The Cleveland Browns are called the “Browns” because the team was named after its first head coach and football pioneer Paul Brown, following a fan naming contest in the 1940s.

Quick Scoop

  • The franchise was founded in the mid-1940s when businessman Arthur “Mickey” McBride brought a new pro football team to Cleveland for the All-America Football Conference (AAFC).
  • A public contest was held to pick the team name, and fans strongly backed honoring Paul Brown, who was already famous in Ohio for his coaching success at Ohio State and in high school football.
  • Brown initially resisted having the team named after him and even pushed for “Cleveland Panthers,” but that name was already taken by a previous local team, so “Browns” stuck and became official.

Alternate Joe Louis story

  • For years, Paul Brown sometimes claimed the team was really named in honor of boxer Joe Louis, known as the “Brown Bomber.”
  • Many historians view this as Brown trying to deflect attention from himself, since Joe Louis had no real Cleveland connection and Brown later acknowledged the team was indeed named after him.

Why it matters today

  • The name “Browns” is now tied to a long history that includes AAFC dominance in the late 1940s and multiple NFL championships in the 1950s and 1960s.
  • Even without an animal or mascot in the name, “Browns” has become a distinctive, tradition-heavy identity for Cleveland football fans.

TL;DR: The Cleveland Browns are named after legendary coach Paul Brown, chosen by fans in a 1940s contest, despite his initial reluctance and a later myth tying the name to boxer Joe Louis.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.