h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

How did they come up with the name Monty Python?

About three days of arguing and finally settling on the one name that none of the six actually hated! The story differs slightly depending on which of the six you ask, but I wrote a bit more about it in:

A692192 - 'Monty Python's Flying Circus' - the Television Series

"The first problem the group ran into was trying to find a name for their new show. The idea of having a different name each week was vetoed by the BBC, so the group was stuck with having to decide on a single name that they were all happy with. Or, at least, one to which no-one objected too violently. Many, many names were suggested, including 'Owl Stretching Time', 'A Horse, a Spoon and a Basin', 'Bunn, Wackett, Buzzard, Stubble and Boot' and 'The Toad Elevating Moment'. Part of the decision was taken for them by BBC head of comedy, Michael Mills, who accused Barry Took of giving orders as though he were 'running a flying circus'. Because people were already starting to refer to the show as The Circus in official documents, all the team now had to do was decide whose flying circus it should be. After yet more rounds of arguing and endless suggestions, the title eventually evolved into Monty Python's Flying Circus and stuck."