Robbie Williams hated being told to adopt the name 'Robbie' early in his career

The hitmaker revealed he hated a name his manager gave him at the beginning of his career. Photo / Getty Images

Robbie Williams has revealed a secret pet peeve.

The pop icon says he hated being told to adopt the name "Robbie" early in his career.

The Let Me Entertain You hitmaker - who was born Robert Williams - thought the pop star moniker given to him by his manager when he joined Take That aged 16 sounded too "cute", whereas he wanted to appear more "street and cool".

Speaking to BBC Radio 1 DJ Annie Mac's Changes podcast, the hitmaker said, "The name Robbie wasn't my idea. The name was given to me by my manager.

"'Okay, you're not Robert anymore, you're Robbie', he said.

"I hated it because it made me sound cute — and I didn't want to sound cute. I wanted to be street and cool, and Robbie was just not."

Williams, now 48, admitted despite his reservations, a slight name change from Rob or Robert helped him with fame when he claimed the "order of the day" was "lacerate, dehumanise, vilify, pull down, put a contract out to kill [celebrities], beat them up".

He explained: "It was the best thing he ever did because Robbie Williams isn't me. This person they talked about, that they wanted to beat up, it wasn't me."

His comments come after his former Take That bandmate Gary Barlow coincidentally admitted he "hates" his name, noting he was the first of four people to be given the full moniker in 1971.

In his new memoir A Different Stage, he said: "There were four Gary Barlows born in 1971 and I am relieved to report that I was the first. I hate my name but it's a bit late to be changing it now."

The 51-year-old singer joked that although some names "come back into fashion", he doubts his ever will and quipped that children need to be "protected" against it.