Paul Hewson and his friends were part of a surrealist street gang called "Lypton Village".  The gang had a ritual of nickname-giving.  Paul had several names: first, he was "Steinvic von Huyseman", then just "Huyseman", followed by "Houseman", "Bon Murray", "Bono Vox of O'Connell Street", and finally just "Bono".  Bonavox was the name of a hearing aid shop they regularly passed on North Earl Street, just off O'Connell Street, in Dublin.

Coincidence???  Notice the reflection below the Bonavox sign.  It says "Boy" in reverse, which is the name of U2's first album.

Initially, Bono disliked the name."Bono Vox".  However, when he learned it loosely translated to "good voice" in Latin (bono) meaning "good", (vox) meaning "voice".   He then accepted it and has been known as Bono since the late seventies.  Although he uses Bono as his stage name, close family and friends also refer to him as Bono, including his wife and fellow band members.

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