How did The B-52s get their name? Now, you might think choosing a band name doesn’t carry quite the same weight as all that life-or-death drama – and you’d be right. So what’s the story for The B-52s? So, how did they decide on The B-52s? Originally, the name was presented with an errant apostrophe, as in ‘The B-52’s’, up until 2008, due to a friend’s blunder.