The Weeknds real name is Abel Makkonen Tesfaye. He was born on February 16, 1990, and is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and record producer. Before adopting the stage name The Weeknd, he released music under the aliases The Noise and Kin Kane. The name The Weeknd was chosen in tribute to when he dropped out of school, took his mattress, "left one weekend and never came home". However, it was also claimed that the name was his idea, and the last e was excluded to avoid trademark problems with pop rock band The Weekend. In May 2023, The Weeknd announced that he was going to retire the moniker of The Weeknd and that his upcoming album might be his "last hurrah as The Weeknd".