How Chanel Got the Name Coco
No one is absolutely sure how Chanel got the name Coco. While Chanel herself said that her father would call her Coco as a child, there are other theories. After she left the orphanage at 18 and started singing in early cabaret shows, she took on the name Coco. Both Chanel and her aunt (who was only a year older than her) did these gigs to make extra money as well as flirt with the soldiers who were stationed in Moulins, France.
Source: Pinterest
As the story goes, two of the songs Chanel sang were Ko Ko Ri Ko and Qui qu’a vu Coco dans l’Trocadéro? (“Who’s seen Coco at the Trocadéro?”). The crowd would call for encores by shouting out to her: “Coco! Coco!” There’s also the possibility that it came from the French word “cocotte,” meaning a kept woman.