How NFL Teams Got Their Names

How did your favorite NFL team get its name?
Some, like the Dallas Cowboys, are named for the area in which they reside. Others, like the Pittsburgh Steelers, have names that reflect the blue-collar nature of the team’s city. And still others, like the New England Patriots, have names with a bit of a historical twist.

The Teams

In the National Football League (NFL), teams names are very important to their fan bases, and each name has a story behind it. Most of the teams in the NFL have a name that is unique to them and represents something about their city or state. For example, the Green Bay Packers are named after the Indian Packing Company, which was the first employer of team founder Curly Lambeau.

Arizona Cardinals

The Cardinals began in Chicago in 1898 and are the oldest continuously run professional football team in the United States. The team was a charter member of the NFL in 1920. In 1959, the Cardinals moved from Chicago to St. Louis, and then to their current home in Phoenix, Arizona in 1988.

The team was originally known as the Morgan Athletic Club, founded by Chicago painter Muggs McGinnis. In 1900, the team changed its name to the Racine Normals after being sponsored by the Normal Paper Company. The name was later changed to the Racine Cardinals when they were sponsored by the Cardinal Brewing Company from 1901-06.

In 1922, new owner Christopher Cohan changed the team’s name to the Chicago Cardinals. The name Cardinals comes from their original city, Notre Dame’s colors (cardinal red) and their fan base (called “Cardiac Kids” because of their propensity to win close games).

Atlanta Falcons

The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league’s National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined the NFL in 1965 as an expansion team, after the NFL offered then-owner Rankin Smith a franchise to keep him from joining the rival American Football League (AFL).

In their 53 years of existence, the Falcons have compiled a record of 300–402–6 (.427 winning percentage), with division championships in 1980, 1998, 2004, 2010, 2012, and 2016. The Falcons have appeared in two Super Bowls, the first during the 1998 season in Super Bowl XXXIII, where they lost to the Denver Broncos 34–19; and Super Bowl LI, where they defeated the New England Patriots 34–28 in overtime.

Baltimore Ravens

The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its home games at M&T Bank Stadium and is headquartered in Owings Mills.

The franchise was established in 1996, when Art Modell, who was then the owner of the Cleveland Browns, announced plans to relocate the team to Baltimore. As part of a settlement between Modell, the city of Cleveland, and the other NFL teams, the Browns were officially deactivated and the league expanded with a new franchise, which took over the Browns’ personnel and facility in Baltimore. The Ravens have qualified for the NFL playoffs eleven times since 2000, with two Super Bowl victories (Super Bowl XXXV and Super Bowl XLVII), two AFC Championship titles (2000 and 2012), 15 playoff victories, four AFC North division championships (2003, 2006, 2011, 2018), and are currently tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers with the most appearances in conference championship games (6).

Buffalo Bills

The Bills began as an original American Football League franchise in 1960. A group of Buffalo businessmen, including future governor of New York State Mario Cuomo, secured the rights to a franchise in the new league. Cuomo is reported to have gotten the idea for the team’s name from his young daughter, who said “Daddy, I hope we get a good team. I hope it’s called the Bills.”

The History

In 1920, the American Professional Football Association was created. This league would eventually be renamed the National Football League, or NFL, in 1922. The NFL has been the premier professional football league in the United States ever since. During the NFL’s infancy, there were many different ways that teams obtained their names.

Cardinals

The Cardinals began play in Chicago in 1898, and were a charter member of the NFL in 1920. The team was originally known as the Racine Normals until 1922, when they were renamed the Chicago Cardinals. In 1925, the Cardinals moved to Saint Louis, where they played for 28 years before moving again, this time to Arizona in 1988. According to the team’s official history, the name Cardinals was chosen because it represented “a new beginning” for the team.

Falcons

The Atlanta Falcons were established in 1965. Their original owner was Rankin Smith Sr. He decided to name the team the Falcons because of Georgia’s state bird.

Ravens

The Baltimore Ravens were brought into the league in 1996. They are named after a poem written by Edgar Allan Poe, who lived and is buried in Baltimore. “The Raven” tells the story of a man who is visited by a talking raven, and the bird becomes a symbol of evil omens.

Bills

The Bills began play as an original AFL team in 1960. The team was owned by Ralph Wilson from the team’s founding until his death in 2014. The franchise was then put up for sale, with Terry and Kim Pegula winning the auction to purchase the team.
The name “Bills” is an allusion to the famous western frontiersman, Buffalo Bill Cody. Buffalo Bill also lent his name to a number of other businesses and entities in the area, including a theater and an amateur football franchise named the Buffalo Bills that began play in the late 1920s.