Britney Spears appears to have changed her name again on social media

Britney Spears has once again changed her name on social media.

Ever since her conservatorship came to an end in November 2021, the 42-year-old singer has often utilized her social media channels to express her thoughts and newfound freedom.

Britney has changed her name again. Credit: Kevin Mazur / Getty

From her many dancing videos to inspirational quotes, the ‘Baby (One More Time)’ chart-topper has also used her social media platforms to debut several new monikers over the last couple of years.

In fact, this week, she changed her name on Instagram for the third time.

Spears has now updated her Instagram name to “Xila Maria River Red” — but what exactly does this mean?

Well, in January 2023, the ‘Lucky’ star announced that she was changing her name to “River Red”, following several months of using the name ‘Channel 8’.

She explained at the time: “I see right through it all… it has liquid and is wet… it’s playful and has mass!!! I changed my name to River Red!!! Yet the fire is where it illuminates… to stare at it and jump right in with no fear at all!!!!”

Although there is no definite explanation behind the name, some felt that “River Red” was symbolic of Britney breaking free and embracing her womanhood.

Then, in July 2023, she updated the moniker to “Maria River Red”.

She made the announcement alongside a video of her dancing to Santana’s 1999 hit ‘Maria Maria’.

While some fans believed it could be a hint towards Britney releasing new music (think Beyoncé’s I Am Sasha Fierce era), others deciphered that ‘Maria River Red’ was an anagram of ‘I’ve re-married’. This, of course, could be a nod to her former husband, Sam Asghari, whom she married in June 2022.

Sam Asghari and Britney Spears split last year. Credit: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin / Getty

Asghari filed for divorce on July 28, 2023 – citing “irreconcilable differences”, per the Hollywood Reporter.

With the addition of “Xila”, fans will no doubt be doing their best Sherlock impersonations as they try to figure out what the new name could mean.

Over on Reddit, some fans say the name “Divine play” in Hindi, Another person on X stated that the name was the Zapotec term for “woman”.

Another person – who I am agreeing most with here – suggests that Britney probably just likes the name and there’s no deeper meaning behind it.