How did the White Stripes get their name?

Answer 1

I think it refers to peppermint candy.


"Red, white and black, the band's signature colors, are, according to Jack, "the most powerful color combination of all time, from a Coca-Cola can to a Nazi banner." These colors permeate the duo's distinctive wardrobe and album artwork. In some interviews, the group has said that the colors red and white refer to peppermint candy, a symbol of childhood innocence. Jack has also mentioned that the colors are used in baby toys because they are easily visible to infants, who are slightly colorblind at birth. Interestingly, before forming the band, Jack had also created a three-color scheme for an upholstery business he started in his early twenties. All of his tools, his van, and his uniform used the colors white, black, and yellow."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_White_Stripes

THE WHITE STRIPES the white stripes have no elaborate story on how they got their name. being brother and sister with the last name white, they wanted a simple name. one day, they saw a package of peppermint candies and using that as her inspiration, meg came up with the band name.

http://www.naughtysecretaryclub.com/namegame1.htm

Answer 2

From a White Stripes unofficial FAQ website:

Jack White: "Meg loves peppermints, and we were going to call ourselves The Peppermints. But since our last name was White, we decided to call it The White Stripes. It revolved around this childish idea, the ideas kids have - because they are so much better than adult ideas, right?"

Ben Blackwell: When I first heard about them naming the band the White Stripes, I thought people were going to think they were a skinhead band. Originally they were tossing back and forth the names Bazooka and Soda Powder, so after hearing the other names they had come up with, the White Stripes didn't seem so bad. Meg came up with it, and the story about them getting it from the candy might be true, but they also had some old bricks in front of the house in the garden that said "White" on them, and that might have had something to do with it. That whole first year, every single person misprinted the band name -- it was always "White Stripe" or "White Strike" or "White Strikes." It never got printed right, for a whole year." Ben Blackwell: "They were opening for Two Star Tabernacle and were misbilled that night as the White Lines. Of course, that wasn't as bad as when they played the Magic Bag one night and were billed as the Light Strikes."