The answer to where early rockers Steely Dan got their name is sure to come as a surprise. The band began in 1972 with Donald Fagen and Walter Becker. Both of these founding members were avid readers and fans – Fagen even studied English Literature in college – and they found the kind of name they wanted in a novel by author William S. Burroughs, the 1959 “Naked Lunch.”
What does “Steely Dan” refer to? None other than a steam-powered bedroom toy called “Steely Dan III from Yokohama.” Yes, that’s right, it was an adults-only toy the whole time. The entire band thought it was the perfect name.
Arcade Fire
For the better part of two decades, this Canadian indie rock band has thrived. The bandleaders are husband and wife Win Butler and Regine Chassagne. Four other members round out the group. Arcade Fire has produced five well-regarded albums and had plenty of success since they began in 2004.
Butler was tasked with coming up with a good name for the band and went back to the kid he came across while growing up. According to an interview, the kid had told Win about an arcade going up in flames – Win still doesn't think the story is true, but at least it made for a good band name.
The Beatles
There are two ways to think about The Beatles: the greatest band of all time, or the most overrated. However you see them and their individual members, there's no way to deny they made music magic every time they played together. Nothing says “powerhouse” like changing the musical landscape forevermore. But where did their world-famous name come from?
They first called themselves the Blackjacks, and then switched to the Quarrymen. In the end, they decided to follow in the footsteps of a band they all liked — The Crickets — and chose their own bug-themed name. The Beatles were here, baby, and they've never really gone away.
Twenty-One Pilots
Twenty One Pilots frontman Tyler Joseph (the man so nice they named him twice) got the name of his band from a piece of literature. He and his bandmate Josh Dun hail from Columbus, Ohio, and despite the band dwindled down to two members after starting with five, they continue to create great music.
Joseph took inspiration from the 1947 Arthur Miller play “All My Sons.” In the play, the main character is part of the reason why twenty-one pilots perish. Coming across the play while at school, Joseph couldn't shake the image of twenty-one pilots, and so the name came to mean something to everyone in the music world.
Nirvana
Though only active for seven years, any fan of grunge rock or Seattle music is familiar with this band. The original members include Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic in 1987, and it went through a few drummers before landing on current music legend Dave Grohl. Their intense style garnered them immense fame quickly, though the band had a legendarily sad end.
They went through a few names, such as Fecal Matter, Skid Row, and Ted Ed Fred, but Cobain shook his head at all of them. “[I] wanted a name that was kind of beautiful or nice and pretty instead of a mean, raunchy punk name.”