Band's names

I've always wondered were did some bands
get their weird names from.
For example, I think "Pink Floyd" came from
the names of two blues musicians that Barret
listened to.
But what about "Yes"? Or "Jethro Tull"? "Opeth"?
Does anyone know about the origins of other prog bands' names?       

From http://www.furious.com/perfect/magma.html :

GA: THE NAME MAGMA, IS THAT PART OF KOBAIAN OR DOES IT REFER TO LAVA? IS IT REFLECTIVE OF THE STYLE OF THE BAND?

CV: Yes, it refers directly to lava. Back in 1966, I had written a piece and I was already in a band with Bernard Paganotti, who became a bass player. Already, I was searching for the right word. The tune I wrote back then was called Nogma. I was looking for the word Magma, but didn't know it was what I was looking for. One day the band didn't have a name at the time, and they were standing in fornt of a fairly well-known club in Paris. The club management told me if you don't have a name, you can't come and play tonight. So we went for coffee, at the shop next door. I thought deeply, you know, and the word Magma came out. At the same time, I founded Univeria Zekt. I wrote this down on the receipt from the coffee shop and kept it.

From Wikipedia:

- When Tea Set found itself on the same bill as another band with the same name, Barrett came up with an alternate name on the spur of the moment, choosing The Pink Floyd Sound (after two blues musicians, Pink Anderson and Floyd Council)

- King supposedly dubbed the band Genesis because it was the first serious band he had worked with, or the genesis of his career. As he recalled later — "I named them Genesis because I thought it was a good name ... it suggested the beginning of a new sound and a new feeling"

- The name "Opeth" was taken from the book Sunbird (1972) by author Wilbur Smith, and was originally spelled Opet. In the book, Opet is the name of the location for an ancient empire which translates to "City of the Moon".

etc. Just check wikipedia.

dagrush wrote: From http://www.furious.com/perfect/magma.html : GA: THE NAME MAGMA, IS THAT PART OF KOBAIAN OR DOES IT REFER TO LAVA? IS IT REFLECTIVE OF THE STYLE OF THE BAND? CV: Yes, it refers directly to lava. Back in 1966, I had written a piece and I was already in a band with Bernard Paganotti, who became a bass player. Already, I was searching for the right word. The tune I wrote back then was called Nogma. I was looking for the word Magma, but didn't know it was what I was looking for. One day the band didn't have a name at the time, and they were standing in fornt of a fairly well-known club in Paris. The club management told me if you don't have a name, you can't come and play tonight. So we went for coffee, at the shop next door. I thought deeply, you know, and the word Magma came out. At the same time, I founded Univeria Zekt. I wrote this down on the receipt from the coffee shop and kept it. From Wikipedia: - When Tea Set found itself on the same bill as another band with the same name, Barrett came up with an alternate name on the spur of the moment, choosing The Pink Floyd Sound (after two blues musicians, Pink Anderson and Floyd Council) - King supposedly dubbed the band Genesis because it was the first serious band he had worked with, or the genesis of his career. As he recalled later — "I named them Genesis because I thought it was a good name ... it suggested the beginning of a new sound and a new feeling" - The name "Opeth" was taken from the book Sunbird (1972) by author Wilbur Smith, and was originally spelled Opet. In the book, Opet is the name of the location for an ancient empire which translates to "City of the Moon". etc. Just check wikipedia.

Here are some names for you.

does anyone know what Ejwuusl Wessahqqan means?

Soft Machine translated into french is Machine Mol, which became Matching Mole

This band has nothing to do with prog, but Nirvanas first band name choice was Fecal Matter.

I heard that they thought Yes would look good on posters.

King Crimson : The name King Crimson was coined by Peter Sinfield as a synonym for Beelzebub, prince of demons; according to Fripp, Beelzebub would be an angliciced form of the arabi phrase "B'il Sabab", meaning "the man with an aim". although it is widely accepted that the word is from Hebrew Ba'al-z'bub meaning "lord of the flies"