Mumford and Sons - a name that effortlessly rolls off the tongue, wouldn't you agree?
However, it may come as a surprise to some that the band members aren't actually related. The English folk rock band, formed in London in 2007, consists of lead singer Marcus Mumford, Ben Lovett on vocals, keyboard and piano, and Ted Dwane on vocals and bass. Winston Marshall, the banjo player, left the band in 2021.
Despite their family-like name, Mumford and Sons, known for hits like Little Lion Man, I Will Wait, and The Cave, are not a traditional family band - they're not related by blood. The name was chosen because it embodied their ethos of functioning like a 'family business'.
The band recently discussed this topic on the Zach Sang Show podcast. A clip of the group talking about the origin of their band name was shared on TikTok.
When Zach's co-host Dan Zolot asked how they decided on the name, the band members responded with laughter.
Reflecting on the moment, Ben remembered: "I just recall the pub we were sitting in when we were actually deciding it. It was Putney Bridge, the north side."
The 38-year-old further explained that they had already used the name for a few performances "in the early days", when Marcus had a compilation of songs he wanted to try out.
Ben reminisced about the band's early days and their name choice: "We had played a few shows as Mumford and Sons, and then we were like 'should we go for a drink and talk about this for a minute'. I think we talked through about 15 or 20 even worse band names. [And then we thought] 'maybe we should just stick with it'. And part of what made us feel comfortable was, at that point we could see about two weeks into our future. And no one thought we were going to be in Los Angeles, having this conversation."
He also disclosed the quirky alternatives they considered, including The Merry Men and Marcus' top pick – The Sun Never Sets on the Cool Kids.
Bandmate Ted, now 40, highlighted a key moment in their decision-making: "A moment in the chat was like, 'it would only be a problem if we went international or played shows to more than 100 people, so it's probably not really going to be a thing,' so we just thought 'yeah let's go with it'."
Commenting on their brainstorming process, Marcus, aged 38, added: "It was a time where there were lots of bands with like... 'Johnny Flynn and the Sussex Wit', all these bands that had a person's name and the band name. Or it was like, The Cooks. The Zootons. The Strokes. There were lots of 'The'."
Reflecting on their identity, Marcus furthered: "So we were like 'what feels a bit more us and a bit more British than that?'. Calling it something with a family name. Like a family business. It felt representative about how we were thinking about doing our business at the time. And no one else had the name."
Interestingly, it appears some fans were under the impression that Mumford and Sons are a family group. One person revealed: "I've always assumed they were a family".
Another shared a similar misconception, stating: "I honestly thought the band was made up of a guy and his sons!".
