Deciding on a Name
The novice band went through a bunch of names. They started out as My Backyard, which was changed to The Noble Five, and by 1968, they were calling themselves The One Percent. In 1969, Van Zant wanted a new name after getting tired of the taunts from audiences as they were saying the band had “1% talent.” Burns suggested they call themselves Leonard Skinnerd, which was a mocking tribute to their P.E. teacher Leonard Skinner at Robert E. Lee High School.
Source: theguardian.com
Why him? Because he was notorious for strictly enforcing the school’s policy against the boys having long hair. Guitarist Gary Rossington even dropped out of school because he was tired of being hassled about his hair. The more distinctive spelling of “Lynyrd Skynyrd” was used as early as 1970.
Fun fact: The band developed a friendlier relationship with Skinner later on, and invited him to introduce them at a concert of theirs in the Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum. Skinner even allowed the band to use a photo of his own Leonard Skinner Realty sign for the inside of their third album.