You’ve seen the face tattoos. You’ve definitely heard "Sunflower" or "Circles" blaring from a car window at some point in the last five years. But despite being one of the biggest stars on the planet, there’s still a weird amount of mystery surrounding the guy. People always ask: what is Post Malone’s real name? It sounds like a stage name. It is a stage name. But it’s not as "fake" as you might think.
He wasn't born with a name that sounds like a legendary basketball player. He wasn't born with the face tattoos, either. He was just a kid from New York who moved to Texas and liked Guitar Hero way too much.
The Man Behind the Moniker: Austin Richard Post
Basically, the "Post" part isn't a gimmick. Post Malone's real name is Austin Richard Post. He was born on July 4, 1995—yeah, a Fourth of July baby—in Syracuse, New York. Honestly, it’s a pretty normal name for a guy who eventually became a genre-bending, chart-topping enigma. His dad, Rich Post, was a DJ back in the day, which is probably why Austin grew up listening to everything from George Strait to 50 Cent.
When he was about nine, the family packed up and moved to Grapevine, Texas. Why? Because his dad got a job as the manager of concessions for the Dallas Cowboys. Talk about a cool childhood. Texas is where Austin really started to find himself, picking up a guitar and realizing he was actually pretty good at it.
Before he was "Posty," he was just Austin, a kid who liked heavy metal and tried out for a band called Crown the Empire. He didn't get the gig because his guitar strings broke during the audition. Imagine how different music would be right now if those strings hadn't snapped.
Where did "Malone" come from?
This is where it gets funny. For years, everyone assumed he was paying tribute to NBA legend Karl Malone. It makes sense, right? "Post" and "Malone." It’s a perfect basketball pun.
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But it’s a total coincidence.
Austin has admitted in dozens of interviews—including a famous one with Jimmy Fallon—that he didn't put that much thought into it. He was about 14 or 15 and needed a rap name because he was starting to make his own tracks. He already had his last name, Post. He just needed something to go with it.
So, what does a teenager in the 2010s do? He goes to a rap name generator online.
He typed in "Austin Post," clicked the button, and the algorithm spat out "Post Malone." That’s it. No deep meaning. No hidden messages. Just a random internet tool that happened to strike gold. He liked the ring of it, it stuck, and now it's worth millions.
From Leon DeChino to White Iverson
Before he fully committed to the Post Malone brand, Austin experimented a bit. You might have seen the viral video of a teenage Austin wearing a short-sleeved button-down and a blue bandana, singing a synth-pop song called "Why Don't You Love Me?"
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In that video, he went by the alias Leon DeChino.
It was a parody, sure, but it showed that even back then, Austin Post was obsessed with creating characters and vibes. He’s always been more than just a rapper or a singer; he’s a creator who doesn't like being boxed in.
By the time he moved to Los Angeles after dropping out of college, the Leon DeChino days were over. He was living in a house with a bunch of YouTubers and gamers, sleeping on a closet floor, and working on a song that would change his life: "White Iverson."
When that track dropped on SoundCloud in 2015, the world finally met Post Malone. People didn't know what to make of him. Was he a rapper? A folk singer? A guy who just really liked Allen Iverson? It didn't matter. The name was officially cemented in music history.
Why the Name Austin Still Matters
Even though the world knows him as Posty, he hasn't let go of his birth name. In 2023, he released a project titled AUSTIN.
This was a big deal. It was his most personal album yet, stripped back and focused more on his actual musicianship than the "rockstar" persona. By naming the album after his real name, he was basically telling his fans, "This is who I actually am."
It’s a common move for celebrities to use their real names when they want to show "vulnerability," but with Posty, it felt genuine. He’s always been an open book about his struggles with anxiety and the pressures of fame. Using Austin Richard Post as a creative anchor helps him stay grounded while he’s out there playing sold-out stadiums.
The Evolution of the Posty Brand
It's wild to look at the timeline.
- 1995: Austin Richard Post is born.
- 2010: A rap name generator creates "Post Malone."
- 2015: "White Iverson" goes viral.
- 2018: Beerbongs & Bentleys breaks streaming records.
- 2024: He pivots to country with F-1 Trillion and dominates that world too.
He’s one of the few artists who can collaborate with Morgan Wallen one day and Taylor Swift the next. That versatility is probably why the name "Post Malone" has such staying power. It doesn't belong to one genre. It just belongs to him.
What You Should Do Next
If you’re a fan or just curious about the man behind the ink, don’t just stop at the name. The best way to understand the transition from Austin Post to Post Malone is to actually listen to the evolution of his sound.
Start with his earlier stuff like Stoney to see the hip-hop roots, then jump straight into AUSTIN or his latest country tracks. You’ll hear a guy who isn't afraid to let his real self bleed into his stage persona.
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Also, keep an eye on his credits. Whether he’s acting in movies like Road House or voicing characters in Spider-Man, he often uses his real name, Austin Post, for his film work. It’s a subtle way he keeps the two worlds separate while letting his fans in on the secret.
The name might have come from a random generator, but the career was built on actual talent. Not bad for a kid who just wanted a "cool" two-word name like Wiz Khalifa.