Tupac’s full name is Tupac Amaru Shakur (born Lesane Parish Crooks), c. June 16, 1971 - September 13, 1996) but his mother later changed his name to honor Túpac Amaru II, an 18th-century Indigenous Peruvian revolutionary.

Tupac Amaru II (born José Gabriel Condorcanqui Noguera or José Gabriel Túpac Amaru), c. 1742 – May 18, 1781) was an Indigenous cacique who led a large Andean rebellion against the Spanish in Peru as self-proclaimed Sapa Inca of the new Inca Empire. He was later elevated to a mythical status in the Peruvian struggle for independence and indigenous rights movement, as well as an inspiration to myriad causes in Spanish America and beyond. He was a direct descendant of Túpac Amaru, the last Inca of Vilcabamba.