With monikers like 9 Pound Hammer and Aliens On Moonshine, you must be wondering where marijuana strains get their eyebrow-raising names from. You may even be the type of consumer who buys or grows marijuana specifically because of its name. But where and why did so many names for marijuana arise? And who’s the creative genius behind them? Let’s take a deep dive.

The Birth of Modern Marijuana Names

The naming of modern marijuana strains started in the 60s and 70s when breeders began transporting their creations from all over the world. During this time, plants that were grown often had their birthplace in the name, such as Afghan Kush, Panama Red, and Columbian Gold. These are known as “landrace strains.” The geographical locations of marijuana strains were the first building block to the more “out-there” names we see today. Nowadays, we see hundreds of strains with the name Afghan in them.

The Advancement of Landrace Strains

Landraces were eventually bred together to develop a wider range of genetics and strain crossovers. Not only did this produce more options for consumers, but it also increased the overall benefits of marijuana. Crossovers led to more diverse flavor profiles, higher-yielding strains, new psychoactive effects, and a plant’s stronger ability to fight off disease and pests. You see this in a lot of our autoflowering marijuana strains. Over time, certain genetics eventually die off only to be replaced by stronger and more effective hybrids.

Marijuana Strains Named After Their Parents

Speaking of these hybrids, the majority get their unique names from their parent strains. These names are often more creative and may take some guesswork as to where they came from. Take the strain, Dr. Who, for example. Dr. Who is a hybrid between Mad Scientist and Trainwreck. The strain Suicide Girl is a hybrid between Poison OG and Girl Scout Cookies. But would you ever guess that on your own? We probably wouldn’t.

Marijuana Strains Named After Their Attributes

The most obvious strain names dictate their flavor, aroma, and psychoactive attributes. Even though it sounds the least bit appealing, there are strains out there named Cat Piss and Dog Shit. Any guesses as to what they smell like? If a strain has the name Skunk, Diesel, or Cheese in it, you can probably guess the aromantic notes. Then you have more appetizing flavors like

Gelato
Monster Cookies
Strawberry Cough
Lemon Drop
Blackberry Kush
Tangerine Dream
Wedding Cake

Lastly, you have marijuana strains named after colors, dictating what hues you’ll see as the plant matures. These colors can be seen in the plant’s leaves, buds, and trichomes. Purple is one of the most common colors found in marijuana plants, hence names like Purple Haze, Purple Buddha, and Critical Purple. Orange also frequently appears in plants in strains such as Orange Bud, Orange Cookies, and Agent Orange.