What Was the Mustang Named After? The Real Story

Most people think the Ford Mustang got its name from a wild horse. That is what the horse logo makes you believe. But the real story is not that simple.

The truth is, the name almost came from a plane. Not a horse. A group of people at Ford all had their own idea about the name, and each one has a different story to tell.

In this article, we will look at every theory. We will also show you who really picked the name, and why the horse ended up on the logo anyway. 

The Quick Answer 

The Ford Mustang was named after the mustang horse, a wild and fast horse from the American West. But early on, a Ford designer also wanted to name it after the P-51 Mustang, a fast fighter plane from World War 2. In the end, Ford picked the horse name and used a running horse as the logo. 

Theory 1: The P-51 Fighter Plane 

The first idea for the Mustang name came from a Ford designer named John Najjar. He loved planes from World War 2, and one of his favorites was the P-51 Mustang. This plane was known for being fast and strong in battle.

Najjar felt the new Ford car should feel just as fast and powerful. So he suggested the name Mustang, after the plane.

But Ford's bosses said no at first. They did not want people to think the car was named after a machine. Cars sell better with names people can connect to, and a plane did not feel personal enough.

So Najjar came back with a new idea. Same word, different meaning. This time, he tied the name to the wild horse instead of the plane. That is the version Ford finally said yes to. 

Theory 2: The Wild Horse  

The word "mustang" is also the name of a wild horse. These horses run free across the American West. They are fast, strong, and hard to tame.

When John Najjar changed his plane idea into a horse idea, it clicked with the team at Ford. Around the same time, another Ford worker named Robert J. Eggert loved horses too. He had just read a book about mustang horses, and he liked the name for the same reason.

People at Ford felt the wild horse matched what the car was supposed to feel like. Free. Fast. A little untamed. That feeling is exactly what a running horse on a car looks like, and Ford knew it.

This is the story that stuck. It is also why the car still carries a running horse logo today, even on classic builds like this 1967 Eleanor Mustang. 

Theory 3: The College Football Team  

There is a third story about the name, and it involves football, not cars.

Lee Iacocca was one of the top bosses at Ford at the time. Some people say he wanted to name the car after his favorite college football team, the SMU Mustangs. The story goes that after SMU lost a big game in 1963, Iacocca felt bad for them and promised to name the new Ford car after their team.

It sounds like a nice story, but it is probably not true. Iacocca himself said later that this never happened. On top of that, Ford's ad team had already been using the Mustang name before that football game even took place.

So while this story is fun to tell, most car historians do not believe it is the real reason behind the name. 

The People Behind the Name 

Many people had a hand in naming the Mustang. Here is a quick look at the three names that come up the most.  

John Najjar  

Najjar was a designer at Ford. He loved planes, and he was the first person to suggest the name Mustang. His first idea was about the P-51 plane. When that idea got turned down, he changed it to be about the horse instead. 

Robert J. Eggert  

Eggert worked in market research at Ford. He was a fan of horses in real life. Around the same time as Najjar's idea, Eggert read a book about mustang horses and pushed for the same name, but for the horse reason.  

Lee Iacocca  

Iacocca was one of the top bosses running the Mustang project. He did not come up with the name himself, but he had the final say. His ad agency gave him a long list of animal names to pick from, and Mustang was the one he chose and locked in before another car company could use it. That kind of protection still matters today, which is why real collector builds, like this fully licensed 1 of 1 Eleanor Mustang, come with official paperwork to prove they are the real thing.  

So Why Does the Mustang Have a Horse Logo?  

This part is easy once you know the full story. Ford ended up going with the horse version of the name, not the plane version. So when it came time to build a logo, a horse made the most sense.

A designer named Phil Clark created the running horse we still see today. He made it look wild and free, running fast with its head down, not standing still like a tame horse. That matched the feeling Ford wanted people to get from the car.

Ford also added red, white, and blue stripes near the horse. This made the car feel proudly American, since the wild mustang horse is closely tied to the American West.

That is why, even though a plane almost gave the Mustang its name, a horse ended up as its face. 

How the Name Turned Into a Whole New Kind of Car  

The Mustang name did more than sell one car. It created a whole new type of car that people still talk about today.

Mustangs had a long hood, a short back end, and a sporty look, all for a price young buyers could afford. This style became so popular that other car companies started making their own version of it.

People began calling this whole group of cars "pony cars," named after the Mustang itself. Cars like the Chevy Camaro and Plymouth Barracuda came out soon after, all trying to copy what the Mustang started.

So the name Mustang did not just name a car. It named an entire era of American cars. 

What About the Mustang Called "Eleanor"?  

If you know the movie Gone in 60 Seconds, you have probably heard of "Eleanor." But Eleanor's name has nothing to do with the horse or the plane story.

In the movie, a group of car thieves gets a list of cars to steal in one night. To keep the list secret from the police, every car on that list gets a woman's name instead of its real name. Eleanor was just the codename for the last car on the list, and always the hardest one to steal.

So while "Mustang" comes from Ford's naming story back in the 1960s, "Eleanor" comes from a movie script, decades later. Two totally different naming stories about the same car.

Today, that movie car has become just as famous as the name Mustang itself. If you want to see the full story of what Eleanor really was in both films, we cover it in detail. And if you want to see what a fully licensed, real-life Eleanor build looks like today, you can check that out too. 

Frequently Asked Questions  

Is the Mustang named after a real horse breed?  

Yes. The mustang is a real wild horse found in the American West. Ford picked this name because the horse felt fast, free, and strong, just like the car was meant to feel.  

Did Ford ever officially confirm the true story?  

Not fully. Ford has never given one clear answer about how the name was picked. Different people at Ford told different versions over the years, so no single story is 100% confirmed. 

Why is the Mustang logo a horse if the name came from a plane? 

Because Ford ended up choosing the horse version of the name, not the plane version. Once the horse story was picked, a running horse logo made the most sense to go with it.  

Is the movie car "Eleanor" also named after this same history?  

No. Eleanor's name comes from the Gone in 60 Seconds movie script, not from Ford's original naming story. Eleanor was just a codename for a car on a heist list, picked decades after the Mustang name itself.