Grateful Dead - there are a couple of versions on how the band got their name, both involving Jerry Garcia and a dictionary. One version has Garcia flipping through a Britannica World Language Dictionary and landing on the meaning of 'grateful dead' which read "the soul of a dead person, or his angel, showing gratitude to someone who, as an act of charity, arranged their burial". The other version has Garcia finding the phrase in a Funk & Wagnalls Folklore Dictionary during a game of Fictionary.
The Yardbirds - the name came about as a nod to jazz saxophonist Charlie Parker who would sometimes go by the nickname 'Yardbird'. The 'yardbird' was also a term used to describe hobos hanging around railway yards waiting for a train.
The Animals - although it was thought the band's name came about because of the members' wild stage act, lead singer Eric Burdon cleared things up when he stated the name was a tribute to a friend of the band, "Animal" Hogg.
Pearl Jam - Eddie Vedder has said that he came up with the name for the band based on his great-grandmother's peyote-laced jam. His great-grandmother's name was Pearl. Vedder later admitted that this was a made up story to screw with a journalist at the time, although his great-grandmother's name is actually Pearl. Bandmates Jeff Ament and Mike McCready had the name 'pearl' running around their heads for a while, and they added 'jam' after attending a Neil Young concert in which Young extended some of his songs by 15 or 20 minute 'jam' sessions.
The Clash - bass guitarist Paul Simonon came up with the name after reading through the paper one day and noticing the word 'clash' came up a lot. He asked the other members of the band what they thought about 'The Clash' and they all liked it.
Pink Floyd - original band member Syd Barrett had a Blues record collection that included Pink Anderson and Floyd Council. He simply combined the first names of the two.
Radiohead - the band was called On A Friday for a long time before signing a record deal, because they used to rehearse on Friday afternoons. A record exec at EMI wanted them to change their name, so they came up with 'Radiohead' which was a song off of the Talking Heads' album 'True Stories'.
Talking Heads - a friend of the band was reading a TV Guide in which one of the programs listed described a 'talking head' as a term used by studios for a head-and-shoulders shot of a person talking as 'all content, no action'. They liked that description and adopted the name.
Aerosmith - drummer Joey Kramer suggested the name after seeing the name on Harry Nilsson's album art for 'Aerial Ballet'. The band hated the name at first, thinking Kramer meant 'Arrowsmith', the Sinclair Lewis novel they all had to read in high school. When Kramer explained he meant A-E-R-O the band agreed, but only after considering names like 'The Hookers' and 'Spike Jones'.
Genesis - the first person to sign the band to a recording contract, Jonathan King, named the band Genesis because he said it suggested the beginning of a new sound and a new feeling.
Green Day - the band was originally called Sweet Children but felt they had to change their name when they learned of another band called Sweet Baby. They came up with Green Day simply because of their fondness for marijuana. "What kind of day is it? It's a green day!".
Pet Shop Boys - band members Chris Lowe and Neil Tennant had friends that worked in a local pet shop. That's it.
Joy Division - the group got the name from a 1955 novella called "House OF Dolls" which describes 'joy divisions' as groups of Jewish women in concentration camps that were kept for the sexual pleasures of the Nazi soldiers.
New Order - the band's manager, Robert Gretton, named the band after reading an article in The Guardian titled "The People's New Order Of Kampuchea".
The Tragically Hip - the band took their name from a skit comedy film called "Elephant Parts" that starred ex-Monkees alum Michael Nesmith.
Stone Temple Pilots - the band was once called 'Mighty Joe Young' but were informed that there was a blues player who had already claimed that name. They remembered their fondness for the STP Motor Oil stickers they would see everywhere as kids. After coming up with other variations, such as 'Shirley Temple's Pussy', they settled on Stone Temple Pilots.
R.E.M. - after the band considered names like 'Twisted Kites', 'Negro Wives' and 'Cans Of Piss' they settled on R.E.M. after Michael Stipe randomly chose it out of a dictionary. I wonder if they would be as popular if they were called Cans Of Piss??
Ramones - Douglas Colvin got the idea of calling the band 'Ramones' after Paul McCartney's Silver Beatles days in which he adopted the moniker Paul Ramon. Colvin came up with Dee Dee Ramone for himself and got his two bandmates at the time to change their names to Joey and Johnny Ramone. Anybody that joined the band thereafter needed to come up with a Ramone name.
Traffic - drummer Jim Capaldi came up with the name while the band was waiting to cross the street in Dorchester, England. Crafty!
Cream - when Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker got together to form a band, they were already regarded as the "cream of the crop" of British blues and jazz musicians. They simply played on that reputation, being referred to as 'The Cream' for a while before their first album.
AC/DC - the sister of founding members Malcolm and Angus Young pointed out a symbol on her sewing machine that read 'AC/DC' describing the alternating and direct current of electricity needed to run the machine. The brothers liked the idea of the logo symbolizing the raw energy and power-driven intensity of their music.
Gwar - the band name came about as a result of joke. The band used to be called 'Death Piggy'. They decided to open up one of their own shows, the band members playing nonsense songs and sacrificing fake animals, and calling themselves 'Gwaaarrrgghhllgh'. It seemed more people wanted to see the silly band, leaving shows before 'Death Piggy' began playing. They shortened the name of the band to 'Gwar' and forgot about 'Death Piggy' all together.
Spandau Ballet - a DJ friend of the band saw the name scrawled on a bathroom wall in Berlin. It referred to the Spandau Prison in West Berlin and the hangings that took place there, and how the victims would twitch and jump at the end of the rope. Kind of a stark contrast to the music they made, no?
Pretenders - Chrissie Hynde simply named the band after the hit song by The Platters, "The Great Pretender".
UB40 - the designation on the form that had to be filled out for unemployment benefits in the UK. The piece of paper was called the Unemployment Benefits Form 40.
Creedence Clearwater Revival - the name was adapted from three different things. First, Tom Fogerty got the name Creedence from a friend of his named Credence Newball. They just added an 'e' to be different. Clearwater was a description of Olympia beer from a TV commercial. Revival came from the band's renewed commitment to succeed after two members were drafted into military service.
Eurythmics - there is a teaching tool used to educate students of music called Dalcroze Eurythmics. Annie Lennox had studied these methods as a child and borrowed part of the name for her band.
Bad Company - lead singer Paul Rodgers got the name from a book of old Victorian morals. Captioned under a picture of an innocent kid looking up at an unsavoury man leaning against a post was 'beware of bad company'.
Lynyrd Skynyrd - a play on the name of the phys-ed teacher at the high school that the band went to in Florida. His name was Leonard Skinner and was apparently notorious for giving all the 'long-hairs' a hard time.
I think that's good enough for now. I may add to this list, but I'll let y'all know when I do.
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