Fandom Terminology You Should Know! 🤘🏼

Written by: Caroline Walters

If you’re new to fandoms or someone who’s been in them for ten years, we could all use a crash course on what some of these terms mean. There are so many terms that it can be hard to keep up sometimes, so we put together a list of the ones everyone should know. Even if you’ve been in a fandom for a while, some of these might even be new to you! 📝

Fandom: A fandom is simply defined as “the state or condition of being a fan of someone or something.” So what does this mean in the real world? We’re all fans of something, so we’re all in some type of fandom, whether you realize it or not! You could be in a sports fandom or immerse yourself in the ins and outs of your favorite band, but the odds that you’re in a fandom without even knowing it are pretty high! 🤩

Fan Account: This one is referring to an account dedicated to an artist or musician that someone really likes! Having a fan account is a fun way to interact with your favorite artists, meet new people and make friends, and stay up to date on what’s happening! There are so many different types of fan accounts, from update accounts to chart tracking accounts. Fan accounts don’t always have to give updates, they can just be a cool way to share your love for an artist and make friends at the same time! If you want to know more about starting a fan account, watch our blog about it! 📲

Stan: A stan is similar to a more dedicated version of a normal fan. If you stan someone or something, you probably know more about it than the average fan! Another word for this would be a superfan! These kinds of fans are so enthusiastic and dedicated to their favorite artists and constantly show how much they love them! 🥰

Update Account: These are accounts run by passionate fans and are there to keep you updated on everything that’s going on in an artist’s life. From new releases to merch drops to tour announcements, this type of account will make sure you know everything that you need to know! 👀

Fan Meetup: A fan meetup is pretty much what it sounds like, but these can take a lot of effort to plan! Sometimes artists plan these as a way to meet and interact with their fans, but sometimes it’s just a really cool way for fans to meet each other and become friends with other people in their fandoms! 🫂

Fan Project: Fan projects are a way for fans to show an artist how much they love and support them. These can happen at concerts or through social media but are normally used to show appreciation for an artist. They’re usually organized by fans, and a lot of times are done by fans holding up signs or colored lights during specific songs during an artist's performance. 🤩

Some fandoms also have incredibly specific terms that can get confusing if you don’t interact with these kinds of fans often. Harry Styles fans call themselves “Harries” and will use phrases like adding “-rry” to the end of any word! There’s also “Harryween,” which just refers to the shows that Harry’s been playing on Halloween for the past two years! When he dressed up as Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, that version of him became known as “Dorothyrry!” 😍

Taylor Swift fans call themselves “Swifties” and even have code names for Taylor herself. They call her 2016 bleached hair era “Bleachella” and will use that when referencing specific eras. Taylor’s main nickname (given to her by Swifties) is “blondie!” Swifties love to use this for any occasion they can, and it’s almost more common than her own name! 🪩

Fan terminology can be pretty daunting if you’re new to it, but we hope this helped you out just a little bit. If there’s anything else that you want to know about or think we missed that you want to be defined, let us know on our Instagram or Twitter accounts! 🤍

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