In Columbus, Ohio, supporters once revolted to keep the word Crew in their club’s identity, forcing an abrupt reversal of a rebrand. In Seattle, fans insisted their expansion team carry the historic Sounders name, overriding the owners’ initial plans.

Across Major League Soccer, a club’s name can carry deep cultural meaning, spark controversy, or even serve as a corporate billboard. The LA Galaxy is an iconic original. Montreal is an identity marked by frequent rebrands. Either way, each team’s name reveals a story of short heritage, marketing, and the passionate fans who guard their club’s identity.

Columbus Crew – a name saved by the fans

When Major League Soccer launched in 1996, Columbus’s team emerged from a public naming contest as the Crew, a nod to the city’s namesake Christopher Columbus and “the crew that accompanied him on his discoveries.”

The franchise had almost been dubbed the Columbus Eclipse, until a solar eclipse over the city inspired a new contest and the Crew nickname won out. For 25 years the Crew name – originally depicted by a logo of hard-hat workers – stood for the city’s blue-collar ethos and the tight-knit “crew” of supporters.

But in 2021, new ownership dropped Crew in a rebrand to Columbus SC, aiming for a more global style. The backlash was immediate and fierce. Fans decried the change as an unnecessary own goal.

Just one week later, chastened executives met with supporter groups and announced the official name would remain Columbus Crew going forward. The episode crystallized how essential that single syllable had become to the club’s identity.

Seattle Sounders – a fan-fueled revival

Seattle’s MLS franchise, which began play in 2009, almost launched without the name Sounders. In 1974, the original NASL Sounders had been named via fan vote.

Fast-forward to 2008: Seattle’s MLS owners initially offered bland choices like Seattle FC, Alliance, or Republic. The historic Sounders moniker was pointedly left off the ballot.

But supporter backlash was swift. Under pressure, the club allowed a write-in option, and nearly 50% of votes came in for some form of Sounders. The owners listened: the team debuted as Seattle Sounders FC, instantly connecting the new club to its predecessors.

Today, the name has become a rallying cry. In 2019, coach Brian Schmetzer’s exclamation “We’re the Seattle freakin’ Sounders!” became a giant tifo display, a defiant embrace of identity.

LA Galaxy – Hollywood inspirations

Los Angeles’s team was one of ten original MLS franchises in 1996, and it embraced a glitzy identity from the start. The club was christened the LA Galaxy in reference to Los Angeles being home to Hollywood’s galaxy of stars.

The name proved prescient as the Galaxy went on to sign global icons like David Beckham and Zlatan Ibrahimović. Unlike some early MLS nicknames that were later abandoned, the Galaxy name aged well.

It struck a balance between American sports-style branding and LA’s celebrity culture, and fans took to it. Today, with a record five MLS Cup titles, the Galaxy brand is iconic – synonymous with star power and championship pedigree.

Houston Dynamo – controversy over 1836

When Houston’s franchise was born in 2006, the owners tried to brand it Houston 1836 – a nod to the city’s founding year. But 1836 also marked the Texan revolt and independence from Mexico, and many in Houston’s large Mexican-American community bristled at the reference.

The backlash was immediate and the name was scrapped. Within weeks, the team re-emerged as Houston Dynamo, a word that honored Houston’s previous soccer history and saluted the city’s reputation as the energy capital of the world.

Dynamo implies energy, power, motion – qualities the club wanted to embody. Winning MLS Cup in their first two seasons helped fans move past the aborted 1836 experiment.

Sporting Kansas City – from Wizards to a winning brand

Kansas City’s club began as the Kansas City Wizards, a quirky 1996 name inspired by The Wizard of Oz. By 2010, new owners felt the Wizard had lost its magic.

The club rebranded as Sporting Kansas City, coinciding with the construction of a new stadium and a new vision for a multi-sport club. Traditionalists balked, some threatening to cancel tickets in protest. Local media mocked the name as pretentious.

Yet, within a couple of years, the name had grown on fans. Winning the 2013 MLS Cup certainly helped. The Sporting KC rebrand proved a marketing triumph: merchandise sales and attendance skyrocketed once the new look took hold.

Today, Kansas Citians consider Sporting KC one of the league’s model franchises.

New York Red Bulls – a corporate identity

The club began in 1996 as the New York/New Jersey MetroStars, referencing founder John Kluge’s company Metromedia. For a decade, fans lovingly shortened the name to Metro.

Then in 2006, Austria’s Red Bull bought the franchise and rebranded it wholesale. Overnight, MetroStars became the Red Bulls, aligning with Red Bull’s global network of teams.

The move drew mixed reactions. Many supporters were aghast at becoming walking advertisements, and some refused to chant the new name. Rival supporters still mock the club as the “energy drink team.”

Yet others embraced the investment, stadium, and youth development Red Bull brought. Over time, a generation of supporters has known nothing else, and Red Bulls is their club – quirky name and all.

CF Montréal – farewell Impact, hello backlash

For nearly 30 years, professional soccer in Montreal meant one thing: Impact. That name dated back to 1993 in lower leagues and was beloved for its bilingual symbolism.

In 2021, the club rebranded as CF Montréal, with a sleek new snowflake logo. The announcement landed like a lead balloon. Fans were shocked to see Impact erased overnight.

Supporter groups signed an open letter stating they were vehemently opposed to the change. The backlash forced the club to tweak branding within a year, bringing back the classic blue color.

Still, on matchdays, plenty of supporters chant “Allez l’Impact!” The rebrand remains divisive, with many hoping Impact might one day return.

Real Salt Lake – royal aspirations in the Rockies

When MLS awarded Salt Lake City an expansion team in 2005, owner Dave Checketts wanted a name that screamed soccer tradition. He christened the club Real Salt Lake – Real meaning royal, as in Real Madrid.

Utah, of course, had no monarchy, and to American ears the name sounded odd. Other names, such as Highlanders or Pioneers, had circulated, but Real won a public poll.

Checketts even sought Real Madrid’s blessing, which the Spanish giants happily gave. These days, Real Salt Lake is commonly abbreviated as RSL, and fans have come to terms with the once-controversial title.

The name has become part of the fabric, even if rival fans still poke fun.

When David Beckham’s Miami expansion team was announced in 2018, it unveiled the mouthful Club Internacional de Fútbol Miami. Fans simply call it Inter Miami, echoing Inter Milan.

The choice was a nod to Miami’s multicultural makeup and to Beckham’s desire for global branding. Inter Milan filed a trademark claim arguing it owned “Inter,” leading to years of legal tussles.

In the end, no name change was required – Inter Miami survives. Local supporters quickly took to the pink-and-black branding, and any naming quibbles were soon overshadowed when Lionel Messi signed in 2023.

The name has since become synonymous with Miami’s global soccer ambition.