The mythic nature of Led Zeppelin makes it feasible that their name was concoted in grand fashion. Turns out it was just a simple suggestion from Keith Moon.
Jimmy Page was in the process of forming a new group following the dissolution of the Yardbirds that would have been comprised of Jeff Beck, Keith Moon, and John Entwistle. The group never officially formed, but did have some jam sessions together. Page recalled the naming of the group when speaking to The Academy Of Achievement saying, "it was a name that Keith Moon had mentioned back then. He was talking, 'Wouldn't it be fun to have a band called Led Zeppelin?' And I asked him if we could use the name, because I was gonna be in this band Led Zeppelin with Keith Moon, so was Jeff Beck."
In a 2012 interview with Rolling Stone, Page dug deeper into the origin of the band's name revealing Moon suggested the name Led Zeppelin "because it can only go down, like a lead balloon."
Page was a huge fan of the name, but he thinks the music is main factor in the band's legacy. "Jeff [Beck] could just as easily have called his band Led Zeppelin. We could have called ours Carrots, and it wouldn't have made any difference. It still would have done what it did," he said.
