How did your NFL team gets its name? Origins explained for all 32

The Dallas Rangers? It almost happened. That was franchise owner Clint Murchison Jr.'s first choice back in 1959, but a minor league baseball team already had that name. Murchison settled instead on Cowboys, changing the course of one of the world's most valuable and recognizable brands in sports.

But team owners don't always come up with the names themselves. Nearly half of the NFL's 32 franchises started their search for a name by surveying the public through naming contests. Others used advisory committees or focus groups to find that perfect name.

On Wednesday, Washington announced its new team name: the Commanders. Other names that were in the mix included Armada, Presidents, Brigade, Redhawks, RedWolves, Defenders and Football Team. Washington's process to find a new name took 20 months since it dropped its old one and included a survey to season-ticket holders and feedback from focus groups. The team had been known as the Washington Football Team since July 2020.

How did your team come up with its name, and what were the runners-up that didn't make the cut? Our NFL Nation reporters found the name origin for each team.

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The first team that would be the Buffalo Bills was founded as part of the All-America Football Conference in 1946 and originally was called the Bisons. But after only one year, owner James Breuil held a contest to rename the team for the 1947 season. The winner was James F. Dyson, who won $500 after writing an essay comparing the team to a band of «Buffalo Bills.» It was a reference to William «Buffalo Bill» Cody, who