Contrary to popular belief, it has nothing to do with the fact that the band's lead singer is called Jim Adkins, or as some thought, anything to do with religious beliefs, due to the acronym of the name (JEW). Guitar player, Tom Linton, has two younger brothers called Jim and Ed. They used to fight a lot and Jim was a fat kid. After beating up Ed in a brotherly squabble, to get back at his portly sibling, Ed drew a picture of Jim swallowing the Earth, and wrote "Jimmy Eat World" next to it. Linton and Adkins saw this and creased up, then adopted the text for their newly formed band.