One of Canada's biggest rock bands is named after five cents of change.
The band started in Hanna, a small town in Alberta, Canada. Bassist Mike Kroeger was born there in 1972, and the group formed in 1995 with his younger brother Chad and Ryan Peake. Before that, the core had played in a cover band called Village Idiot.
The name came from Mike Kroeger's day job. According to his Wikipedia biography, he was working at a Starbucks in Vancouver when he came up with it. A coffee there cost $1.95, and customers usually paid with $2.00. Handing back the change again and again, he got into the habit of saying, "Here's your nickel back."
The phrase stuck, and so did the joke. Unlike many band names, this one needs no literary reference or private meaning. It is a customer-service line, compressed into a single word.
The story is well documented because it comes straight from the band. Reference works repeat it with little variation. EBSCO's summary gives the same account: the name was inspired by Mike's former job at Starbucks, where he often gave customers a nickel back in change. None of the sources offers a rival theory.
The move to Vancouver was part of the band's early career. In 1996, after relocating there, they released a debut EP, Hesher, and a first full album, Curb. From 1998 they took charge of their own career for a time.
The name has since carried a lot of weight. Wikipedia says Nickelback has sold more than 50 million albums worldwide, making it one of Canada's most commercially successful rock acts.
For a name picked up at a coffee counter, it has traveled a long way.