Tupac Amaru” came from Túpac Amaru II, an 18th-century Peruvian revolutionary who led an uprising against Spanish colonial rule.
Túpac Amaru II claimed descent from the Inca royal family and became a major symbol of resistance in Peru. He was captured and executed by the Spanish in 1781.
Afeni, a former member of the Black Panther Party, deliberately chose the name because she wanted her son to carry the name of a revolutionary Indigenous figure rather than an African historical figure.
According to accounts of her explanation, she wanted him to understand that he belonged to a wider world culture and not simply to the neighbourhood in which he grew up.
The surname Shakur came through Afeni’s relationship with the Shakur family.
Afeni had been married to Lumumba Shakur, a fellow Black Panther activist, although Lumumba was not Tupac’s biological father.
Tupac’s biological father was Billy Garland, another Black Panther activist.
The name therefore carried a remarkable amount of history before Tupac ever became famous: his first name was associated with an Indigenous anti-colonial revolutionary, while his surname connected him to the political world in which his mother and other members of his family were active.
There is also an important historical detail worth including: the name Túpac Amaru predates Túpac Amaru II.
The earlier Túpac Amaru was the last ruler of the Neo-Inca state and was executed by Spanish authorities in 1572.
Túpac Amaru II later adopted the name and invoked that legacy when he launched his 1780 rebellion.
