ɐkˈoːɹdɪŋ tə mˈælɔɪ, ðə bˈændz nˈeɪm hɐz nˈoʊ pəlˈɪɾɪkəl mˈiːnɪŋ: "ðə nˈɪksənz wʌz ʃˈɔːɹt, swˈiːt ænd aɪ ˈɔːlweɪz tˈɛl pˈiːpəl ɪt hæd æn ˈɛks ɪnðə mˈɪdəl sˌoʊ ɪt lˈʊkt kˈuːl ˌɔn tˈiːʃˈɜːts ænd stˈɪkɚz.
According to Maloy, the band's name has no political meaning: "'The Nixons' was short, sweet and I always tell people it had an 'x' in the middle so it looked cool on t-shirts and stickers.